Stressed out UK aerospace companies can take to the skies after Wheelabrator Group announced it had signed an exclusive deal with French peening company Sonats, bringing a new range of innovative technology to the UK.

The arrangement makes market leading surface preparation experts Wheelabrator the UK's only licensed distributor of Sonats' patented ultrasonic shot-peening equipment called Stressonic®.

Capable of increasing efficiency and reducing costs, Sonats' process uses an innovative technique compared to traditional shot-peening methods. Stressonic® shot peening uses the impact of high quality spherical media to improve the fatigue strength of parts, by applying compressive stresses. However, instead of propelling the balls under pressure via nozzles, metallic elements form an acoustic block, vibrating with an ultrasound frequency to maintain momentum.

Mike Speak, general manager of Wheelabrator Group, explains: "We're delighted to be adding this revolutionary technology to our existing range. We always strive to offer our customers the latest in process advancements and achievable quality.

"We have a strong relationship with Sonats, built through a similar agreement in China, where we've been working with them for over three years. During this time we've helped a number of companies in countries, such as China, benefit from the Stressonic technology and it's great to now be able to offer this to our UK customers.

"We pride ourselves on offering customers one of the widest ranges of equipment available on the market today, and now, through this partnership we are able to tailor machinery, including Sonats' Stressonic, to suit individual requirements.

The Stressonic® range is suitable for shot-peening, straightening and peen-forming applications. It can be used on many aerospace components including engines, blades and bearings.

Jean-Michel Duchazeaubeneix, managing director at Sonats, said: "We look forward to extending our relationship with Wheelabrator and introducing UK companies to the benefits of our Stressonic® range.

"In addition to improving fatigue life of components, Stressonic® machines capture 100 per cent of the media used, ensuring full recycling, so high quality bearing balls, such as tungsten carbide, can be used, instead of conventional steel shot."