ANOTRONIC LTD. was formed in 1982 to specialise in electrical machining methods notably electric discharge machining and electrochemical machining. The founding directors Norman White and Paul Mann had many years experien......ANOTRONIC LTD. was formed in 1982 to specialise in electrical machining methods notably electric discharge machining and electrochemical machining. The founding directors Norman White and Paul Mann had many years experience in this field. Norman White joined Rolls-Royce Ltd. as a jig & tool draughtsman (non-trade apprentice) in 1959 and extended his apprenticeship by one year to gain HNC (mechanical) with endorsements, HNC (production) with endorsements and a Diploma in Management Studies. He moved out of the drawing office into the post of production (process) engineer in the ECF (Electrochemical Forming) Dept. - PC07 at the end of his apprenticeship covering both EDM tool design and machine tool purchase/trials etc. and also incorporating EDM, lasers and other non-traditional processes. He left Rolls-Royce late 1969 to join Advanced Developments Engineering Ltd. at Bletchley, - a division of Matchless Machines Ltd. at Horsham as Production Manager. In 1971 he became Production Director. The company had then been expanded substantially operating 15 electric discharge machines on 2 and 3 shift sub-contract. By 1972 he was also elected onto the Board of the Main Holding Company and together with two other directors started a new company Milscale Ltd. to be engaged in the manufacture of EDM power supplies under licence from AGIE Switzerland. This company expanded into development of their own electric discharge machines and power supplies and later in 1979 into electrochemical sinking and deburring machines. During the same period Advanced Developments Engineering Ltd. expanded further to operating 25 electric discharge machines and nine electrochemical machines with a full supporting toolroom on 3 shift basis. In the early 1980s the recession in the engineering industry was biting just when Milscale Engineering (now called Mecon Ltd) was increasing its machine manufacturing throughput to expand into Europe and North America. The drain on group working capital was starting to tell and Norman White and Paul Mann - the manager of the Machine Tool Design Dept. decided to leave the group and start Anotronic Ltd. commencing business in 1982. The Matchless Group unfortunately liquidated 6 months later. Paul Mann served a five year apprenticeship with Standard Triumph Ltd. attending Luton College of Technology gaining an Ordinary National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering. On completion of his apprenticeship he was a Body Design Engineer and after a brief spell with Vauxhall Motors Ltd. went into freelance draughting specialising in weapons systems support vehicles working for companies such as British Aerospace, Advanced Fighting Vehicles and Marshalls of Cambridge. After three years of freelance draughting he joined D.E. Greenaway Ltd. of Newport Pagnell involved in the design and manufacture of machine tool, special purpose machines and scientific instruments. Customers included, Rolls Royce, Cranfield Unit for Precision Engineering. Sogenique Ltd and Cambridge University. Having gained considerable experience in the Machine Tool Industry he joined Milscale Engineering in 1975 shortly to become Design Manager with the company. He headed a design team involved in the design and manufacture of EDM and ECM machines and associated tooling and products. ANOTRONIC LTD. commenced trading in Milton Keynes concentrating initially in electrochemical machining and deburring and the supply of electrochemical deburring machines centrifuges and associated equipment. A full supporting toolroom and workshop was installed from the beginning and two production managers (with 24 years EDM/ECM experience between them) from the Matchless organisation were appointed to run the toolroom and sub-contract facilities. The senior electronics engineer from Mecon Ltd. was employed to develop the ECM/ECD and EDM power supplies. By 1983 Anotronic had drawn up a new specification/design for a new range of EDM and employed a Far East company to manufacture the machine tool to marry into its own power supplies. The first EDM was sold mid - 1983 and have continued with developments since. Sub-contract EDM was also offered from this time with Anotronic using its own machines - a good proving ground. Expansion involved the addition of 50% more floor space in 1985 and adding a similar amount again in 1986. Anotronic then operated 14 electric discharge and electrochemical machines on sub-contract in addition to a conventional machine shop. customers include British Aerospace, Lucas, M.O.D., Plessey, H & S Aviation, GEC and many more. They manufacture and sell their own range of electrochemical machines and design and sell a wide range of electric discharge machines including N.C. controlled and full CNC. In May 1990 Anotronic Ltd. purchased larger premises 12 miles south (just north of Leighton Buzzard) with increased office accommodation, a fully equipped demonstration area and larger workshop premises with greater working height to allow for the build of larger machine tools. A further extension of 25% workshop space was added in 1998. In 1992 another CNC wire erosion machine with taper cutting was bought to accompany the two AGIE machines already in use. In 1995 a larger 5 axis machine with a cutting depth of 410mm was bought followed by a further machine in 1996 to replace the older AGIE machines. In addition to selling EDM hole drills, Anotronic operate machines for wire EDM start holes and for small multi-hole machining for the aerospace and other industries. By 2001 Anotronic had increased its sub-contract capacity to more than 40 EDM and ECM machines, increasing the toolroom / machine shop capacity accordingly. In addition to its selling agency for 3 different EDM machine suppliers, Anotronic continue to manufacture special purpose EDMs (including "portable" units for use a power stations, shipyards etc.) and ECMs - deburring, diesinking and STEM drills. In 2003 Anotronic raised its BS EN ISO accreditation to BS EN ISO 9001:2000.
