Simon Odling, managing director of Lentus commented: “There are a number of high-speed machining centres on the market, mainly of European origin, that are directly applicable to production in the composites industry.
“We chose the Sahos Dynamic for a number of reasons. In particular, we felt that the construction of the machine when compared to its competitors was an improvement on the industry norm, providing a stiffer, more stable machining environment.
“In addition, we specified direct measurement in all axes including the 5-axis head. These provide absolute feedback and minimise time-consuming maintenance and down-time associated with aligning the axes, as well as providing significantly improved positional repeatability.
“Having tested the market with other local machine users, we received positive feedback from other Sahos machine owners in our sector. The consensus was that this Czech manufacturer is not as well known in the UK as other brands but is a rising star in the industry.”
Lentus is in the ascendant as well. Part of Polar Technology Management Group, it is located on Polar’s 16-acre site in Eynsham that has planning permission to be developed into a large technology campus within the next few years. Lentus was established as recently as February 2014 by Polar partners Scott Roberts and Mike Dewhirst and is managed by Mr Odling and technical director Paul Lewis. Lentus was formed initially to supply composite products for superconducting magnets used in MRI scanners manufactured in the UK.
The following year, the firm achieved a £2.6 million turnover with 35 staff and has more than doubled the size of its business in 2016 through diversification into industrial, marine, aerospace and automotive applications. Lentus regularly develops and manufactures new composite products for the motorsport sector, from GT and World Rally to Formula One, as well as for high performance car and electric vehicle producers.