thEY'RE FLEXIBLE AT FLEXICUT
Flexicut Engineering director Robbie O’Brien founded the Dandenong company in 2006 at age 26. Last week he was a finalist for the Young Manufacturer of the Year title at the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame awards.
He started his career as an apprentice fitter and turner with Larry Perkins Motor Sport, where he was introduced to a computer numerical control (CNC) machine during the third year of his apprenticeship. Mr O’Brien regularly worked back to 10pm to get the job done and continue his learning and development. When he finished his apprenticeship he went to work with leading CNC machine sales organisation John Hart and spent two years learning more about the machine range and how various businesses used them.
He had an unwavering belief he could do it better than most, borrowed $30,000, bought a secondhand machine and leased a small factory.Larry Perkins Motor Sport was his first customer and word of mouth helped the business grow. Mr O’Brien understood that motorsport needed first-class quality, delivery as close to immediately as possible, and a price that didn’t reflect the speed or quality. When Larry Perkins employees moved to new teams they took FlexiCut with them.
Today, FlexiCut can not only machine but also weld, fabricate, grind and engage in prototyping and reverse engineering. Its turnover has grown from nothing to more than $1 million in just over six years, and Mr O’Brien expects the growth to continue.
He started his career as an apprentice fitter and turner with Larry Perkins Motor Sport, where he was introduced to a computer numerical control (CNC) machine during the third year of his apprenticeship. Mr O’Brien regularly worked back to 10pm to get the job done and continue his learning and development. When he finished his apprenticeship he went to work with leading CNC machine sales organisation John Hart and spent two years learning more about the machine range and how various businesses used them.
He had an unwavering belief he could do it better than most, borrowed $30,000, bought a secondhand machine and leased a small factory.Larry Perkins Motor Sport was his first customer and word of mouth helped the business grow. Mr O’Brien understood that motorsport needed first-class quality, delivery as close to immediately as possible, and a price that didn’t reflect the speed or quality. When Larry Perkins employees moved to new teams they took FlexiCut with them.
Today, FlexiCut can not only machine but also weld, fabricate, grind and engage in prototyping and reverse engineering. Its turnover has grown from nothing to more than $1 million in just over six years, and Mr O’Brien expects the growth to continue.
flexicut helps do the impossible
Flexicut Engineering based in Dandenong, Victoria have been helping SMU Racing for a number of years now with engineering jobs that need specialized and precision expertise. From CNC turning and milling, to design to CAD and fabrication, Robbie O’Brien and the team at Flexicut is a one-stop shop for all of your engineering projects.
“There have been a number of jobs over they years where we were at a complete dead-end (some would be laughing as that isn’t hard when it comes to my engineering knowledge!). But seriously we have had some real challenges on projects like the design and build of a plenum manifold and various modifications to driveshafts”, commented Matt.
Robbie and the team are absolute specialists and make it look easy. They work with a number of the Supercar teams that is another indicator that they are leaders in this very specialized field. “We cannot thank the team at Flexicut enough for their help on some of these difficult projects which they always deliver on. They would have to be one of the easiest and friendliest teams to deal with and absolute number one when it comes to understanding quickly the task at hand”, said Matt.
Robbie and the team are absolute specialists and make it look easy. They work with a number of the Supercar teams that is another indicator that they are leaders in this very specialized field. “We cannot thank the team at Flexicut enough for their help on some of these difficult projects which they always deliver on. They would have to be one of the easiest and friendliest teams to deal with and absolute number one when it comes to understanding quickly the task at hand”, said Matt.
SPEEDING UP MEDICAL SCIENCE
A Dandenong engineering company is helping to accelerate the pace of medical science at the Australian Synchrotron. A specialist manufacturer of one-off parts for V8 supercar teams, Flexicut has begun making sample holders that will speed up the development of drugs to treat cancer, HIV-AIDS and other major diseases.
Researchers from around the world can use the sample holders, called pucks, to carry their samples to the Australian Synchrotron, where the pucks slot straight into a robot-controlled system for a technique called x-ray crystallography (macromolecular crystallography or ‘MX’ for short).
This new advance will make it much easier for researchers to analyse their samples online from the comfort of their own laboratories around Australia or overseas, speeding up the development of new drugs and improving our knowledge of how to treat diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS, blood clotting disorders, diabetes, transplant rejection, and many more.
“For the team at Flexicut, this was a change from our usual work in making one-off parts for V8 supercar teams,” Robbie O'Brien, Director of Flexicut, said. "The synchrotron job is exactly the type of work we love. The job requires very accurate tolerances and high quality work - the sort of thing we specialise in".
This new advance will make it much easier for researchers to analyse their samples online from the comfort of their own laboratories around Australia or overseas, speeding up the development of new drugs and improving our knowledge of how to treat diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS, blood clotting disorders, diabetes, transplant rejection, and many more.
“For the team at Flexicut, this was a change from our usual work in making one-off parts for V8 supercar teams,” Robbie O'Brien, Director of Flexicut, said. "The synchrotron job is exactly the type of work we love. The job requires very accurate tolerances and high quality work - the sort of thing we specialise in".
YOUNG BOSS WRAPS UP AWARDS
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HALF of the finalists for the Young Manufacturer of the Year title hailed from Melbourne’s south east.
Robbie O’Brien founded Dandenong’s FlexiCut Engineering with Randy De Rozario in 2006, aged 26.Mr O’Brien was finalist for the Young Manufacturer of the Year title last year as well.
He was named the Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL) 2008 Advanced Manufacturing Young Ambassador of the Year, and FlexiCut was a nominee for the 2013 Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce Premier Regional Business Awards.
Mr O’Brien started his career as an apprentice fitter and turner with Larry Perkins Motor Sport, where he was introduced to a computer numerical control (CNC) machine.
After his apprenticeship he worked with leading CNC machine sales organisation John Hart for two years before borrowing $30,000, buying a second-hand machine and leasing a small factory. Larry Perkins Motor Sport was his first customer and word of mouth helped the business grow.
When Larry Perkins employees moved to new teams they took FlexiCut with them. Today, FlexiCut can not only machine but also weld, fabricate, grind and engage in prototyping and reverse engineering.
“We’re selling a service, the experience,” Mr O’Brien said.“We want repeat business from our customers.”
quality goes a long way
Robbie O’Brien has an undeniable passion for machining, and the success of his Dandenong-based CNC machining business FlexiCut Engineering is a true testament to how hard work and being good at your trade can pay off.
After completing a fitting and turning apprenticeship in one of Australia’s leading V8 Supercar race teams, Mr O’Brien worked for John Hart specialising in CNC machining and training before taking the gamble and investing in his own business.
Mr O’Brien is quick to give credit where credit is due and says he has a great deal of respect for the professional training and valuable experienced gained during his time at John Hart,
“John Hart not only taught me the ins-and-outs of the latest in CNC machinery and associated technologies, but also instilled their motto of how experience and technology can equal success which has been the foundation on which we’ve built FlexiCut Engineering.”
Showcasing the latest in CNC machinery with an impressive Mazak machine workshop and many years of experience of CNC machine tooling and CAD/CAM programming, FlexiCut Engineering caters to all CNC machining requirements.
Mr O’Brien states the success of his business is, “as simple as, offering our customers an efficient service of superior quality at a competitive price” – all critical qualities within motorsport.
After completing a fitting and turning apprenticeship in one of Australia’s leading V8 Supercar race teams, Mr O’Brien worked for John Hart specialising in CNC machining and training before taking the gamble and investing in his own business.
Mr O’Brien is quick to give credit where credit is due and says he has a great deal of respect for the professional training and valuable experienced gained during his time at John Hart,
“John Hart not only taught me the ins-and-outs of the latest in CNC machinery and associated technologies, but also instilled their motto of how experience and technology can equal success which has been the foundation on which we’ve built FlexiCut Engineering.”
Showcasing the latest in CNC machinery with an impressive Mazak machine workshop and many years of experience of CNC machine tooling and CAD/CAM programming, FlexiCut Engineering caters to all CNC machining requirements.
Mr O’Brien states the success of his business is, “as simple as, offering our customers an efficient service of superior quality at a competitive price” – all critical qualities within motorsport.
Return crossing of Bass Strait
Todd Kelly and two mates make a successful 3.5 day return crossing of Bass Strait on Jet Skis.
It’s taken months’ of planning, but only three-and-half days and 19 hours in the saddle or seat for the carsales Supercar driver Todd Kelly and his mates Robbie O’Brien and Bryan Hands to cross Bass Strait by Kawasaki Jet Ski.
The adventurous trio didn’t just complete the infamous sea passage, they reached Tasmania and then turned back for their departure point of Port Welshpool on the mainland to complete a 720km return trip.
Perfectly prepared and picking a good weather window, the riders set-off on the morning of Friday May 12 on their Kawasaki Jet Skis wearing their bright yellow Musto dry suits, with a stack of safety gear aboard, right down to a toilet roll in a ziplock bag.
From Port Welshpool, they stopped at Flinders Island for the night, then changed tack due to the wind and instead of the Tamar River they stayed at Musselroe Bay on Tasmania’s northeastern tip.
It’s taken months’ of planning, but only three-and-half days and 19 hours in the saddle or seat for the carsales Supercar driver Todd Kelly and his mates Robbie O’Brien and Bryan Hands to cross Bass Strait by Kawasaki Jet Ski.
The adventurous trio didn’t just complete the infamous sea passage, they reached Tasmania and then turned back for their departure point of Port Welshpool on the mainland to complete a 720km return trip.
Perfectly prepared and picking a good weather window, the riders set-off on the morning of Friday May 12 on their Kawasaki Jet Skis wearing their bright yellow Musto dry suits, with a stack of safety gear aboard, right down to a toilet roll in a ziplock bag.
From Port Welshpool, they stopped at Flinders Island for the night, then changed tack due to the wind and instead of the Tamar River they stayed at Musselroe Bay on Tasmania’s northeastern tip.