Langley Alloys knows its way around materials that are considered “difficult” in the industry. The company from Newcastle sells bars, tubes and sheets made of high-performance metals, but is also active as a component manufacturer. 70 employees take care of cutting duplex or super-duplex stainless steels, high-strength austenitic stainless steels, copper-nickel and nickel-based alloys. Customers from different industries trust in the precision, reliability and expertise of the specialised trader. The spectrum ranges from small workshops and the automotive industry to large steel constructors for bridges, industrial buildings or ships.

The Challenge

Langley Alloys’ saw fleet reached its limits after ten years – an expansion of capacity was not possible with the existing machines. In addition, the lack of space in the production hall prevented the acquisition of further band saws. The specialist had clear ideas about his new sawing solution: in any case, it should be possible to use carbide bands in order to achieve shorter cutting times for larger stocks of nickel alloys. With this idea, Langley Alloys approached KASTO’s UK branch in Milton Keynes to discuss possible options.

The Solution

For several years band saws of the KASTOtec AC 4, KASTOwin A 4.6 and KASTOwin pro AC 5.6, have been processing their difficult-to-cut metals. Langley Alloys were able to significantly increase the cutting capacity and precision – without complex monitoring.

Thanks to the improved CNC control of the KASTO machines, the employees can set up the different sawing jobs faster, utilising the machines to correctly set the speed and feed for each job, not having to rely on the operator’s knowledge – this opens up a greater potential for operator selection!

The KASTO saws handle all sawing jobs at Langley Alloys with very little down-time. If there are any problems, the KASTO Ltd. Service Team are always quickly on-site to service or maintain them. Since the purchase of the very first KASTO saw 6 years ago, the metal specialist have 8 KASTO machines in daily use across their UK sites – Very soon to be expanded!

The Conclusion

“KASTO’s band saws are ideal for cutting our difficult materials. Here we wanted to become more efficient, and we have succeeded with the new acquisitions,” Managing Director Rodney Rice explains the decision.

About KASTO

The KASTO Group, located in Achern in Baden, Germany, (KASTO Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG) specialises in sawing, storage, and automation technology for metal bar stock. The company is the world market and technology leader for metal sawing machines, semi-automatic and automatic storage systems for metal bar stock and sheet metal, automated handling equipment for metal bars, sheets, and cut-pieces including the necessary, intelligent software. With 180 years of experience, KASTO is one of the oldest family-owned businesses in Europe. 170 patents, more than 140,000 sawing machines sold across the globe, and over 2,300 installed automated storage systems are a reflection of the company’s success. Besides the subsidiary plant in Schalkau located in Thüringia, KASTO also operates subsidiaries in England, France, Singapore, China, Switzerland, and the USA, and has sales and service partners in many other countries.