5-Axis Investment for Howco Warrington

Howco is widely recognised across the oil and gas, energy and industrial sectors as a trusted name for distributing and processing raw materials - a reputation built up over more than 40 years. Less widely known, perhaps, is the scale of precision engineering that has developed alongside that core business, with impressive manufacturing sites to support customers who need finished, machined components rather than raw material alone.

One of the newer additions to that network is the UK Warrington site, which has recently installed an impressive Mazak VARIAXIS J-600 5-axis machining centre. The investment allows components to be produced in fewer setups, improving accuracy, repeatability and lead times on parts that would otherwise need multiple operations.

Turning and milling have always been part of the job at Warrington, and the new machine raises the ceiling - enabling more complex, precision-engineered work across energy, aerospace and advanced manufacturing. It isn't the only capability the site has been building though. Warrington is a specialist machined seals operation, turning components in elastomers, thermoplastics and engineered polymers, with NBR, HNBR, EPDM, FKM, polyurethane, PTFE, PEEK, Acetal and UHMWPE among the materials used.

Profiles range from rod and piston seals to wipers, scrapers, guide and wear rings and backup rings, spanning everything from a single prototype to repeat batch production, including replacements for parts that have become hard to source elsewhere.

HOWCO Warrington Seals

John Broom, Sales Engineer at Warrington, said, "While Howco is a well-known and established material supplier, there is in fact a much wider and diverse offering. Our manufacturing site at Warrington is a great example of this. Between the new machining centre and our seals capabilities, we can take on components in a variety of materials that need real technical input, whether that's a demanding material specification or a complex geometry, and support customers right through from prototype to repeat batch production."

For Howco, it reflects a broader strategy of adding value alongside its established supply chain strengths, giving customers a more joined-up route to critical components without compromising on traceability or technical support. It also positions Warrington to serve customers beyond Howco's traditional markets, including hydraulic and process industries where material selection and rapid turnaround matter as much as the finished part itself.

To find out more about the capabilities of Howco Warrington, or to discuss your requirements in detail, please follow the Howco Group on LinkedIn and e-mail: EuropeManEnquiries@Howcogroup.com

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