Thornbury Manufacturing Limited (TML), one of Wittmann UK’s long-term customers, continues to thrive amid 2025’s difficult trading headwinds and uncertain UK Government commitment to manufacturers.
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Under founder and owner Dick Walsh – now assisted by his son Michael – TML has grown into a valued 2nd tier supplier for many industries, with medical and healthcare applications taking the current lion’s share at some 44% of company turnover.
Dick says, “The core of our business remains a hard-working and very well-trained workforce. The performance of our shop floor is the best advert for all our customers, and we work to keep it so.”
TML loses no opportunity to upskill its operators wherever possible. For example, these personnel now batch weigh production of insert mouldings by the machine, both as a quality and inventory check.
Automation is another area where the TML business is a recent convert. Dick states, “When investing in Wittmann moulding machines, it’s essential for us to include Wittmann automation as part of the package. Not only do we get machine-machine synergy from source, but we’re also enabled to ‘plug and produce’ from start-up.” Thanks to detailed assistance and automation built by Wittmann UK’s Tyler Abraham, TML’s first foray into automation has now resulted in a doubling of productivity from its SmartPower production cell. This recent service work was entirely in keeping with TML’s second key business protocol, which, according to Dick, is “never let a customer down.”
According to TML Director and Mould Shop Manager, Gary Tillyer, “The repeatability in the new Wittmann IMMs is so good that any variation whatsoever can be attributed to operator error rather than machine variation. The machine performance is extremely high, with low maintenance, very low energy cost and hassle-free.”
Based on ‘set and forget’ moulding together with the benefits of automation, the prospects for the Wittmann/TML partnership look very healthy for the future.
