The outbreak of a devastating fire in April 2025 could have spelt curtains for Western Pegasus, a precision engineering company based in Birmingham.
But, through the leadership, resilience and doggedness of President Andy Wincel, the dedication of the company’s 40-strong workforce, a sympathetic bank that provided immediate funding assistance to help the company get back on its feet, and strong business partnerships, most notably with United Machining, Western Pegasus was able to get back on its feet and be up and running within three months.
United Machining, the EDM, milling, additive manufacturing (AM) and laser texturing machine tool manufacturer, and supplier of advanced automation, software and tooling systems, has recently supplied Western Pegasus, a market-leading precision engineering company specialising in the design, manufacture and supply of high-accuracy and customised spline gauges, master gears and spline related inspection gauging, with three new advanced AgieCharmilles wire EDM machines.
The machines, a CUT 2000 and two CUT 1000 models, were installed at Western Pegasus’ Kitts Green facility in Birmingham – premises that the company had only recently (and hastily) relocated to following a major fire that destroyed its original Tyseley-based operation that had been the company’s home for 40-years.
The three new machines, secured in part by an overdraft facility of £850,000 followed by a funding package of £1.2 million from HSBC UK, have replaced a number of previously acquired AgieCharmilles EDM machines that had been effectively ‘put out of action’ by the Easter Sunday fire.
Steve Eames, Relationship Manager at HSBC UK added: “Supporting Western Pegasus through such challenging times been a highly rewarding experience. We acted quickly to support its recovery, and the resilience shown by the team was remarkable. It’s fantastic to see the business thriving.”
Says Andy Wincel, Western Pegasus’ president:
“We have developed strong relationships with United Machining (previously GF Machining Solutions) over many years and, to increase our capacity and improve our capabilities, have regularly invested in the company’s high-end wire EDM machines.
“These machines, renowned for their ability to deliver consistent and repeatable high accuracies and superior surface finishes, are our ‘technology of choice’ for machining Western Pegasus’ custom master gears, spline gauges and spline related inspection gauging etc.”
Western Pegasus’ gauge and gear inspection equipment used and specified globally by the automotive, aerospace, marine and agricultural industries, measure the precise dimensional accuracy and geometric tolerances of gear teeth including – tooth profiles, pitch deviations, thickness and size, lead and helix angles, runout etc.
Accuracy in the manufacture of gear and spline inspection equipment is critical and is non-negotiable (i.e., better than +/- 2 microns on gear teeth flanges and profiles), and is why Western Pegasus has invested, and has continued to invest in AgieCharmilles advanced wire EDM machine tool technology.
Equipped with a range of innovative technologies and features (i.e., Intelligent Spark Protection (ISPS), iWire Technology, the Uniqua iHMI interface and Automatic Wire Change (AWC) capabilities), AgieCharmilles wire EDM machines deliver high precision, fast processing speeds and unrivalled machining flexibility and reliability.
The fire
Armed with an array of advanced machine tool technologies, robust and proven manufacturing processes and a highly-experienced workforce, Western Pegasus was literally ‘geared up’ for further growth.
Then the fire started in an adjacent factory, and one of the “most advanced wire EDM facilities in the UK”, according to Andy Wincel, “was destroyed.”
Any manufacturing company that has experienced a major fire understands the myriad of different, and often competing, demands that need to be addressed and resolved.
To make things worse, if at all possible, for Western Pegasus was that the fire broke out on Easter Sunday which affected company communications and that Andy Wincel was thousands of miles away – at home in Australia.
Continues Andy Wincel:
“You wouldn’t wish this on your worst enemy.
“Dealing with loss adjusters, assessors and insurance claims is one thing, but when you add in to the mix a workforce that, quite understandably, is on tenterhooks wondering whether they still have jobs to go to, as well as a number of customers wondering about the ‘status’ of their respective jobs, the situation was fraught…to put it mildly.
“We lost a lot. Our servers and IT equipment went ‘up in smoke’. Our advanced machine tools and ancillary technologies were severely compromised, at best. And all records, documentation and work in progress were gone too.”
It’s all about the customer
With an unswerving focus on customer care, Andy Wincel made the decision ‘not to call it quits’, and set about planning, almost phoenix-like, the rebirth of Western Pegasus.
He decided that a warehouse facility he had acquired previously in Kitts Green, some 16 miles away from the damaged and, as it transpired, soon to be condemned Tyseley factory, would become Western Pegasus’ new home.
From this initial decision others, often made concurrently, followed in quick succession.
“We wanted to become operational as soon as possible,” remembers Andy Wincel. “But it was important that we did things methodically and clinically.”
As well as removing plant and equipment from the old site, checking on its viability and usefulness, and storing it for future use or disposal, a complete modernisation and revamp of the Kitts Green facility had to be planned and implemented.
This was a big task as it involved not only clearing out and cleaning the whole premises but, also included sorting out the electrics and plumbing, laying new floors and erecting a new roof, building office spaces and toilets, designing and configuring a temperature-controlled machine shop, and constructing an accredited inspection laboratory etc.
It was a monumental undertaking made more difficult by the tight timescales involved.
Says Andy Wincel:
“In addition to the building works, I also contacted United Machining UK, specifically managing director, Martin Spencer, to see if he could assist us in acquiring a number of advanced wire EDM machines in double-quick time.”
As mentioned previously, Western Pegasus has developed strong relationships with United Machining and over the years has acquired ten advanced AgieCharmilles wire EDM machines and two System 3R automation systems from the company.
These machines comprising 4 x CUT 1000, 2 x CUT 2000, a CUT P 350, a CUT 300mS/Sp, a Progress V2 and an older Agie Vertex 3 (forerunner to the CUT 1000 machine), had been severely compromised by the fire and, from Western Pegasus’ perspective, were no longer fit for purpose.
Remembers Andy Wincel:
“United Machining was our first port of call and fortunately the company mobilised its resources to help us out.”
United Machining’s response
“First and foremost we wanted to help,” says Martin Spencer, United Machining UK’s managing director:
“Western Pegasus is a good and loyal customer, and we believed that Andy and his team, with the right support, could turn it around and make a success of things.
“Having spoken to Andy about his immediate requirements, we identified the type and number of new AgieCharmilles wire EDM machines he needed to re-start machining operations; these comprised a CUT 2000 and two CUT 1000 models.”
However, because of the urgency of Western Pegasus’ situation and that advanced and highly sophisticated EDM machines, like the CUT 1000 and CUT 2000, are not stock machines but are built to order, the assistance provided to Western Pegasus took on an international dimension, with the AgieCharmilles’ manufacturing factory in Zandone, Switzerland marshalling its capabilities to build three replacement machines at breakneck speed.
Says Martin Spencer:
“It was a real collaborative effort, and one that demonstrated how United Machining is able, and always willing, to pull out all the stops for its customers.”
This lateral bit of thinking was inspired, and it worked.
Starting in June and over a period of six weeks, three wire EDM machines were delivered and installed separately, one at a time, at Western Pegasus’ facility enabling production to occur and high quality parts to be made.
Summary
“When you are up against it, you really find out who your partners are,” says Andy Wincel.
“United Machining pulled out all the stops for us. They not only helped us clear the old site and arrange safe storage of the equipment that was in there, but also identified where and how we could acquire three new machines, as well as organising their delivery and installation to fit in with our building schedules.
“They also provided us with expert applications and logistics advice and support to help us ‘hit the ground running’.
“The fire completely took out our manufacturing operation but in just two and a half months we were back in business. We simply could not have achieved this without United Machining and its suppliers – and that’s what a real partnership is all about.”