Waterjet-cutting specialist firm predicts huge revenue growth
JETCUT, the waterjet-cutting specialist firm which helped create artist Alasdair Gray’s acclaimed Hillhead Underground mural (left), is predicting recession-defying revenue growth of 30% in 2012-13 after investing in new equipment and an aggressive foray into new markets.
The firm, founded in 2005 and located at Hillington industrial park outside Glasgow, was chosen by the creators of the acclaimed 2m x12m panorama of Glasgow’s west end to help bring it to life, as it is one of the few UK companies specialising in the application of waterjet technology. The technique was required on Gray’s jigsaw-like mural, created in conjunction with Nichol Wheatley of Perfect Circle Art, as ceramic surfaces are liable to crack due to heat and friction during cutting by conventional saws or drills.
JetCut’s process involves firing a computer-directed jet of water 0.8mm wide, which travels at three times the speed of sound and is mixed with special abrasive garnet sand, onto a horizontal surface. The jet can cut through any metal up to 150mm thick, along with any other material apart from diamond or toughened glass. JetCut offers cutting services for stone, glass, wood, rubber and plastic surfaces.
JetCut’s co-owner business development director Geoff Lockett said of the mural project: “The design was programmed into the computer which commands the
We can turn things around quickly, and are open to working in diverse sectors
waterjet to cut exactly where required. It’s the only technology which combines the ability to cut curves, holes, and lines in tiles and follow complex drawings very accurately.
“If you can imagine it, we can cut it. We can cut any material to any profile.”
Lockett ascribed growth in a tough climate to “attracting more of the specialist work that used to go down south”.
He added: “A recent reorganisation of the business means that we are also able to turn things around quickly, and are also very open to working in diverse sectors. We have the flexibility and the readiness to cope with low-value, high-volume jobs, as well as the higher- value major civil engineering projects.
“We are also doing well out of speciality work for the oil and gas sector, which is flying at the moment. The application of the technology is so broad that our clients vary from sophisticated engineers such as Doosan Babcock or James Fisher Marine to individual artists and sculptors.”