When Innovate UK recently announced a £15 million competition to encourage best practice in British manufacturing in the West Midlands, most observers would have discounted many of the less conspicuous products helping to fly the flag for the UK. Like our precision washers and shims, for example…
But they shouldn’t!
Here at Stephen’s Gaskets we have a long history of manufacturing expertise going back 70 years. We started producing precision washers and shims for the automotive industry in its heyday in the austere post-war years, back in 1947.
After realising our shims and washers were highly valued by the suppliers of cars and lorries, we started to diversify. That meant reaching out to a huge array of industries, from construction and medical to power generation and, more recently, fashion retail in Europe.
This eclectic approach has helped to drive our business and also ensured we have played our part in making the West Midlands, and Britain, a manufacturing dynamo.
Our precision washers and shims are small but perfectly formed – by our precision engineering team.
Shims and washers can be produced by all manner of metals from aluminium to stainless steel and brass. We even recently introduced a high carbon sprint tell shim washer.
Precision washers & shims -What’s so special about?
Each of these are renowned as a durable, flexible and strong component. They help to keep machines running smoothly, while ensuring all the accompanying parts are working well and, importantly, have a long working life. So as the shim washer starts to wear, the component still has years of life left – ensuring the client also saves money by such longevity.
What’s also unique about our shims and washers – and particularly our new high carbon spring steel shim washers – is that they can be used in almost any application. We even make them in bespoke sizes, specifically for the client.
Our precision washers and shims can be manufactured as one-off products or we can manufacture them by the bucket load. And we can turn this high volume product around as quickly as our clients need them.
Stephens Gaskets is based in Oldbury, near Birmingham. Along with our shims and washers, we also manufacture gaskets, cylinder head gaskets, graphite gaskets and many more products. That’s why we’re flying the flag for manufacturing in Britain.
For more information, please contact us on 0121 544 5808 or visit our washers page.
Read our previous blog post on Shims Washers and Formula 1 Winning or Losing.