Nick Iacobucci, managing director of family-owned DKW Engineering says: “It’s parts ready for shipment at the end of the day and produced as effectively as possible that matters in our business. We have found of late that the capability to minimise lead time is becoming such an important element in winning and maintaining orders.”

He adds that DKW has reduced work in progress by 20% over the past two years, thanks in part to the installation of a Miyano BNJ-51SY3 two spindle, dual turret, turn-mill centre installed in May last year.

Business development manager Karl Iacobucci says: “The Miyano was able to produce six months of normal scheduled work in just seven weeks. The best our existing machines would produce in an 18 hour shift would be 140 – the BNJ-51SY3 will deposit 300 parts finished and ready for despatch in the same time scale.”

A regulator valve component used to be produced in three operations – turn, mill, drill – which would take a total machining time of six minutes. The Miyano’s ability to optimise the one-hit strategy easily cut the machining time in half and with the added bonus of totally slashing lead time and demands on setters.

DKW Engineering employs 38 people and two apprentices on structured learning programmes at its 20,000 ft2 facility in Portsmouth. Four of the Iacobucci family run the business in addition to Nick and Karl, Nick’s wife Donna is financial director and Karl’s brother Daniel is account manager. Back in 1986 the company was formed with eight people as a toolmaking business and in 1989 when looking for new premises acquired Cammatic Suisse, a subcontractor with 60 resident cam-driven single spindle machines. By 1994 the first CNC machines were installed and by 2006 the whole operation had become CNC based.

This investment strategy has continued with over £1 million being invested in 2011 to service sales of £2.5 million and a still growing turnover drawn from aerospace, defence, environmental, nuclear, and petrochemical sectors.  Customers are based in the UK, USA, Italy, Ireland, Slovakia and even China. Indeed, sales are up by 25 per cent on 2010 and the company’s progress was rewarded at the Manufacturing Technologies Association dinner in Birmingham when it won the ‘Most Dynamic Subcontractor’ award.

Said Nick Iacobucci: “The business has really progressed over the last four years, helped by being acknowledged as a ‘preferred supplier’ to a defence contractor where from initially machining components we still produce but also buy-in parts and assemble a complete unit including the electronic elements.” DKW Engineering now also machines titanium, nickel, nimonic super alloys, high temperature alloys and Beryllium copper alloys as well as plastics, PEEK, ceramics, castings and bar sourced components. Turned parts are produced from the installed capacity giving between 1 mm to 450 mm turning diameter by 3 m long in batches typically between 10 and 10,000. Prototype parts are often required and prismatic components tend to be run in batches of up to 1,000.

Candidates will need to have come from a CNC machining background. Ideally with experience programming/setting Nakamura and Puma Twin Spindle Machining Centres.Job role:

The key activities outlined below represent an overview only of the above position and should not be seen as a definitive list of activities. A flexible and responsive approach to this role is vital, together with the initiative in identifying and focusing on the needs of the business and its customers.

Required skills:

• As a CNC Programmer/ Setter/ Turner you will be tasked with programming Twin Spindle/Twin Turret machining centres using Fanuc controls, setting tools and offset data and precision machining as required.
• To dimensionally inspect manufactured product, using a variety of measuring equipment, to engineering drawings.
• Be able to demonstrate a proven track record of CNC programming within a manufacturing / engineering environment
• Computer literate at Microsoft Excel and Word to a basic level
• Able to work to tight schedules and priorities work load
• At least 5 years experience in a similar role is preferred
• Be an interactive team player, promoting and being part of a continual improvement, departmental multi-skilled team
• Remuneration dependant on experience
• DKW Engineering is an equal opportunities employer

Hours are 06:00 – 14:30 Mon-Friday one week and 14:30 – 00:00 Mon-Thursday and 14:30 – 18:30 on a Friday another week. (40 Hours)

Or day shift which is Mon-Thursday 07:30-16:30 and Friday 07:30-12:30 (40 Hours).

To apply please email a copy of your cv to jobs@dkwengineering.co.uk F.A.O Daniel Iacobucci or post to HR Manager, DKW Engineering Ltd, Quartremaine Road, Airport Industrial Estate, Portsmouth, Hampshire PO3 5RD