JJ Churchill uses engineering excellence in the fight against COVID-19

Precision engineering firm JJ Churchill has reduced the traditional response time by two thirds for parts required by Surface Technology International (STI) for asymptomatic COVID-19 testing equipment.

In a matter of weeks, the company went from receiving the initial telephone enquiry to the manufacture of production parts, with prototype parts machined in days. 

JJ Churchill deployed its rapid prototyping capabilities to produce a first development part within hours of receiving the drawings from STI, a specialist contract electronics manufacturer.

This enabled STI to draw on its own swift response times to put these testing machines into the hands of medics around the country as quickly as possible. The machined components are an integral part of the operation of the testing units. 

Mark Cooper, JJ Churchill’s managing director, said: “We can achieve this speed of reaction due to our highly skilled and experienced engineering and operations teams. We actively worked with STI through a complex prove out process where design tweaks were required at various stages. Working closely with our customers and understanding their needs, enables successful integration of critical requirements.”

Simon Best, Chairman at STI added: “Healthcare professionals around the UK have stepped up to the plate relentlessly. However, to help save lives and protect their staff from the virus, they need state-of-the-art equipment and they need it instantly.

“Working with JJ Churchill has enabled us to produce asymptomatic test equipment at speed, and consistently to extremely high reliability."

Domenic Seminerio, National Sales Manager at Matsuura Machinery Ltd said: “The Matsuura MAM72-35V 5 axis CNC machining centre is designed for long periods of unmanned, automated running, and the production of high accuracy parts.  

“For an important project like this, you need reliability and accuracy and that’s exactly what this machine delivers, time after time. JJ Churchill have utilised this machine to its fullest, exploiting every second of every day, to rapidly respond to the demand.”

JJ Churchill is also celebrating the delivery of its 10,000th production part to the medical devices industry as it ramps up production.