This month, Perfection Tool and Die, now known as PTD Metalworking Professionals, located in the Anderbolt area of Boksburg, Gauteng, will celebrate its 50-year anniversary. The company specialises as a general engineering machining shop and services industries such as the motor, plastics, general engineering, coal, gold and platinum mining sectors, machining all types of precision small and medium size mass production components.
The company was established by Norbert Bohn in 1974 and at the time focussed on tool and die manufacture, but it wasn’t long before the arrival of CNC machines transformed the landscape somewhat and the company ventured into component manufacture for the armament industry, amongst others.
During the 1980’s, Raul Dos Santos joined Norbert after immigrating to South Africa from Portugal once he had qualified as a fitter and turner. He joined Norbert specifically to run the CNC machines as he had some experience with programming. He was soon offered a partnership in the business, and the rest, as they say, is history.
PTD Metalworking Professionals has since gone on to build a highly respectable name for itself in the manufacturing sphere both locally and internationally where precision not only comes in the form of components manufactured, but also in company culture and work ethic, as well as its general approach to running the business.
Filipe Dos Santos, Raul’s son, joined the company as an apprentice in 2004 and after working his way up from the shop floor through the ranks is now a Director. Norbert’s grandson, Jessé Bohn, who joined the company about 12 years ago is also a Director, and Filipe’s brother Miguel is the third Director having joined the company back in 2007. In 2018 the company went through a transitional period which saw the three Directors take over the company from the founding family members in what they refer to as a generational buyout. This was also when the trio decided to change the name of the company from Perfection Tool and Die to PTD Metalworking Professionals.
Original owners Raul Dos Santos and Norbert Bohn
New developments
“Because we have such a diverse customer base across many industries, we have been able to explore more opportunities on the jobbing front in recent years. We have also been able to explore a lot of developmental work alongside customers. For instance, where they might be working with a niche type product, with our machining and design experience, we have been able to help them improve their product,” says Jessé.
Filipe adds that PTD incorporated SolidWorks PDM (Product Data Management) into their design workflow a few years ago to aid this. Essentially it works as a central storage location for CAD models and various documents, ranging from emails to images, on the company’s server that tracks versions and automates workflows. It has search capabilities ensuring you always have access to the most current files and also allows multiple people access to the files enabling collaboration on designs across multiple locations.
Current owners Filipe and Miguel Dos Santos with Jessé Bohn, sons and grandson of the original owners
“We have actually also experienced our biggest growth post-Covid and have been exceptionally busy. If we just look at it from a staff complement perspective, about a year ago we employed just under 60 people, today that number stands at 97. We haven’t needed to exponentially increase our equipment and machines – we have a lot of those, although we have added a few CNCs that we have bought second hand – we have just exponentially increased our output.”
“We have really also just adjusted our strategy and managed the operational side of the business better – making better use of our machines, creating different cells that operate more effectively and increased operating hours on certain machines where necessary. This has all happened alongside the growth of the customer base and we just adapt accordingly. We had also been renting out a building next to our current factory with a space of about 1 200m2 and have now taken this space back. We are currently in the process of renovating it and will integrate it into our current space next door. Essentially it will enable us to further streamline some of our current operations such as handling and dispatch, quality control and also make room for some new machines that we are looking at purchasing. We have hired an applications engineer and he has been busy refining some of our processes, for example on the tooling side, enabling us further cost savings there, and he will come in handy when we give the go ahead for the new machines ensuring they can be run as efficiently as possible.”
PTD Metalworking Professionals has over 70 CNC machines on their shop floor including 56 CNC lathes
10 years ago, Filipe told Metalworking News: “Anyone can buy machines and sell labour and capacity. So, what truly matters is how effectively they deploy that labour and capacity to deliver maximum value to their customers. And it is here that Perfection Tool and Die truly excels.” Now, 10 years later, this philosophy, rather approach, to the working environment still applies and this will continue to set the company apart from its competition – innovation being a key aspect of this.
One such example Filipe explains is that the company has now gone through a modification approach to its normal working week. It’s still a 40-hour working week, but instead of it being a five-day working week, PTD now operates a four-day working week running two 10-hour shifts per day. This has obvious benefits for employees such as a 3-day weekend for them, but it also alleviates extra financial burdens on these employees because they now have one less day a week that they need to pay transport costs for.
Of course, if there is work to be done, it is done on the Friday or over the weekend, but this is then calculated as overtime. And, traditionally, not a great deal happens in our industry on a Friday afternoon anyway so this is a much better utilisation of everyone’s time.
PTD Metalworking Professionals have a diverse customer base across many industries
Miguel explains that a solar installation that PTD undertook – the first phase of the project being completed in 2022 – has had an effective electricity cost saving of about a third thus far with the system to be expanded upon in time too. He notes that PTD have also installed a generator that can keep the machines running during load shedding so that production time is not compromised. During this time, PTD have also attained their ISO 9001:2015 accreditation, but also follow many other quality control procedures and environmental protection measures that ensure that the company remains competitive with international standards.
Kennametal Certified Channel Partner
Another important milestone PTD can be proud of is their appointment as an official Kennametal Certified Channel Partner. “PTD Metalworking Professionals has for a long time had a close relationship with Kennametal, since the 1980’s in fact, both as a supplier of their soft rock mining consumables that we manufacture and as Kennametal’s client for tooling purchases for our own needs.”
CNC turning capabilities are between 5mm and 450mm turning diameter with a maximum length of 1.8m between centres. The CNC milling capabilities have a maximum table size of 1 450mm x 700mm and 750mm high (Z axis)
“As this relationship grew over time, a strategic opportunity arose whereby PTD got the opportunity to become a Kennametal Certified Channel Partner. It just made sense and PTD are now one of only two of these certified partners in South Africa. We currently employ eight people to specifically handle this side of the business, and it’s been going really well for us,” explains Jessé.
With 56 CNC lathes, 13 CNC machining centers, three CNC spark eroders, pedestal drills as well as a number of conventional milling and turning machines on the floor of the 4 000m² under roof facility, there is a huge amount of machining capacity that the company has at their disposal.
A view of one section of the shop floor
CNC turning capabilities are between 5mm and 450mm turning diameter with a maximum length of 1.8m between centres. The CNC milling capabilities have a maximum table size of 1 450mm x 700mm and 750mm high (Z axis). A number of the machines have 4-axis capabilities as well as 5th axis where necessary. Conventional turning can be carried out on components up to three metres between centres with a one metre swing. PTD have also purchased a 3D printer which they have been using for various prototyping work.
“The one thing you can’t get back in this environment is time, that’s why it is so important to have the machining capacity that we do. We are able to process orders quickly and we have a lot of customers that we are mass producing for – repeat orders – so while there have been times that some of the machines have stood idle, that’s not the case for us now,” concluded Jessé.
For further details contact PTD Metalworking Professionals on TEL: 011 918 3177 or visit www.pertool.co.za
