The Cheltenham-based company, established in 1927, faced challenging years from the 1990s until 2006 when managing director David Arthur took control and Delapena's order book was restored to health.

Driving its growth has been a willingness to invest both in the development of new machines and in advanced technology to improve its processes and production systems.

Delapena manufactures honing machines for the defence, aerospace, medical, hydraulic and automotive sectors, processing all kinds of materials including glass. Previously hand-crafted, the solution implemented incorporating Siemens WinAC (SIMATIC soft PLC on a SIMATIC IPC) and SINAMICS (S110 servo drives networked via Profibus to the PLC) now allows the process to be perfected and repeatable. Furthermore, in specifying Siemens technology, the company can be confident that its customers can obtain a high level of service and support wherever they are in the world.

It is not only in its machines that Delapena is benefiting from Siemens technology. In the restructure and expansion of its production facilities, the company benefits from world class control and integration through Siemens Totally Integrated Automation (TIA) solution. Furthermore, it has invested in machining centres and lathes supplied by XYZ Machine Tools featuring Siemens' latest SINUMERIK 828D CNC with ShopMill conversational programming.

TIA allows the requirements of efficient configuration, faster integration and commissioning, greater flexibility in production and higher availability and energy savings to be implemented efficiently. This is particularly important for Delapena which serves international markets and needs to deliver a global service to customers. TIA enables the company to fully utilise all optimisation opportunities over the entire life cycle of a machine or plant from planning and engineering through to operation and maintenance and expansion and modernisation.