Hyprosteps is a well-known UK manufacturer of safety steps and handling equipment, trusted by everyone from warehouses to retail stores. Working from their purpose-built factory in Brandon, Suffolk, they produce an extensive range, from safety steps and trolleys to turntables, order pickers and custom-built handling gear. Their products are built to be tough, reliable and ready for the demands of busy workplaces.
Central to their safety-step range are the metal treads – an important component that must be exceptionally strong, accurately made, and suitable for heavy, everyday use. When their in-house press suddenly failed, Hyprosteps faced a big setback. Without a reliable way to produce their pressed-metal treads, their manufacturing process stalled, and customer orders were at risk. They needed a trusted local partner who could step quickly, handle their tooling, and produce high-quality pressed-metal components with total consistency. Ladbrook UK was the perfect fit.
The challenge
Hyprosteps had long produced their own metal treads in-house. When their press suffered a significant mechanical failure, production stopped immediately. It was a serious problem because, without the treads, they couldn’t complete their safety steps, and without completed steps, they couldn’t get orders out to their customers.
Their tooling repair company recommended Ladbrook UK as a reliable partner that could produce the metal parts quickly and exactly to their specifications. While the treads themselves weren’t overly complex, they needed to be punched with exact accuracy using Hyprosteps’ existing tooling and produced in three different sizes. The parts also had to be delivered promptly to allow Hyprosteps to fold, weld, assemble and finish their products on schedule.
This project offered Ladbrook UK the opportunity to demonstrate not just technical skill in pressed-metal production, but also the reliability and responsiveness Hyprosteps urgently needed.
The solution
After discussing the requirements and visiting Ladbrook UK’s facility, a clear plan was put in place. Ladbrook UK used Hyprosteps’ existing tooling and set it up in one of our precision-pressing machines, enabling them to punch their tread patterns swiftly and accurately. This meant we could produce clean, consistent pressed-metal blanks and keep everything moving without delay.
With Ladbrook UK’s skilled operators and modern equipment, all three tread blank sizes were produced exactly as needed. This meant Hyprosteps could get straight back to folding, welding and turning those blanks into the strong, rigid treads at the heart of their safety-step range.
Throughout, Ladbrook UK kept things clear and ensured the parts were manufactured and delivered quickly. This helped Hyprosteps get back on its feet fast and avoid what could have been an expensive and stressful pause in production.
