A Derbyshire firm which manufactures wax moulds for the investment casting industry to make components for the aerospace and industrial gas turbine markets is celebrating 50 years in business.
Tarpey Harris, which is based at the Denby Hall Business Park, was first established in 1969 as a precision engineer and toolmaker.
Over time, the company branched out into the investment casting industry, making tooling for aero engine blades and industrial gas turbine components.
Investment casting is an industrial process based on lost-wax casting, a precision casting technique used for metal forming.
In 2005, the business started supplying wax patterns and moved into a new, 14,000 sq ft state-of-the-art wax injecting facility at Denby in 2007. Today, the company employs more than 100 people on the Denby site.
Since the doubling in size of Tarpey Harris, the business has recently been bought by the Morvern Group, as part of a management buyout from Garner Holdings.
Today, the business supplies multiple blue-chip companies across the globe, including Rolls-Royce, with full wax-injected parts and ready-to-shell assemblies.
According to Tarpey Harris, significant investments in cutting-edge equipment has been key to its success - and one of the major reasons why the company is well placed for the future.
These investments include three new wax injection presses, which the firm says has allowed it to achieve “strong long-term demand” for its wax consumable products for both the aerospace and industrial gas turbine markets.
These new presses, along with a large range of injection machines, are all housed in a temperature-controlled workspace, inside the Denby factory.
Tarpey Harris has said that its commitment to quality also sets it apart, with the company using “filmless” digital X-ray technology to detect defects and ultrasonic equipment to check wall thickness after the injection process.
The Denby manufacturing facility has more than 30 assembly stations, equipped with gas and electric soldering tools for all aspects of pattern dressing and cluster assembly.
Specially manufactured trolleys are then used to transport the finished assemblies to customers, using a fleet of temperature-controlled vans.
But while state-of-the-art equipment and processes have helped give Tarpey Harris its leading edge, managing director Steve Roe believes that the most important asset at the business is its people.
He said: “Throughout the years the Tarpey Harris business has continued to employ and train skilled personnel to manufacture well-engineered wax products and assemblies that are prevalent in the many UK and European casting facilities.
“Our most important asset by far is our workforce, most of whom are time-served craftsmen and women who have learned their trade through many years of service with the company.”
