Today, numerous manufacturing technology specialists are developing cutting-edge solutions to address the rising need for innovation in the aerospace manufacturing sector. However, a majority of these solution providers struggle to be at par with the demands due to the rising costs of manufacturing services, which hinder the development of affordable components with superior quality. A seasoned veteran in the aerospace manufacturing industry, Shaun Copas, was early to recognise these barriers to growth. He realised that the industry needs high quality and low-cost aerospace components that are delivered accurately and on time. In the pursuit of this, Shaun established his award winning company COPAS to fill in the gaps of aerospace and aviation manufacturing excellence. The company offers a portfolio of three, four, and five-axis precision mills for hard and soft metal components. Furthermore, Shaun encourages the use of the latest robotics technologies to imbue the greatest efficiencies into his company’s operations, drive down the cost of its offerings, and minimise the carbon footprint of COPAS’ manufacturing processes. According to the owner/ managing director, Shaun, the ethos of his company is, “to help clients lower cost requirements and enhance their competitive edge on the global stage,” for which they are constantly researching and implementing the latest manufacturing technology.

Owing to Shaun’s dynamic business focus, passion for continuous improvement, and strategic thinking, he has always been able to instil a culture of innovation within the company. To that end, he has established the COPAS Academy of Excellence to offer training programs that ensure a continuous skill enhancement of its workforce. With the development of highly skilled personnel, COPAS delivers its promise of ‘getting it right the first time.’ Besides, today, the company also extends its manufacturing excellence to educational institutions and sponsors secondary schools to take part in the UK Youth Rocketry Challenge with its COPAS Cares Initiative.

Since its inception in 2006, COPAS has a proven record for the production of 100 percent accurate three, four, and five-axis milling. Its strong experience in CAD/CAM engineering and quality assurance makes them perfectly poised to manufacture components that are programmed and quality checked to meet industry standards. At the same time, the company’s five-year growth strategy and continual investments in the latest automation and robotics technology drive the delivery of cost-effective, high quality, and timely manufacturing services.

Today, the company has built a strong reputation based on its excellence in engineering, production, delivery, and customer service. Looking ahead, Shaun believes that total automation in aerospace manufacturing will be the best way to drive down costs in hard metal milling of precision-engineered components. To this end, his company has introduced pallet and robotic automation to increase its round-the-clock production capabilities in five-axis hard metal automation.

To abide by its promise of delivering manufacturing innovation, COPAS is continually making significant investments in state-of-the-art machinery with plans to further develop the Company’s fully automated hard metal machining centre of excellence. This establishment will put COPAS firmly on the path to replace its three-axis milling centres with robotic five-axis milling centres.

Lastly, with COPAS acquiring additional industry-leading quality accreditations, AS9100 and SC21, the firm intends to penetrate newer target markets.