Manufacturing and Engineering Magazine Issue 412

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ISSUE 412

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MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

M M MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

MAN-MADE TO MACHINING Amy Marsden takes a look at the Industrial Revolution and looks at some of the key innovators and pioneers

PLUS:

Rolls Royce:

The sign of excellence

ISSUE 412

TEIGNBRIDGE

AGRICO UK

Designers and manufacturers of high quality marine engineering products.

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ALSO INSIDE...

The potato breeders of choice

4Tiger Trailers 4Rivertrace Engineering 4Springco

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...Plus much more

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Comment editor’s

ISSUE 412

www.memuk.org

How is 5G going to change the world?

Magazine Manager Daniel Beardsley

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he talk in the technology world this month has been centred around the development of 5G networks and how super-fast connectivity will change the world. It will undoubtedly have a major impact on the way we use our array of networked devices from laptops and computers to smartphones, tablets and emerging technology such as smart fridges and in-car driverless navigation. Unlike 4G, scientists are eager to see 5G’s potential. 5G will usher in a new era where we don’t have to wait for videos to buffer or apps to download.

Conservative estimates believe 5G will run at 1Gbps but this was based on 2013 research. Now, 5G’s potential is considered much greater with speeds 100 times faster than current 5G tests.

Indeed, 800Gps is believed to be possible meaning not one but 33 HD movies could be downloaded in one second. 5G will also see an overhaul of the network including what is known as the “harmonisation of the radio spectrum”. Data is transmitted via radio waves split into bands of different frequencies. Each band is reserved for various types of communication and regulated by the International Telecommunications Union.

Currently, the radio frequency spectrum is overrun with technologies squeezed into gaps. To accommodate 5G a comprehensive restructuring of the radio network used to transmit data will have to be made.

Once established, 5G would give us the opportunity to properly connect smart cities, carry out remote surgery and use driverless cars, for example. Heating in your home could be monitored and controlled, your fridge could order milk for you when you’ve run out, and trains will be able to tell you what seats are free.

5G will also be more reliable meaning it is less likely to break. That’s crucial if, for example, a navigation system is driving you and your car home from work at 70mph!

Perhaps even more fascinating is that, despite technology companies competing to deliver 5G, they are working together to develop the hardware necessary to make it work successfully.

It means these advances will occur far more quickly and could potentially open up even more fascinating avenues for this technology.

Daniel Stephens Group Editor

Feature Managers Tom Waite Elliott Jenkinson Kyle Joyce Group Editor Daniel Stephens Editor Ciaran Jarosz Contributors Jeff senior Amy Marsden Art Director Steve Williams Art Editor Stacey Brewer Designer Carla Taylor Production Vicki Lindsay Lisa Pollinger Lisa Barrans Accounts Nick Charalambous Manufacturing and Engineering Magazine is published by: Trafalgar Publishing Ltd, 6th Floor, Crown House, Southgate, Huddersfield, HD1 1DE Tel: 01484 437300

Manufacturing and Engineering magazine is published by Trafalgar Publishing Ltd. Company registered in England & Wales. All material is the copyright of Trafalgar Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. Manufacturing and Engineering magazine is the property of Trafalgar Publishing Ltd. This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form whole or part without the written permission of a director of Trafalgar Publishing Ltd. Liability: while every care is taken in the preparation of this magazine, the publishers cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of information herein, or any consequence arising from it. In the case of company or product reviews or comments, these have been based upon the true and honest opinion of the Editor at the time of going to press.

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Contents

ISSUE 412

www.memuk.org

SECTIONS

MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING

8 TRANSPORT

30 MAN-MADE TO MACHINING

26 MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING 36 MARINE 46 FOOD AND DRINK 54 ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

ASSOCIATIONS 8 ADS GROUP

The premier trade organisation advancing the UK Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space industries.

36 SHIPBUILDERS & SHIPREPAIRERS ASSOCIATION Gary Ball, SSA Director explains how the SSA promotes the UK marine industry.

46 FOOD AND DRINK FEDERATION

Angela Coleshill explains how the FDF are helping to deliver an innovative future food industry.

54 ACHILLES

Achilles creates and manages a global network of collaborative industry communities.

TRANSPORT

REGULARS 4 UPDATE

The latest news from the industry.

52 THE LAST WORD

...Robotic police and cyborg lawmakers

12 SPRINGC O 2

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16 ROLLS ROYCE

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FEATURES 39 TEIGNBRIDGE

12 SPRINGCO

Manufacturers and designers of springs in all types of materials.

16 ROLLS-ROYCE

MARINE 36 SHIPBUILDERS & SHIPREAPAIRERS ASSOCIATION

For more than a hundred years Rolls-Royce has been providing power for aircraft, ships and land applications.

22 TIGER TRAILERS

From design to manufacture Tiger offer a complete service to the transport industry.

26 AYRSHIRE PRECISION ENGINEER LTD

Supplying precision engineering to the automotive, mining, and energy industries.

30 MAN-MADE TO MACHINING

50 AGRICO UK

Amy Marsden looks at some of the innovators and pioneers that revolutionised manufacturing.

39 TEIGNBRIDGE

FOOD AND DRINK

Designing and manufacturers of high quality performance marine engineering products.

42 RIVERTRACE ENGINEERING Specialists in the field of environmental pollution control.

50 AGRICO UK

Potato breeders of choice.

57 ARC ENERGY RESOURCES

Specialists in the supply of corrosion resistant weld overlay cladding and the manufacture of specialist fabrications.

IN THE NEXT

M M M

46 FOOD AND DRINK FEDERATION

AIRBUS UK | ANALOX ACTISENSE | BEAVERFIT...

AND MUCH MORE...

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UPDATE

UK manufacturing activity picks up in November UK manufacturing activity increased in November after solid domestic demand offset weaker orders from overseas markets, a survey has indicated.

The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 53.5 from 53.3 in October. A figure above 50 implies that the sector is growing.

The reading was the highest for four months and adds to the picture of a stronger economy.

The rate of job creation reached a fourmonth high, the survey found.

“In the lead-up to the chancellor’s Autumn Statement, the November PMI survey shows the UK manufacturing sector continuing its solid expansion," said Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit.

“Despite easing from the stellar pace set in the first half of the year, growth is still coming from a broad-base that will aid its sustainability.”

A separate survey on Monday, also by Markit, found eurozone manufacturing growth stalled in November, with new orders falling at the fastest pace in 19 months.

Markit said “the situation in euro area manufacturing is worse than previously thought... there is a risk that renewed rot is spreading across the region from the core”.

Its November manufacturing PMI for the eurozone was 50.1, down from 50.6 in October.

Chancellor George Osborne has warned that the UK is being affected by weakening economies in the eurozone, as well as elsewhere. China’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for manufacturing dipped to 50.3 in November from October’s 50.8.

Monday’s UK survey showed manufacturing exports were still falling, notably to the European Union and Russia.

A weaker euro was adding to this.

Mr Dobson added that a lower oil price, currently at four-year lows, meant inflationary pressures in the UK were also easing and that this “will continue to provide some leeway for the Bank of England to hold off from raising [interest] rates even as solid growth persists”.

Jeremy Cook, chief economist at international payments company World First, said: “November’s release paints a similar picture to that seen in October, in that the domestic picture is solid and strong but growth in export markets – particularly in the EU and emerging markets – is worse; a function of weaker global growth and a strong pound making UK goods more expensive.”

Power companies fined £39m from Ofgem TWO power generation companies are to pay penalties totalling £39m after failing to meet energy saving targets for low-income households.

Ofgem has hit North Yorkshire-based Drax with a £28m penalty, the largest ever handed down by the regulator.

Another generation firm, InterGen, also faces an £11m payout.

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The companies failed to meet targets to insulate homes under two energy efficiency schemes that ran until the end of 2012.

Similar decisions by the regulator on British Gas, SSE, Scottish Power, and GDF/Suez are still pending and are likely to be announced in the coming weeks.

The previous record financial penalty handed out by Ofgem was

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£15m for National Grid in 2010 over a different issue.

The penalties were levied for failing to meet targets under the Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), part of the government's Home Energy Saving Programme.

The CESP was designed to help reduce bills for many thousands of customers living in low income areas by helping them

with loft and wall insulation, and new boilers.

Dorothy Thompson, chief Executive of Drax, said: "We are deeply disappointed with the magnitude of the fine. However, we believe it is in our shareholders’ interests to settle this matter and, as the nation's single largest power provider, focus on delivering a reliable supply of electricity this winter."

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UPDATE IN BRIEF ◆ China's factory activity slowed by more than expected in November, highlighting how a cooling economy is impacting its vast manufacturing sector.

The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) dipped to 50.3 in November from October's 50.8, closer to the 50 point mark that separates growth from contraction. ◆ A geometry scanner that can measure micro surface topography has won the manufacturing category of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s (IET) Innovation Awards.

The University of Huddersfield’s Wavelength Scanning Interferometer (WSI) provides an instrument for the measurement of micro and nano geometry and surface topography in environments of notably harsh conditions. ◆ German power and automation business Siemens this week confirmed its plan to divest its ocean power business, including Bristolbased Marine Current Turbines (MCT), which it acquired in full in early 2012.

MCT has deployed commercial-scale demonstration units of its SeaGen technology in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland A spokesperson for Siemens confirmed that the company is seeking a buyer to acquire MCT. The source confirmed that it does not yet have a buyer lined up to purchase the UKbased tidal stream technology developer.

Manufacturers not buying into cloud computing FEWER than 20 percent of manufacturers have bought cloud computing software over the internet, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

For those that did invest in cloud in 2013, most were likely to use it to store files (11 %).

The figures are part of a government-run study into annual e-commerce and ICT activity released on Friday.

UK manufacturing firms more productive thanks to IT say ONS IoT, cloud computing,

nation-state threats redefining enterprise security, panelists say EU cloud computing contracts to go under the microscope They showed that only 2.2 percent of manufacturers bought IaaS (computing capacity to run the firm’s own applications).

Cloud-based CRM systems also had a low uptake of just 3.3 percent.

Almost half of all manufacturing firms said “insufficient knowledge or expertise” was the main reason they are not using cloud services.

◆ The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has appointed Gareth Jones, managing director of ebm-papst Automotive and Drives UK, as its next president.

Jones takes over from Tim Abbott, former BMW Group UK managing director, on 1 January. Abbott has recently taken up a post with BMW in South Africa but and now becomes SMMT deputy president. He was president at the SMMT for two y ◆ Cyber threats are continuing to drive the BAE Systems graduate recruitment programme, with the majority of next year's graduates being used to fight in the defence company's cyber warfare efforts.

Of the 300 graduates being recruited to work in the UK business, 100 will be joining the company's Applied Intelligence cyber security arm. This is the third year in a row that cyber security has drawn the lion's share of the company's graduates.

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UPDATE

Encouraging women into the manufacturing industry FOOD manufacturers have given seventy female A-Level students a chance to gain first-hand experience within the industry.

The BIS See Inside Manufacturing initiative was designed in partnership with the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and the youth skills initiative MyKindaCrowd to encourage young women to pursue a career in a STEM subject (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Cargill, Mars UK, Nestlé UK & Ireland, and PepsiCo UK & Ireland opened their factory doors in November to young students in a bid to promote careers in food and drink engineering and give the young women a first-hand taste of the food and drink industry.

William Akerman, founder and managing director, MyKindaCrowd, said: “Our research showed that 71% of young people are not aware of the career opportunities available in the food and drink industry. So these site visits are vital. All of the visits have been extremely inspiring for the students and it is very encouraging that businesses are proactively looking to support more females into STEM roles.

“The MyKindaCrowd programme is an exceptional

opportunity for young students to get on the inside track of engineering within food and drink.

At the same time, the FDF member companies will help the students to develop work skills and will benefit by establishing links with talented future recruits.”

Angela Colesill, director of Employment & Skills at FDF, said: “The skills agenda is a top priority for our industry and we are proud

that our members continue to support careers initiatives such as the MyKindaCrowd engineering visits to ensure a solid succession plan for employment in our sector and give these students a real insight into the industry.

“At the heart of this collaboration is the aim to raise awareness for the industry-backed MEng Food Engineering degree at Sheffield Hallam University as well

as FDF’s Women into STEM pledge as part of the Your Life campaign, which encourages women to pursue science or engineering careers in food and drink.”

The Food and Drink Federation is an industry representative for the food and drink manufacturing industry and is working with MyKindaCrowd to connect young people with opportunities in the working world.

Pay rises on the cards for manufacturing staff ALMOST three quarters of small and medium sized manufacturing firms plan to give their employees a pay rise in the next 12 months, according to a survey.

Of that number, over a third say that everyone will receive a rise, while 38 percent say the increases will be decided on merit.

The figures come from the most recent Close Brothers Business Barometer, a quarterly survey that canvasses the opinion

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of SME owners and senior management from a range of sectors across the UK on a number of financial and economic issues.

“It’s encouraging that so many manufacturers appear to be optimistic and in a financial position to reward their employees with an increased pay packet,” said Steve Gee, Managing Director of the Manufacturing Division at Close Brothers Asset Finance.

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“While on the surface this is good news for workers in the industry, we should be aware that the Bank of England is watching pay closely, as an indicator of when the right time will be to increase interest rates.

“They’ve also warned that unless wage increases are accompanied by a rise in productivity then they will have to move more quickly on rates as inflationary pressure mounts,” he added.

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UPDATE

Cyber security, industry of the future, says IET

CYBER SECURITY is one of six ‘hot’ new industries the UK will excel at as long as it makes the necessary investment in its education and engineering base, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has argued in a new report.

In addition to cyber security, ‘Ones to Watch’ lists space, new power networks, 3D printing (‘additive manufacturing’), food security, and robotics as making up the half dozen industries in which the UK is already considered a world leader.

The inclusion of cyber security among these might surprise some. Security is still seen in some quarters as a short-term function, secondary to others and essentially a drain on the bottom line. The idea that it might be a competitive advantage in a world built on increasingly complex automated systems is only now starting to become apparent.

But as cyber security matures, it is moving into new areas and this will require a generation of engineers able to work across what today are usually discrete engineering boundaries.

Cyber security systems would also be used to protect systems beyond today’s Internet, including the Internet of Things and industrial control, the report said.

“As the concept of cyber security widens out to embrace physical systems, this will be reflected in demand for engineering skills. We

will need engineers with expertise that combines areas such as materials science and electromagnetism with cyber security,” said the University of Warwick’s Cyber Security Centre director, Professor Tim Watson.

Training the new generation of security engineers would require unparalleled partnerships between academia, business and government.

“This report shows that these promising and exciting industry areas offer the UK tremendous opportunity for growth and global leadership.

But we also hear straight from the horse’s mouth that the biggest barrier to that growth is meeting the need for high numbers of engineers and technicians with an increasingly transformational skillset – especially as these industries grow and new jobs are created,” commented IET chief executive, Nigel Fine.

“Government and employers in these industries will need to engage with each other – and with all stages of the education system to produce a talent pipeline with appropriate skills and talent. Investment and faster adaption of new technology are also important factors for them to address.

“We need to act now. The last thing we want to happen is that these innovative new industries fail to achieve their potential because they don’t have the skills, talent, technology and investment they need to grow.”

Utopia gets the show on the road BATHROOM manufacturer Utopia is taking its recently kitted out show van on a nationwide tour to enable retailers who missed the October launch of new products to be able to see them and receive product training sessions. Provisional routes have been planned with the tour kicking off early this month and set to continue through to Spring 2015.

UK manufacturing ends 2014 on high DATA released by Markit indicates the manufacturing industry is head for a strong finish to the year, aided by the strength of the UK economy.

A survey of private sector businesses called the purchasing managers' index (PMI) shows that the manufacturing PMI for November scored 53.5 which, because it's above 50, signifies expansion.

Output, new orders and employment all increased during the period.

“The news on the domestic front was especially positive, with solid new order inflows from the UK market the main pillar supporting the expansion. However, manufacturers reported subdued growth in export orders,” said economist Rob Dobson from Markit.

“Despite more disappointing re sults in key markets such as the Eurozone, this year should be the strongest year for industry since 2010,” Lee Hopley, chief economist at EEF, told City AM.

Sony develops paper watch SONY has developed a watch made from e-paper as part of an initiative to experiment with the use of the material for fashion products.

The Fes Watch has a minimalist, monochrome design but falls short of the features offered by smartwatches.

However, the battery of the e-paper watch could last far longer with an estimated 60 days of use.

The device has been described as ‘retro and cool’ by gadget expert Stuart Miles from Pocket-lint.

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TRANSPORT ADS GROUP

A UNITED VOICE

ADS Group is the premier trade organisation advancing the UK aerospace, defence, security and space industries.

T

he aim of the ADS Group is to support the UK’s aerospace, defence, security and space sectors.

That’s particularly important because it’s an area where the UK is a world leader and the intention is to maintain that position.

ADS Group was established as

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a trade organisation in 2009 but, since it was formed by a merger of organisations that already represented the different elements, it retains knowledge and expertise from the original organisations. It is, therefore, the voice of authority regarding the needs, challenges and opportunities for industries vital to the UK economy as major

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drivers for growth and prosperity.

Challenges have been particularly acute during the global economic crisis. “We have seen a dynamic response from the industries we represent, with businesses coming together and working with government through the Aerospace Growth Partnership and the Defence Growth Partnership to identify

opportunities and make the most of these opportunities,” recalls Chief Executive Paul Everitt.

“For the defence sector, government spending remains constrained. However, the UK is home to a well-established and world-leading defence sector, which puts it in a good position to make the most of new export opportunities as long as the right investment and

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TRANSPORT ADS GROUP

focus is placed in the development of future technologies.

“ADS continues to work closely with government and has played a prominent role in the Aerospace Growth Partnership and the Defence Growth Partnership — important government and industry initiatives to prioritise opportunities and encourage the right investment to ensure we

retain our world-leading market position for the long-term. We have also been working closely with the Home Office on the establishment of the Security and Resilience Growth Partnership.”

The outcome is the UK aerospace industry is growing ten times faster than the UK overall, employs 109,100 people directly and supports many thousands in

other sectors. The sector has grown 14% annually since 2011, with improved business confidence, investment and a focus on driving growth through exports. Paul says: “The Aerospace Growth Partnership has worked hard to put the right support in place to help UK industry make the most of significant increases in demand for new aircraft. The positive

impact of this work is being felt, with almost three quarters of companies planning to increase investment next year and one in four looking at reshoring activity back to the UK.” ADS has around 900 members in the UK, ranging from small start-ups to large corporations and global operations. They include manufacturers, equipment

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TRANSPORT ADS GROUP suppliers, service companies and operators and, for them, the organisation provides support in many ways. “ADS offers a packed programme of more than 170 events per year in addition to organising UK groups at international exhibitions, offering a valuable opportunity for networking and forging new connections,” outlines Paul. “We facilitate access to the latest tender and business opportunities and provide assistance for SMEs with government funding and business development or building links with prime contractors. ADS has an important role to play in influencing UK and EU governments, representing the interests of industry. Members can participate in more than sixty boards, committees and special interest groups which offer a valuable mechanism to discuss and debate particular issues or challenges faced by businesses.”

The biggest and best known event is the Farnborough International Airshow, organised by wholly-owned subsidiary Farnborough International Limited.

This year’s event attracted more

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“ADS has an important role to play in influencing UK and EU governments” than 100,000 trade visitors and 1,500 exhibitors from 75 countries, affording ADS members the opportunity to showcase the country’s world-leading capabilities to a global audience. A record breaking $201 billion of orders and commitments were made at the show.

Another arm of ADS is the British Aviation Group, the leading representative body for UK companies in the airport and aviation development sector. It has 200 member companies and its primary role is to help UK companies win business in the UK and overseas as well as helping them identify suppliers.

ADS is a member of the Aerospace and Defence Federation that unites alliances

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and provides a single voice for the industries. It manages SC21 (21st Century Supply Chains) that aims to improve supply chains for increased competitiveness of UK industry. Paul says: “Around 650 businesses are on the continuous improvement journey, more than 300 of which have been presented with an award for their work on the programme. To achieve an SC21 award, a company must demonstrate world-class business performance in all aspects, including delivery and services to customers, internal business efficiency and a continuous sustainable improvement culture throughout the organisation.”

Recent years have seen increased collaboration between

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TRANSPORT ADS GROUP

ADS has a packed programme of more than 170 events per year

industry and government to develop strategies, identify new opportunities and make the most of them. Its relationship with key influencers and decision makers enabled ADS, as Paul explains, to significantly influence the content of the Defence Reform Act: “During the legislative process, ADS played an active role in lobbying at each stage of the Bill to ensure key decision-makers were aware of key industry concerns.

ADS engaged constructively with Ministers, MPs and key MOD officials to propose positive and constructive solutions to improve it. As a result, many of these solutions have been adopted.”

Its work on the Defence Reform Act resulted in important changes that ensured intellectual property will be protected and the Single Source Regulatory Office will remain impartial. Additional exemption of contracts from the new regulations will only be

applied in exceptional circumstances, MOD challenges to contract prices will be limited number and SMEs will be protected from excessive burdens.

“Looking towards the end of 2014 and into 2015, our priority will be a continued focus on delivering key objectives, building on our success to ensure we maintain and build our influence over key activities such as industrial strategy, innovation policy and the upcoming Security and Defence Strategic Review,” remarks Paul.

“Our sectors are critical to driving the innovation, exports and well-paid jobs that will secure UK economic growth and we will continue to work to raise awareness of this as well as continuing campaigns and policy initiatives to support our members’ success.”

For more information: www.adsgroup.org.uk Tel: 020 70914500

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TRANSPORT SPRINGCO

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TRANSPORT SPRINGCO

DYNAMIC AND FORWARD THINKING

Specialist suppliers to the defence, aerospace and oil industries, Springco manufacture and design springs in all types of materials.

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Integration and diversification have enabled Springco to grow continuously throughout the recession and now look forward to future success.

It manufactures low to mid-volume springs while sister company Abbicoil Springs, which shares the same site, makes smaller springs but in medium to high volumes.

Both use fellow group member Technical Metals for machining requirements, plating and finishing, and both, confirms Managing Director David Sales, provide a comprehensive service: “We supply a range of standard springs but a feature of the company is our bespoke facility and the ability to manufacture from exotic materials such as nickel, cobalt alloys and titanium. We can offer the full package from designing the spring right through manufacturing and finishing.”

That leads to a close and regular relationship with the up to sixty companies that

include Crane Stockham Valve, BAE Systems and Thales Air Defence across various sectors such as aerospace, the medical sector and oil and gas. The relationship with Bombardier Aerospace and some overseas subsidiaries is typical. “Two years ago, we were invited to participate in their SC21 scheme — Supply Chain for the 21st Century,” explains David. “We have now become the only Northern Ireland company to receive the SC21 bronze award this year so it illustrates the relationship between us and the customer.”

SUPPLIERS The scheme helps in the use of suppliers, he adds, where Bombardier will generally specify approved ones for plating, heat finishing or other processes: “That could take up quite a bit of time but now SC21 highlights the areas we need to concentrate on. We can control that better because we can see what we need

to do to get things out and back on time so we can maintain our delivery performance.”

It is, however, an area where Springco is seeking to provide a more integrated service, having installed a shot peening machine to bring the process in-house rather than subcontracting. The company has also the capability for internal load testing of its springs and the manufacture of machine tube forms that are linished and anodised by Technical Metals.

Added to those, as David outlines, are other developments: “Springco is about to launch a research and development programme inhouse to develop the feasibility of applying a newly developed heat dissipation coating for coil and flat springs.

“This will enhance the life of springs used in high temperatures and we’re also working on purchasing a 3D dual head, CNC automated wire former to enhance our supply for the aircraft seating sector. This work is done by

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TRANSPORT SPRINGCO hand at the moment and it’s too slow and costly, so we’re looking at new equipment to make it more cost-effective.”

It’s part of a continuous process of improvement that’s helped by the company’s membership of ADS, which David believes gives it more vision and scope in what it does. The organisation encourages member companies to participate in local and national events, which in Springco’s case has included involvement with the Northern Ireland Space Special Interest Group that has opened up new opportunities.

SKILLED WORKFORCE To take advantage of all opportunities, Springco needs a highly trained and skilled workforce that it achieves through extensive and focused training. “Because of the type of equipment and technology we use, we have on the shop floor three senior cell leaders, people who have been involved in this business for thirty or forty years,” comments David. “We have a protégé working with each one to hopefully take over from them when they retire. When anyone starts here they are put through a safety and induction course, a training record is raised and they will have exposure to all parts of the business over a period.

“We carry out health and safety training along with any induction training for new employees and we have a defined health and safety manager with a CMI level five diploma in management and leadership. We partner with the Institute of Spring Technology in Sheffield and send salesmen and engineers to the Institute on an on-going basis. They receive for-

It’s part of a continuous process of improvement that’s helped by the company’s membership of ADS, which David believes gives it more vision and scope in what it does. mal training in spring design and, if we have any technical problems, there’s a two way discussion platform for anyone here to see if they can help us in any way.”

MEETING ONGOING CHALLENGES That goes towards enabling the company to meet ongoing challenges and to maintain the growth it’s experienced in various industry sectors. With an increased order book, particularly in aerospace products, it’s determined to continue the progress. David says: “We have brought in a non-Executive Director from probably one of the best aerospace backgrounds in Northern Ireland and he’s mentoring individuals in the group and mainly in Springco because there’s a lot of young talent. So he’s mentoring these people to give support, direction and training to bring them to where we need them to be to make sure the business continues to grow.”

For more information: Tel: 028 38333482 www.springco.co.uk 14

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TRANSPORT SPRINGCO

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TRANSPORT ROLLS-ROYCE

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TRANSPORT ROLLS-ROYCE

4 For more than a hundred years RollsRoyce has been providing power for aircraft, ships and land applications.

THE SIGN OF

For more than a hundred years, Rolls-Royce has delivered industryleading power systems for aircraft, ships and land applications. Best known for its aero engines that power the world’s most advanced jets, RollsRoyce has proudly seen its systems installed in the latest commercial aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Yet, Rolls-Royce has committed itself to designing and manufacturing systems for a number of uses such as low-emission systems for ships and a wide array of engines for land vehicles such as trains and combine harvesters. It also builds engines that can generate electricity.

The company employs over 55,000 people in offices, manufacturing and service facilities in 45 countries making Rolls-Royce a truly global operation. Over 17,000 of its employees are engineers as half its annual revenue comes from servicing the power systems employed by its customers.

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TRANSPORT ROLLS-ROYCE It’s global presence can be seen in its recent contract wins. For example, it recently won a $5bn order for Trent engines and long-term TotalCare® service support from Delta Air Lines to power 50 new aircraft. Trent XWB engines will power 25 Airbus A350s and Trent 7000 engines will power 25 Airbus A330neo aircraft.

Rolls-Royce has been awarded a new, two-year contract to provide aftermarket engine support for the US Marine Corps and Air Force V-22 fleets.

EFFICIENT The Trent XWB is the world’s most efficient large civil aero engine, and the fastest-selling widebody engine ever with more than 1,500 engines already sold. It will power the first A350 XWB into service later this year. The Trent 7000 was launched this year as the exclusive powerplant of the new A330neo and has already been selected to power a total of 152 aircraft.

Nat Pieper, Delta Air Lines, Vice President of Fleet Strategy and Transactions, said: “We are pleased to be working closely with RollsRoyce to power aircraft that will be a vital part of our future, providing a new level of excellence on our Pacific, Atlantic and Latin American routes.”

John Rishton, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce, said: “We are proud to be selected to power Delta's new generation of aircraft and look forward to deepening our relationship with a longstanding and valued customer. It is further evidence of the success of the Trent XWB in the market and represents a powerful vote of confidence in our newly-launched Trent 7000.”

The Trent 7000 brings together experience from the Trent 700, the engine of choice for the current A330; architecture from the Trent 1000TEN, the latest version of the Trent 1000 engine and latest technology from the Trent XWB.

TWO-YEAR CONTRACT Elsewhere, for the US military, Rolls-Royce has been awarded a new, two-year contract to provide aftermarket engine support for the US Marine Corps and Air Force V-22 fleets, which provides a more than 30% reduction in support costs.

The contract, through the company’s innovative MissionCare™ model, is valued at up to $287m and will cover all V-22 aircraft across the Marine and Air Force fleets. Rolls-Royce is the sole engine provider for V-22 aircraft and has delivered 750 AE 1107C engines to the program.

Meanwhile, in France, the company has been selected by Direction Générale de

Rolls-Royce was the world's 16th-largest defence contractor in 2011 and 2012 when measured by defence revenues. It had an announced order book of £71.6bn.

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TRANSPORT ROLLS-ROYCE

THE BEGINNING Rolls-Royce Limited was created over a famous lunch in May 1904. Henry Royce, a successful engineer, struck a deal with Charles Rolls, owner of one of the first car dealerships. The rest is history. The ensuing series of two, three, four and six cylinder cars broke the mould for engineering and craftsmanship. The Silver Ghost, launched in 1907, was a car of legendary smoothness that completed a 14,371 mile virtually non-stop run, creating ‘the best car in the world’ legend.

SILVER GHOST

Introduced in 1907, the 40/50 HP or Silver Ghost remained in production until 1925.

Originally powered by a 7,036cc six-cylinder engine, this was increased to 7,428cc in 1909.

Best-known body styles included the Barker Tourer and the Barker enclosed cabriolet.

First built in Royce's Cooke Street factory in Manchester, following its success the company moved to a custom-built factory in Nightingale Road, Derby.

1920’s After the war Rolls-Royce resumed car production and opened its first US factory in 1921. The ‘R’ engine was developed for Britain's entry in the 1929 Intercontinental Schneider Trophy seaplane contest. Royce reputedly sketched its design in the sand at West Wittering with his walking stick. As well as winning the trophy, the engine also set a new world air speed record. This engine developed into the legendary Merlin, which later powered allied aircraft such as the Spitfire and Hurricane.

1940’s World War II shifted focus to aero engines at the Derby Works and a new factory in Crewe, commissioned by the Air Ministry, which became the home of Rolls-Royce in 1946. The war changed the perception of Rolls-Royce from a “brilliant sprat in the ocean of technology” into a world contender in aero propulsion. This was demonstrated with the Gloster Meteor which, powered by Rolls-Royce Derwent V engines, established a new world air speed record of 606 mph.

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TRANSPORT ROLLS-ROYCE l'Armement to provide Trent 700 engines and support to power 12 Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft for the Armée de l'Air. France has become the fourth nation to select the Trent 700-powered MRTT aircraft, following the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Singapore.

£12M ORDER Away from aircraft, Rolls-Royce won a £12m order to provide design, integrated power and propulsion systems and equipment for a highly advanced multipurpose service vessel for the Norwegian ship owner Myklebusthaug Management to be built at the Beşiktaş Shipyard in Turkey.

This latest contract will see the first UT design vessel to be built by a Turkish shipyard.

Around 800 Rolls-Royce UT vessels have been built or are under construction since the first one entered service 40 years ago.

The vessel is a brand new design type from Rolls-Royce. The UT 7521 WP will be prepared for a range of offshore duties. The overall length of the vessel will be 98.9 metres with a beam of 21 metres and deadweight of approx.

6000 tonnes.

Rolls-Royce is also providing waterjets for two Spanish Police Guardia Civil 20m Patrol boats in Spain. These vessels will be built by Astilleros Gondan Shipyard. This is the first

France has become the fourth nation to select the Trent 700-powered MRTT aircraft, following the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Singapore. time Rolls-Royce waterjets will feature on Guardia Civil boats, which operate in challenging conditions of strong winds and currents in demanding circumstances. The stainless steel series waterjets have high fuel efficiency due to good towing capability and acceleration as well as excellent durability. This enables them to have low servicing requirements, helping to meet the demands made of them during the lifetime of the vessel.

LITE PROPULSION SYSTEM Additionally, for ferry operator Finnlines, RollsRoyce will be installing its efficient Lite propulsion system on two vessels. Promas Lite is an integrated propeller and rudder system that increases efficiency and is designed specifically for retrofitting to existing ships.

CHARLES ROLLS studied mechanical engineering at Cambridge.

The first undergraduate to own a car, he soon began racing. To fund his passion he set up a dealership, selling mostly foreign cars.

His search for a supplier of reliable English cars led to his introduction to Henry Royce.

The first aviator to complete a double-crossing of the English Channel, he was killed in a crash at an air show in July 1910.

Known for his attention to detail and pursuit of perfection, HENRY ROYCE registered his first patent (the bayonet lamp socket) in 1887. His company produced dynamos, electrical motors and cranes.

Dissatisfied with his Decauville, Royce decided to improve on it and turned his attention to building the best cars in the world. By 1903 he had designed and built his first engine. His first prototypes took to the road in 1904.

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TRANSPORT ROLLS-ROYCE

Rolls-Royce designs, manufactures and distributes power systems. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors.

These will be the fifth and sixth Finnlines vessels to feature Promas Lite, following a contract for four shipsets earlier this year. Finnlines, part of the Grimaldi Group, has worked with RollsRoyce on a number of re-blading projects in recent years, and it is efficiency gains and fuel savings that have been proven by that work that have led to this latest order.

Emanuele Grimaldi, President and CEO, Finnlines, said: “Environmental compliance and cost efficient operations are key factors in the success of Finnlines. The installation of the Promas Lite systems on our modern ro-ro vessels is a major step in the implementation of our strategy. The extensive experience that Rolls-Royce has in this area, together with the retrofit services the companies can provide, will greatly help us during the engineering and installation phases of this programme.”

Take a closer look at the industry Subscribe to Manufacturing and engineering magazine Call:

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For more information: Tel: 020 7222 9020 www.rolls-royce.com

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TRANSPORT TIGER TRAILERS

TIGER TRAIL BLAZERS

From design, through to manufacture, Tiger Trailers offer a complete service for the transport industry.

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From design through to manufacture, Tiger Trailers offers a complete service for the transport industry including chassis manufacture, body assembly and finish paint. All processes are carried out within its state of the art factory in Winsford in the heart of Cheshire, where manufacturing and assembly is housed under one roof.

The company’s multimillion pound investment in plant and equipment includes automated welding machines, spray bake ovens and specialist handling equipment. Thanks to Tiger’s highly valued team of “Tiger” people, the company ensures that each model produced is of the highest quality.

With investment has come growth. This year the company passed 100 employees. Managing Director John Cartwright said, “Each week that goes by, Tiger is increasingly establishing itself in the industry, presenting an exciting opportunity for current and future employees. We have some fantastic people on board and there is a real team atmosphere, with everyone focusing on the future success of Tiger.”

The company also seeks to solidify its future through training and apprenticeship schemes.

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Recently, six more apprentices joined the company, adding to the eight already in place.

Tiger's three and half year Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship has been developed in partnership with Mid Cheshire College. The apprentices start their training at the college, before joining Tiger in the factory.

HR Manager Helen Jennings said, “With the first apprentices already hard at work, we’re very pleased to be welcoming the remainder of this year’s intake ahead of next year’s programme.”

Production Director Mark Hudson added, “Tiger is all about the future way of manufacturing and our apprentice scheme is a vital part in training our future Tiger Team.”

Tiger’s product range spans from 3.5 tonne rigid body work to 44 tonne double deck trailers. Customers benefit from the wealth of experience within the company’s management team who are highly respected within the industry. Complementing the service is a commitment to attentive solutions from initial design to final completion. Tiger is dedicated to delivering the right product for each customer’s individual needs.

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TRANSPORT TIGER TRAILERS

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TRANSPORT TIGER TRAILERS

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TRANSPORT TIGER TRAILERS

Thanks to Tiger’s highly valued team of “Tiger” people, the company ensures that each model produced is of the highest quality.

Significantly, Tiger has been certified as an ISO9001:2008 compliant organisation since August 2014. ISO9001 provides a framework for effective quality management systems and is used worldwide. Certification is used as proof of the quality and integrity of an organisation’s quality management system. Tiger has been independently assessed by an internationally recognised UKAS accredited body to ensure that it meets the requirements of the standard, and will now continue to be subject to regular audits to ensure the level of effectiveness is maintained.

DOWNTON Recently, the company saw its very first trailers for Downton going into service. Andy Downton, Managing Director of Downton said: “We are pleased to have taken delivery of our first order of Tiger Trailers. From initial meetings with the Tiger Team, through to design and build, we have been very happy with all aspects. Their team’s industry expertise has gone a long way for us in making the decision to be one of the first customers for this new UK manufacturer, and we wish them every future success.”

Steven Cartwright said, “It is a privilege to be supplying Downton with some of the first Tiger Trailers. Their business is a great success story and we hope the Tiger and Downton partnership will continue well into the future.”

This came shortly after Expert placed an order for ten 13.7 metre Tiger Double Deck Curtain trailers to operate in its AO.com distribution network fleet. The trailers feature full length hydraulic moving deck, special load restraint and Tiger’s innovative high cube option. Expert has also opted for Tiger’s ‘paint free’ option, featuring a fully galvanised chassis

and body, with pre-impregnated front and rear.

FTS Hatswell of Deeside also placed an order for a number of 13.7 metre and urban Tiger Curtain trailers. The trailers will operate in its distribution and pallet network fleet. In addition to Tiger’s EN 12642XL standard bodywork, the trailers also feature galvanised end frames, pre-impregnated front panel and rear doors. FTS Hatswell has also taken other popular Tiger options including its front airfoil and ‘over chassis beam’ floor design, providing a perfectly flat floor surface, as the floor sits above the chassis I-beam.

AWARD NOMINATIONS The success of Tiger’s business development and its capability in delivering the right solutions has seen it achieve a number of award nominations. For example, it has been shortlisted in the Trailer Innovation 2015 Awards within the body category. Tiger has submitted a new trailer design in order for a customer to achieve loading volumes unheard of in the European market.

The trailer is a Tiger Curtain Double Deck Trailer with a straight frame mega chassis and a full length moving deck. In order to achieve the volume required the trailer innovation utilises the movement of the lifting deck to also lift the roof. Tiger were the only UK Company to be a finalist within the body category. From the top ten manufacturers in Europe, Tiger came 5th – a great achievement. Darren Holland, Sales Director, commented, "This is another example of how Tiger are at the forefront of trailer design and innovation.”

For more information: Tel: 01606 339640 www.tigertrailers.co.uk

MEET THE TEAM JOHN CARTWRIGHT MANAGING DIRECTOR

John started in the industry in 1983 at Cartwright and has over 30 years’ experience in the industry He is focused on providing the most cost effective design solutions for all product types of the highest industry standards.

STEVEN CARTWRIGHT MANAGING DIRECTOR

Steven started as an apprentice bodybuilder at Cartwright in 1984 and has spent the last 30 in the industry. From the shop floor Steven progressed into design, management, sales and finance, working his way up to Joint Managing Director.

DARREN HOLLAND SALES DIRECTOR

Working within the industry since 1987 Darren gained YTS, City and Guilds, ONC, HNC & HND awards in design and engineering, progressing from the shop floor to a Technical Sales Manager to Sales Director at Cartwright.

CHRIS SMITH FINANCE DIRECTOR

After gaining a Bsc (Hons) degree in Economics from Loughborough University Chris joined Ernst & Young and qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He now leads the company’s Finance function.

HIREN BAKHDA COMMERICAL DIRECTOR Hiren has been working within the commercial vehicle finance sector for over 20 years, with the majority of that time spent at Cartwright, where he was Commercial Director.

GARETH WALKER IT DIRECTOR

Gareth joined the commerical vehicle industry with Cartwright as a maths graduate in 2000. He is now taking advantage of his 14 years of experience in the field to develop the systems, software and processes that will help take Tiger to the top of their industry.

MARK HUDSON PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Mark started his career at Cartwright over 30 years ago, as an apprentice welder working his way up to the role of Manager. He joins Tiger bringing with him a wealth of knowledge in the trailer manufacturing and commercial vehicle industry.

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MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING AYRSHIRE PRECISION ENGINEERING LTD

PRECISION ENGINEERING

Established in 1969 Ayrshire Precision Engineering Ltd was initially set up to produce machined components for civilian aircraft which were being manufactured locally by British Aerospace in nearby Prestwick.

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MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING AYRSHIRE PRECISION ENGINEERING LTD

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Ayrshire Precision Engineering Ltd was established in Coylton, South Ayrshire in 1969 by James Mitchell Snr. and was initially set up to produce machined components for civilian aircraft which were being manufactured locally

by British Aerospace in nearby Prestwick.

As the company expanded, additional work was sourced within the automotive and mining equipment sectors with the company carrying out component manufacture for Joy Mining, Anderson Strathclyde, GKN Scottish Stampings and Albion Automotive.

In addition to the automotive and mining sectors, Ayrshire commenced manufacturing components for the burgeoning Oil and Gas industry which was sweeping Scotland in the 70’s and 80’s. Oil and Gas represents the largest sector for which the company currently manufactures, however it is also actively involved in the manufacture of components for the nuclear and renewable energy sector.

The facility has expanded several times since its inception and it has invested significantly in plant, equipment and programming software in order to allow Ayrshire Precision Engineering to offer its customers an accurate, reliable and responsive component machining service.

Importantly, the business is very proud of the fact that it is able to offer its customers conformity and delivery which are over 99% accurate.

CUSTOMER RETENTION This is highlighted by its customer retention and satisfaction rates. Chris Downie, Operations Director at Grayloc Products, said: “We have had a 30-year working relationship with Ayrshire Precision. During this time, we have come to rely on them for their excellent knowledge of our products and their expertise to produce components to a very high specification. They are extremely responsive and have helped us out with various challenges through the years. There have been occasions when I have picked up the

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MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING AYRSHIRE PRECISION ENGINEERING LTD phone with a manufacturing request and we have had a 24-hour turnaround on delivery.

That’s good service!”

The Ayrshire Precision Engineering service is all encompassing with machining covering most metal components. The company regularly machines non-ferrous alloys, mild steel, carbon and alloy steel, stainless steel, duplex and heat resistant alloys including welded overlay.

It is also able to manufacture round components from 50mm in diameter up to a maximum of 1200mm in diameter and to a maximum length of three metres between centres. In addition, Ayrshire’s prismatic capabilities allow it to machine up to 2m x 1.5m x 0.6m.

Complementing the service is the company’s comprehensive quality management system that is registered with BSi to ISO9001. Ayrshire has full inspection capabilities for all products that it manufactures and has the ability to carry out both MPI and LPI up to ASNT Level 2.

NEW SOFTWARE The company has also invested heavily in new offline programming software in order to help it produce customer’s component parts more accurately and efficiently. It uses the Esprit CAD/CAM interface which directly imports native part models from any source with no need for programmers to edit or rebuild geometry.

Ayrshire is then able to transfer programming data wirelessly to its machine tools via the shop floor network using CIMCO DNC-Max communication software which ensures reliable and efficient transfer of information to and from the machine tools.

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The company uses the EMax RM6 ERP platform to run its business. The system allows it to integrate all aspects of its business, giving Ayrshire access to all the key information it requires to allow it to run the business profitably and efficiently.

“Ayrshire Precision has been extremely responsive to all our manufacturing requirements,” said another satisfied customer Gary Milne, the Workshop Team Leader at Stats Group. “Not only do they deliver the goods, they have helped us out when we have had very tight customer deadlines. Our relationship grows

MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

from strength to strength and we look forward to working with them for years to come.”

John Coutts, Machine Shop Manager at Neptune Offshore Services said: “In the four years we have been working with Ayrshire Precision, we have had no reason for complaint.

Robert is on our speed dial and if we have a project with extremely tight deadlines, we know we can depend on Ayrshire Precision to get the job done.”

For more information: Tel: 01292 570 450 www.ayrshire-precision.co.uk

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MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING AYRSHIRE PRECISION ENGINEERING LTD

NO NEED TO

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TO GET YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS ADVERTISE MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

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MANUFACTURING AND ENGINNERING HISTORY

MAN-MADE TO MACHINING

Amy Marsden takes a look at the effect the industrial Revolution had on modern manufacturing and some of the early pioneers and innovators

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Before the industrial revolution around 1760, the world looked like a very different place. Change was very slow, and quality of life effectively stayed the same for many years. Virtually all work completed was done by hand, usually in the worker’s own homes or properties, and goods were mostly circulated locally due to a lack of any reliable long distance transport.

Many people were farmers or agricultural workers in the countryside, growing cattle and crops to trade and provide for their families.

Children often helped their parents with churning butter, milking cows, or generally tending to farm animals instead of going to school, and were usually expected to follow in their family’s footsteps when they became old enough.

THE DOMESTIC SYSTEM • Virtually all work was done by hand, in much the same way that it had always been done since the time of the Romans.

• Workers would receive the raw materials, take them home and build whatever was required, and then return the finished product.

• Usually work was done in the labourer’s own home, although in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries some labourers worked all together in large ‘factories’ or workrooms.

Another thing common in pre-industrial times was disease. Many parents lost their children young, and populations were decimated by the millions.

In 1760, however, everything changed. The steam train and other innovations of steam and power meant that materials could be transported from all over the country, and workers were increasingly being replaced by machines.

Factories soon became the new hub of the textile industry, with new inventions such as the spinning jenny making manufacturing easier, faster, and less labour intensive than ever before. At first, these brand new factories were powered by water, but over time steam power became more and more prominent and soon enough it was the driving force behind most manufacturing systems.

THE FACTORY SYSTEM • The factory system developed in the late eighteenth century, chiefly due to the advances being made in the textile industry.

• With inventions such as the flying shuttle, the spinning jenny, and many others, the making of cloth became much faster, and could be done on a much wider scale (Kaufman). As a result, hand weavers were driven out of business by big new factories, which they were later forced to work in.

• These factories were first run by water, then by steam, and their output greatly improved the nation's economy.

• Instead of one worker completing an item, such as a length of material, a variety of machines made the fabric. Also, instead of one worker following the same piece of material from raw wool to dyed cloth, each worker concentrated on only one task. This "assembly-line" approach was very efficient, however the tasks became extremely monotonous and repetitive (Kaufman).

• Working conditions were also very poor. Factory labourers—mainly young children— had to put in extremely long hours, were very poorly paid, and worked in dangerous and violent surroundings. During the first part of the Industrial Revolution there were no laws to protect workers, and even when a few were passed they were rarely followed.

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TRANSPORT BEFORE the industrial revolution, most transport was either on foot, or by horse and carriage.

Soon, however, trains began to multiply and started to carry not just materials and goods, but also people, cross-country and beyond. Steampowered boats increased travel within Europe especially, leading to better relations between countries and access to newer, foreign goods that had never before been seen.

HENRY FORD Founder of the famous Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford changed the face of transport forever. With the creation of the Model T - the first car that middle-class Americans could afford – Ford soon made motor transport the best and most practical way to travel.

Ford also revolutionised the automobile manufacturing industry with his $5 a day wage - more than double what the average factory worked previously earned. This simultaneously increased productivity and decreased training costs and workforce turnover, creating a fairer environment for Ford engineers.

ROBERT STEPHENSON In 1829 Robert Stephenson built the Rocket, the most advanced steam powered Locomotive in history. Over the next twenty years, the population of London more than doubled, more than a little bit due to the success of Stephenson’s steam-powered genius.

The Rocket had a multitubular boiler system, an innovation never before seen which gave the boiler its efficiency and power.

JAMES BEAUMONT NEILSON Beaumont, after trying to solve a problem inside a blast furnace, was the first person to realise that blowing a furnace with hot air rather than cold would increase efficiency and save money at the same time. Having discovered this, he quickly set about experimenting and began using ironstone in his work – a material that had previously proven to be generally unprofitable.

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ENERGY KARL BENZ Karl Benz is believed by many to be the inventor and father of the automobile and his name lives on in the form of Mercedes-Benz, the cars he created together with Gottlieb Daimler. He received the patent for his first automobile in 1886 and the rest is history. Mercedez-Benz is actually named after the daughter of Emil Jellinek, an entrepreneur who sat on the board of Daimler’s own motor company which later partnered with Benz.

WITH the invention of the steam engine, everything changed. Arguably the driving force behind the industrial revolution, soon anything and everything was powered by steam, making life easier and a lot less labourintensive than ever before

THOMAS SAVERY The primary inventor of the steam engine, Thomas Savery had always had a passion for engineering. He discovered how to raise water using fire, and thus the steam engine that changed everything was born.

Savery called them ‘Fire Engines’ in 1698, due to the driving force behind the steam. Another kind of engine was suggested in 1706 by a man named George Sparrow but nothing ever came of it, and so Savery retained the title as inventor of the steam engine for the next fifty years until James Watt came along with his improvements.

MATTHEW BOULTON In partnership with James Watt, James Boulton soon put a steam engine in almost every factory in England, installing hundreds across the country and even abroad in Europe. He was also responsible for the Soho Mint, producing the first British copper coins in 1797. He began in the family toymaking business passed on by his father, before moving on to coins and steam power.

JAMES WATT

HENRY BESSEMER Billed by many as the inspiration for the Industrial Revolution of the US and Father of the Bessemer process, he showed great inventive talent even as a child. The key principle of the Bessemer process was to remove impurities from iron, by way of oxidation – this made the industrial process faster and more inexpensive than ever before, leading the way for the steel industry.

James Watt was born in 1736, the son of a prosperous shipwright. By no means the inventor of the steam engine, it was Watt however that improved the engine so vastly that he soon became a household name. His two greatest improvements to the engine were in the form of the separate condenser and the rotary motion, both of which more than doubled the efficiency of his machine. The oldest surviving engine created by Watt is Old Bess, made in 1777 which now sits in the Science Museum in London.

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MINING HUMPHRY DAVY After he invented Laughing Gas, Humphry Davy became a leading scientist and was eventually knighted for his prowess in the field.

In 1815, after he received a letter from the Newcastle miners about the dangers of methane gas, he set to work trying to solve the problem.

Often, the candles in the miners' helmets would come into contact with the gas and would cause fires – to fix this, Davy separated the flame from the gas, calling his new invention the 'Davy' lamp.

TEXTILES THE TEXTILE industry boomed over the course of the Industrial Revolution. However, as the demand for cloth grew, the price of the end product sky-rocketed, raising a problem with consumers. The solution was to use brand new machinery to make production faster and cheaper – however this meant that many would lose their jobs.

JAMES HARGREAVES Inventor of the Spinning Jenny, Hargreaves revolutionised the cotton industry. Prior to the Jenny, demand for cotton was high and production was low, with the single thread spinning wheel struggling to keep up with the orders placed. The Spinning Jenny meant that instead of just one at a time, several threads were able to be spun at once, although the quality was not yet good enough to produce good yarn.

RICHARD ARKWRIGHT Arkwright is widely regarded as the father of the modern industrial factory system, inspiring much of the industrial revolution. Inventor of the spinning frame, later renamed the water-frame, Arkwright made inexpensive yarns much more possible, including cheap calicoes, which subsequently led to the great expansion of the cotton industry. Arkright also improved his workforce by building cottages near his factories and importing more skilled workers.

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THOMAS NEWCOMEN Newcomen changed the lives of Cornish tin mine owners, whose mines were often flooded with water as they became progressively deeper. He developed a machine with a vacuum inside a cylinder, which was used to pull down a piston.

Next, a lever was used to transfer force to the pump shaft within the mine, effectively ridding it of water.

Newcomen's invention made pumping the water faster and more inexpensive at the same time, making mining easier for everyone.

REACTION UNREST quickly grew among the working population during the revolution. New laws were put in place which meant that farmers were having to give up their livelihoods and move many miles to work in factories, often meaning longer hours and less pay overall. Children were regularly used for labour as they were quick learners, and in particular were small enough to get coal from the more unsafe pits of mines. Living conditions were awful, sometimes with several families living under one roof, many of whom were sickly and stunted due to long hours of labour and poor conditions.

CHARTISTS The Chartist movement was a political one led by the working class. Chartists wanted fairer voting systems – allowing every man over 21 to vote, secret ballots, and more frequent elections. They also wanted to change the laws regarding MPs, giving more people a chance to have their say in parliament by allowing them to be paid money for their duties, and abolishing the need to own a certain value of property in order to enter into the Houses of Parliament.

SAMUEL CROMPTON Building on the work of Hargreaves and Arkwright, Crompton revolutionised the textile industry even further with the invention of the Mule-jenny which later became the spinning mule. It combined the best aspects of the Spinning Jenny and the Water Frame to produce a strong, fine yarn which paved the way for the manufacturing of Muslin – a material that was in high demand at the time. The Mule was revolutionary in that it could spin thread better than could be done by hand.

LUDDITES The Luddite movement was a relatively violent movement in the early months of 1811, with supporters breaking into factories and destroying many of the machines that they thought would take their jobs and livelihoods. The workers were increasingly upset by wage reductions and the thought of redundancy, and with the rising price of wheat. Several men were killed during the violence of the movement, leading to arrests and even executions. However, by 1817 the movement had ceased to be active in Britain.

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MARINE SHIPBUILDERS & SHIPREPAIRERS ASSOCIATION

FULL STEAM AHEAD Gary Ball, Director of the Shipbuilders & Shiprepairers Association explains the role it plays in promoting and supporting the UK marine industry

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SHIPBUILDERS & SHIPREPAIRERS ASSOCIATION

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he Shipbuilders & Shiprepairers Association (SSA) represents Naval and Commercial shipyards, boat builders, Marine Equipment Suppliers, Marine Service Companies, University’s and the wider maritime supply chain.

The Association is actively involved with Marine Industries Leadership Council (MILC). Several sub committees of this group are supported by the SSA to ensure maximum opportunities are available for the maritime industry and the association’s members.

On the European front the Association is an active member of SEA Europe, it is the European Ships and Maritime Equipment Association. Horizon 2020 has launched this year and this will allow funding of over 80 million Euros for Maritime projects over the coming years.

Over the last 12 months the association has hosted several

members on the SSA pavilions at key maritime events nationally and internationally, the Association hosted pavilions at Navalshore Brazil, Seawork, in Southampton.

These events provide an ideal showcase for exhibitor’s products and services.

As a trade association, SSA is continuously involved in the promotion of its members and sourcing business leads both in the UK and abroad. SSA works closely with UKTI as an authorised Trade Challenge Partner and other funding bodies to offer members the opportunity to apply for funding to exhibit abroad, participate in projects and to help launch their products into the international market. SSA has also helped members receive funding to exhibit at trade events in countries such as India, Germany Norway, Brazil, Russia and Holland.

The Association’s revised website has attracted a huge interest from suppliers and buyers

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MARINE SHIPBUILDERS & SHIPREPAIRERS ASSOCIATION with the added functionality of submitting business enquiries directly to member organisations. The major challenges faced by the industry remains access to finance and skills shortages in the trades area.

SSA has provided key support to member’s organisation in engaging with various R&D programmes throughout the year and have several projects awaiting award.

The key growth sectors have been the renewable energy, where the UK marine industry is playing a key role not only in supporting the build of the wind farms but the transportation and maintenance vessels required as well, there has also been an upsurge in the investment with wave and tidal technologies for energy generation.

FIVE KEY REASONS TO JOIN SSA BE PART OF THE UK MARITIME SUPPLY CHAIN: SSA membership ranges from SME’s to the largest international organisations, providing us with a united and authoritative voice and our members with fantastic networking opportunities at high level events, meetings and discussions.

INCREASE INTERNATIONAL TRADE: SSA assists members to establish their products and services in emerging and existing global marine industries. SME’s can benefit from funding to expand in overseas markets by participating in various international exhibitions and forums.

OBTAIN KEY MARKET & BUSINESS INFORMATION: SSA enquiry bulletin provides a comprehensive overview of MOD contacts, renewable and commercial shipping and business opportunities from around the world. SSA also issues market statistics, HSE updates and guidelines and minutes from various industry meetings direct to your inbox.

DEVELOP INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY REQUIREMENTS: SSA Innovation and Technology Centre works to further strengthen the R&D capabilities of SSA members and specialises in identifying European and National R&D funding, including FP7 & TSB, for your organisation. Our specialists can assist in developing innovative solutions to your technical issues and proposal writing.

We operate in a vibrant and exciting industry, committed to innovation, best practice and continuous improvement, bringing rewards for all stakeholders, now and in the future.

BEING PART OF THE SSA PLACES YOUR BUSINESS AT THE CENTRE OF THE UK MARINE INDUSTRY: We can help promote your products and services in the global market place and bring buyers to your doorstep.

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“The Association’s revised website has attracted a huge interest from suppliers and buyers...”

The Shipbuilders & Shiprepairers Association name has been around for decades and for many years did exactly what it says on the tin. However times have changes and whilst shipyards and commercial boat builders and engineering companies are dominant, our membership now includes many other types of businesses. Including equipment manufacturers, marine insurers,

verification consultants, recruitment specialists, and software & design consultancies.

In recent times the association has recruitment companies of all sizes and welcomes those who want to deal in the UK and International marine industries.

For more information www.ssa.org.uk

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MARINE TEIGNBRIDGE

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE 4 Founded in 1974, Teignbridge designs, develops and manufacturers industry-wide acclaimed high quality performance propellers, sterngear and marine engineering products as well as being leading innovators in computerised and mechanised marine engineering processes. Teignbridge's currently product portfolio covers propellers up to 2.55m in diameter, shaft lines up to 400mm in diameter and, as Mark Phare, Sales and Marketing Director explains: “We supply everything from the gearbox backwards, so we're supplying the shaft coupling, the shaft, the shaft seal, the stern tube, bearings, the strut or P’ bracket, A’ bracket or V’ bracket depending on what shape it is, the propeller, the rudder and rudder tube. We supply a complete package from the initial evaluation, the engineering and design, casting, manufacture of all the components, quality inspection and packing all under one roof.

“The reason customers come back to us is because, we undertake the initial appraisal of an

application, also all of the design and engineering, we then make the patterns, we have our own foundry, we carry out all the machining, inspection, shipping and quality control – so from start to finish, everything is done in one building and we have total control of the final quality of the product. Customers often comment on the high quality our components, which go together straight out of the box, while some of our competitors are buying different components from a range of locations, sometimes various countries, which can cause issues in terms of final assembly and fitting. We also have a rapid pattern and mould making process, so if we're required to, we can manufacture a propeller from design to completion in as little as a week.”

Originally focusing on supplying renown companies such as Sunseeker, Princess, Sealine and Fairline, Teignbridge grew into a company with worldwide locations, including Australia, America, France, Holland, Singapore and Dubai.

Following the acquisition by the Brunswick group in 2000, Teignbridge focused on the leisure sector, however due to the challenges

Teignbridge design and manufacture high quality performance propellers, sterngear and marine engineering products and are leading innovators in computerised and mechanised marine engineering processes.

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MARINE TEIGNBRIDGE faced by the recession and economic vulnerabilities in the sector, Teignbridge was bought back by original owners, Dave Duncan and David Hunt in 2009 and refocused on global supply across all sectors, including commercial, leisure and superyacht.

Having years of experience in propeller design, Teignbridge's team has a wealth of expertise in delivering only the best, custom designed products and solutions in-house. With a large range of propeller designs, totalling over 16,000 designs in its factory, Teignbridge sees itself as an innovator in design and manufacture due to its ability to produce bespoke solutions to suit the needs of any client.

C-FOIL PROPELLER Detailing Teignbridge's signature propeller and innovative success, Mark explains: “In terms of the design and performance our most advanced propeller, which is called the C-FOIL design, it was initially introduced in response to engine manufacturers and being able to increase the power output from same size cubic capacity or physical engines which resulted in boats being fitted with higher horsepower engines – allowing them to go faster. The propellers were reaching speeds exceeding 30 knots and the propellers were more at risk from cavitation. So we developed the C-FOIL propeller as an anti-cavitation design and it has been very successful in achieving that, but we noticed that in competitive sea trials we were achieving half a knot or more than our competitor’s propellers, which after a period of time seemed to be an established pattern. “This was later proven, through both CFD and model testing with British universities, that the C-FOIL is up to 12% more efficient and provides up to 10% more thrust than traditional propeller designs.

Commenting on the expertise and reliability of Teignbridge's work, GB Grand Banks, a key client of Teignbridge explains: “Teignbridge has supplied Grand Banks for over twenty years. Starting with propellers, our orders expanded to include complete underwater drive trains, including struts, shaft bearings and rudder assemblies.

“Over the years we have found that Teignbridge products consistently meet Grand Banks’ qualities standards. Their Temet 25 shafts have been particularly good without a single failure. We may find an occasional shaft that needs checking and tuning in order to meet our tight 3 thousands tolerances but this may be due to the distance that the shafts have to travel from the UK to Malaysia.

“They are usually able to ship their products on time to meet our production needs and occasionally they are willing to improve their production lead time if we do have an urgent order.”

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Looking to the future, Mark explains that Teignbridge is committed to further growth and expansion. With current expansion underway for both facilities and manufacturing, the company is committed to enhance its capabilities across the board, increasing its current range of propellers up to 3m, 4m and possibly 5m in diameter into the future. Through continued innovation and testing in the sector, it is expected that Teignbridge will carry on developing advanced solutions and continue to lead the future of the propeller industry.

For more information: Tel: 01626 333377 www.teignbridge.co.uk 40

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ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT RIVERTRACE ENGINEERING

SPECIALISTS IN WATER QUALITY MONITORING formed in 1983 Rivertrace Engineering is a highly specialised company in the field of environmental pollution control. We specialise in oil in water monitors for both industrial and marine applications.

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Many companies cut back when the recession hit in the hope of surviving through to the recovery. Rivertrace Engineering, however, chose to invest time, money and effort in expanding the business with an increased sales force and offices in Bangkok and Rhode Island in the US in addition to its UK base at Redhill. That’s paid off with the most successful time in the company’s thirty year history and a future order book that has quadrupled to £1 million. The situation is also helped by Rivertrace having good products that are well known throughout the world.

“We specialise in oil and water monitoring for marine and industrial applications,” states Sales Development Executive Scott Herring.

“We have applications on drilling rigs, all types of sea-going vessels and in many industrial applications, where oil in water is an important

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factor. It’s an environmental product because essentially we stop companies putting too much oily water back into the sea or other water courses.”

Although the company has grown to a worldwide business, it remains family owned with the son of the founder as its current Managing Director. Its products generally work in conjunction with oil and water separators, monitoring the output water to ensure the separator has done its job correctly and the water is of a quality that can be discharged. In effect, they enable companies to not only comply with marine and industrial legislation by ensuring polluted water is not discharged but to always exceed the set standards. In that way, they can improve their image by doing all they can to protect the environment.

All products are designed and manufactured in the UK then installed worldwide in, as Scott

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confirms, a variety of formats: “We have standard systems from a £2,000 monitor that meets certain marine legislation and many bespoke systems up to over £100,000 for more specialised applications. We build bespoke systems almost monthly for all types of customers with different applications and requirements. These could be explosion proof systems, be for hot or cold zones where heating or cooling are needed or be for certain territories that have stricter, more stringent regulations we need to adhere to. We have to follow very strict specifications.”

Membership of the SSA is important to maintain a presence through trade shows, promote the company’s equipment and give potential customers access to its technology. Recent successful installations include Safety Management in Greece that operates 36 bulk carriers and is going above and beyond current MARPOL regulations with a Smartsafe ORB bilge overboard

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ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT RIVERTRACE ENGINEERING security system to prevent any deliberate illegal discharge. There’s also a contract for eight ODME systems for a Korean shipyard to monitor tanker discharges and a $630,000 Brazilian contract for offshore operations.

REMOTE MAINTENANCE All equipment has to be correctly maintained, generally every five years depending on regulations. “We enable customer to do that themselves, certainly on the newest systems because it’s difficult to send people out and not always cost-effective,” explains Scott. “With our latest equipment and certainly for the last ten years, we allow the customer to manage it all themselves. They can replace certain parts that enable the equipment to be re-certified and so can keep the system running at all times without the need to send it back or have somebody out to service it.”

Although the technology remains reasonably constant, the biggest challenge is legislation that changes frequently and becomes progressively more stringent. That, as Scott outlines, means the company needs to be constantly aware of changes to stay ahead: “We are always striving to use the latest technology and exceed the regulations by doing that and we are currently developing a new system that uses newer technology.

“We have an association with Brighton University, where our new monitor is being designed, and that keeps us up-to-date with new technologies and advances. But we also have a team of in-house people on product development for new and existing items. We

Although the technology remains reasonably constant, the biggest challenge is legislation that changes frequently and becomes progressively more stringent. are constantly upgrading and developing the products to make sure that they do stay ahead of the competition. We use our own people and our own equipment, which is something we’re quite proud of because essentially what you see is all Rivertrace technology.”

GROWTH MARKET Changes to regulations are ongoing and the next the company faces is a new one relating to Smart ODME systems for bio fuels that are likely to represent a growth market for Rivertrace.

Scott says: “It’s likely to be huge but was almost non-existent before. Tanker operators that are carrying a cargo of bio fuels had previously no way to monitor the discharge when they cleaned the tanks. Our systems have to be able to cater for those bio fuels and so it is a new challenge on the horizon for us. We have until 2016 to deal with that and we’ve already made great progress.”

For more information: Tel: 01737 775500 www.rivertrace.com 44

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FOOD AND DRINK FOOD AND DRINK FEDERATION

VOICE OF THE FOOD INDUSTRY THE

Angela Coleshill, Director of Employment and Skills at the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) explains how they are helping to deliver an innovative future food industry

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FOOD AND DRINK FOOD AND DRINK FEDERATION

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ood and drink manufacturing is a great British success story. It is the single largest manufacturing sector in the UK, buying two thirds of all the UK’s agricultural produce and employing around 400,000 people.

At the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), the voice of the food and drink manufacturing sector, we believe that innovation is key to ensuring our sector continues to flourish. Throughout its history the food industry has embraced innovative new ideas and approaches which have

transformed consumers’ lives. For example, the average time taken to prepare a meal has reduced from two hours, 50 years ago, to only 18 minutes today. The UK’s 7,700 food and drink producers currently bring over 16,000 new products to the market every year, investing £1bn a year in innovation But as part of a global food production system we face fundamental challenges of world population growth, increased pressure on natural resources and the need to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Furthermore we face significant skills shortages in essential disciplines, namely science, technology and

engineering. Meeting these challenges will require concerted action – the right policy and collaboration framework to encourage innovation and sufficient flow of highly talented graduates is critical to our sector.

That is why FDF has worked with Sheffield Hallam University and the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink to develop the UK’s first engineering degree at master’s level, dedicated entirely to food and drink manufacturing. The MEng Food Engineering course has been developed in collaboration with some of the UK’s biggest food and drink manufacturing companies, led by

Project Chair Richard Martin, Technical Director at Nestlé UK & Ireland. The course will create a pool of specialist engineers working on innovative projects with the latest high technology.

One recent example of getting young people excited about engineering in food and drink manufacturing saw a group of students from the University Technical College Sheffield enjoy a visit to the Worksop factory of Premier Foods to find out how products such as OXO stock cubes and Bisto gravy are made. The Year 13 students were given a tour of the state-of-the-art and high-tech food production facilities.

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FOOD AND DRINK FOOD AND DRINK FEDERATION To further tackle the skills shortage and ensure a solid succession plan for employment in our sector, FDF has partnered with youth skills initiative MyKindaCrowd and some of the UK’s largest food and drink manufacturers to promote careers for women interested in STEM, specifically engineering. In this new collaboration, FDF members, Cargill, Mars UK, Nestlé UK & Ireland, and PepsiCo UK & Ireland worked with FDF and MyKindaCrowd to deliver industry visits with practical challenges for female students to get a first-hand taste of the industry and food engineering in a bid to encourage more women to consider working as engineers in our sector.

Also, as part of the Government’s Trailblazer project,

FDF has worked in partnership with its members and the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink to develop a gold standard for Food and Drink Mechanical Maintenance Engineer and Food and Drink Multi-skilled Maintenance Engineer roles. The new standard, due to be rolled out in 2015, will help create a more robust pipeline of specialist engineers, enabling industry to benefit from highquality Apprenticeships. With backing from the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the new standard will ensure individuals are able to progress towards professional accreditation. The first group of Trailblazer projects was launched by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) last

“The new standard will help create a more robust pipeline of specialist engineers.”

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FOOD AND DRINK FOOD AND DRINK FEDERATION

year, when the then Skills Minister Matthew Hancock selected food and drink as one of eight sectors to pioneer apprenticeship reform.

The industry is looking to innovate in other areas too. Food safety and authenticity, health and wellbeing, packaging and ingredients and manufacturing more efficiently to protect natural resources are all under the microscope.

Businesses in our sector have long-known the strategic value of innovation in driving business growth and increasing profitability by working collaboratively at the pre-competitive stage.

FDF has worked with Innovate UK and the Knowledge Transfer Network to identify the top priority areas for pre-competitive innovation. To take this forward the new National Centre of Excellence for Food Engineering is being established at Sheffield Hallam. A standout example of how industry, government and

“The ambition is for the Centre to act as a hub for engineering innovation and skills solutions.” academia can collaborate to address innovation challenges, the new Centre is led by an Industry Advisory Board, chaired by Gavin Darby, CEO of Premier Foods. The ambition is for the Centre to act as a hub for engineering innovation and skills solutions – to help improve productivity and ultimately the competitiveness of the UK’s largest manufacturing sector. Having received a funding boost of £6.9million from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and an addition £1million from leading

food and drink companies and equipment suppliers, the Centre will be fully operational by 2017.

By taking a more collaborative approach to innovation, the food industry and its partners can overcome shared challenges and deliver additional benefits for our businesses, customers and community to ensure the future remains bright and that food and drink continues to lead the UK manufacturing sector.

For more information visit www.fdf.org.uk

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FOOD AND DRINK AGRICO UK

Performer is one of the rising star varieties in the fight against potato cyst nematode which continues to hinder the industry

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, o t a t o p y a S o c i r g say A

FOOD AND DRINK AGRICO UK

Agrico UK Ltd is a specialist developer and supplier of high grade seed potatoes for pre-packers, processors, seed merchants and branded operations worldwide.

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Agrico UK has the long established reputation as a leading specialist developer and supplier of highgrade seed potatoes which have helped shape the potato supply chain in the UK. In supplying healthy seed potatoes to customers who include prepackers, processors, potato merchants and branded operations worldwide, Agrico essentially forms one of the primary building blocks for the entire sector, with countless organisations depending on it.

Working closely with their sister company Agrico Research BV in Holland, Agrico UK breeds innovative potato varieties for the domestic market and must grow well in the UK climate. They must yield well, combat against pests and diseases, look good and taste good to meet the demands of the industry.

Agrico UK Marketing Manager & Variety Ambassador Mark Oughtred explains the potato breeding process: “The 20+ strong team at our breeding and research company ‘Agrico Research BV’ makes continuous efforts to

develop new varieties that are healthier and stronger to meet the needs of growers, consumers and the processing industry. They do this with six professional breeding companies and 35 private growers. It takes more than ten years to develop a new potato variety, by carefully crossing parent plants. Every year we start with 170,000 unique seedlings, and after many years of trials, evaluations and selections, just a handful of new varieties are produced that meet our strict quality requirements.”

TIME AND PATIENCE

Agrico potatoes being grown in the field

To firmly establish a new potato variety in the market takes time and patience. Agrico make continuous efforts to promote their varieties through a clear variety introduction strategy which includes planned exhibitions at trade shows, promotional activity and by working closely on a technical level with key customers and growers on their trials evaluations.

In terms of production, Agrico is contracted to grow over 1,400Ha of conventional and organic seed, grown by 80 independent growers

Breeding new potato varieties through sister company ‘Agrico Research BV’ in Holland

across the country to produce between 45,000 and 50,000 tonnes of seed potatoes every year.

All Agrico growers are officially approved through the Seed Potato Classification Scheme (SPCS), and each stage of production is to ‘Safe Haven’ and ‘FERA’ standards.

COMBATING VARIOUS CHALLENGES In addition to this, Agrico works for the betterment of the industry in combating various challenges faced by the potato sector. This includes the fight against a particularly problematic pest known as Potato Cyst Nematode (PCN) G. Pallida.

PCN, which are approximately 1mm-long round cysts, each contain worm-like larvae which live in the soil and feast upon the roots of potato plants. The damage caused by PCN can range from slight yield loss and growth impediment, up to crop failure. Considering that PCN can lie dormant in the soil for up to 20 years without feeding, the implications for the potato industry cannot be overlooked. As such Agrico has been working diligently to provide a solution to this problem by breeding PCN G. Pallida resistant potato varieties. Mark comments:

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FOOD AND DRINK AGRICO UK Agrico exhibiting their winning varieties at trade shows across the country

“Agrico UK have several potato varieties with resistance to PCN G. Pallida. The aptly named ‘Performer’ is a chipping and processing potato that has undergone many years of trials and evaluations to come out on top as one of the rising stars in the fight against PCN. Another variety is ‘Arsenal’ which is gaining popularity in the crisping industry” In terms of research and development, Agrico are currently involved with several projects. One such project includes working on behalf of the Technology Strategy Board and in partnership with key customers to reduce the impact of Pectobacterium Atrospectica on crop yields and qualities. Mark explains in more detail “With crop protection chemicals under scrutiny at the European Commission, new technology will be needed! The project is to determine the effectiveness of Bacteriophage in controlling the negative impact of Pectobacteruim Atrospectica on growing crops

Agrico’s ‘Tattie Tastic Project’, now in its fourth year

and tubers in store. The storage trials are conducted at the Agrico UK storage and grading facilities at their head office to see whether the treatment helps to improve marketable yield and reduce the instances of rotting potatoes during storage.”

‘TATTIE TASTIC PROJECT’ As part of the Scottish Food and Drink federation’s innovative schools programme, A Future in Food, Agrico is also proud of its community work with their ‘Tattie Tastic Project’. Now in its fourth year, the partnership involves a class of Primary 6 & 7 children from Glamis and Eassie Primary Schools joining the business for a series of ten interactive lessons, teaching them about the life of potatoes from field to fork, the heritage of potato growing within the local community and demonstrating the exciting careers available within the food and drink manufacturing industry. The project has won

Agrico Marketing Manager & variety Ambassador Mark Oughtred

numerous awards, including the Angus Council Partnership Excellence Award in 2012, the Education Initiative Award for SMEs at the Food and Drink Federation Awards in 2013 and the Best School and Business Partnership at the Investors in People Awards 2014.

The potato industry is dynamic, challenging and of course weather dependent with no two years ever being the same. Through their investment in potato breeding, research and development, customer relations and community projects, Agrico have gained the reputation as the potato breeders of choice through winning varieties that underpin the entire potato industry.

Agrico breed potatoes that underpin the entire potato industry

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For more information: Tel: 01307 840 551 www.agrico.co.uk

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ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT ACHILLES

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ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT ACHILLES

POWER IN

NUMBERS

Achilles creates and manages a global network of collaborative industry communities, allowing trading partners to share high quality, structured, real-time data.

A

chilles plays a vital role in allowing its trading partners to share high quality, structured, real-time data.

Through the creation and management of a global network of collaborative industry communities, Achilles acts as an independent partner, providing validated data and insightful analytics to enable buyers across a variety of sectors identify and manage risk while suppliers can increase market reach and compliance in addition to minimising costs across the network as a whole.

REPRESENTED The success of Achilles over the years is represented by its membership with around 800 of the world’s leading buying organisations and 90,000 key suppliers currently benefiting from the Achilles’ network of over 40 different communities in 11 industry sectors. Consistent development also sees the

services expanding into new markets regularly.

This network of communities is supported by over 950 dedicated employees, providing local support in 29 different languages, based in 23 different countries. Indeed, if the proof is in the pudding, Achilles enduring achievements and valuable customer support can be seen in its work with some of the world’s best-known companies. These include Shell, Balfour Beatty, Toyota Motor Europe, E.ON, EDF, Vale, ABB, Santos, Petrobas, Chevron, Maersk, Skanska, Statoil, Vattenfall, Repsol YPF, Alstom, Iberdrola, Acciona, Abertis, National Grid, BHP Billiton, Yamana Gold, Halliburton, Anglo American, Aston Martin, Jaguar Landrover Petrobras and Exxon Mobil.

Achilles works through the “power of a network of communities.” This structure allows buyers with access to a broader range of verified, compliant suppliers while suppliers themselves gain access to a broader range of potential buyers.

The required verification and

data gathering processes are standardised within the community and are facilitated by Achilles’ local support teams based around the world.

The result is a significant reduction in the work required by both suppliers and buyers to manage and reduce risk within their community and a substantially lower cost of compliance for the community as a whole.

Achilles’ communities range in scope from large individual enterprises seeking to improve compliance and risk management across their multi-national base of subsidiaries to broad, industry-wide communities of over 100 major buyers and 10,000 suppliers.

SHARING BEST PRACTICE The global network produces additional benefits by sharing best practice in compliance and risk management between industry sectors and across geographies and allows buyers and suppliers to open up trading opportunities in new markets.

Services are comprehensive and tailored. Achilles provides its

communities with a SaaS-based buyer and supplier compliance, risk and performance management platform alongside expertise in the specific industry sector and in procurement compliance and risk management issues in general.

Support is also given to assist suppliers in compiling the relevant information and achieving compliance. In addition, resources to continuously update, verify and, if required, audit the information are available.

FIRST BEGAN The business first began in 1990 when it was founded in Norway with the goal of helping organisations identify, assess, qualify, and monitor suppliers throughout the supply chain.

Achilles’ first success came with the launch of a supplier pre-qualification service for Norway's oil and gas industry.

The principal driver was to reduce operating costs. It was established “by the industry for the industry” against a background of low oil prices.

The concept was that ifyou can

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ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT ACHILLES collect and provide information once only and share it with all, it avoids the significant duplication of effort and the associated resource time consumed in doing that.

From this simple business model, which is applicable to any industry or geography, Achilles has rapidly expanded into 23 countries across all continents.

Indeed, the company now operates in multiple industries and sectors, from automotive to utilities with a group turnover of around £70m.

GREATER VISIBILITY As supply chains become more globalised, buyers and suppliers need greater visibility of supply chain risks. The Achilles solution today is not just about reducing operating cost. It therefore offers a broad range of procurement risk management tools and services including on-site supplier audits, carbon footprint data, sustainability and CSR information, multi-tier supply chain mapping and procurement legislation advice.

Recent achievements include the cementing of its reputation as the world’s leading provider of supplier pre-qualification, audit and compliance services for the utilities industry, with the renewal of the contract to independently manage these functions for all the main companies in the UK. Achilles has operated the Utilities supplier pre-qualification system UVDB in the UK for the last 20 years, working on behalf of

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“Working together, Achilles and the utilities industry have seen significant increases in business critical areas” the principal Utilities buying organisations to independently risk-assess more than 10,000 suppliers, carry out comprehensive audits and help businesses comply with EU regulations. UVDB is now the biggest buyer and supplier community in Europe.

After a full market review comprising representatives from

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over 40 companies including EDF Energy, Northern Powergrid, Scottish Power, SSE, Wales and West Utilities, Western Power Distribution and UK Power Networks, agreed that Achilles’ solution performed best in terms of effectiveness, global reach and value for money. Achilles will now continue to run the service for a further minimum period of five years.

Adrian Chamberlain, Chief Executive of Achilles, said: “It is a real honour that after a full market appraisal, the UK’s biggest utilities companies have extended their 20-year working relationship with Achilles.

“Working together, Achilles and the utilities industry have seen significant increases in business critical areas, such as health and safety, compliance, corporate social responsibility and we are proud this has been recognised.

“However, we are by no means complacent and part of the

continuous improvement of the service, we have pledged a series of additional innovations to further enhance user experience for buyers and suppliers. We look forward to working with the community to implement these improvements over the coming months.”

In total, Achilles now manages 19 pre-qualification communities for the utilities industry across the world, working on behalf of 189 buying organisations to manage the pre-qualification activities of more than 39,000 suppliers.

MANAGED SERVICE Across all the communities, Achilles provides a managed service including a technology platform to collect information from suppliers, validate the data, and publish information to buying organisations in a way that is compliant with procurement rules in each country. Users can also access additional services such as on-site safety, health and environmental audits, advisory services and site-specific information and an advertising platform for “call for competition” notices, and award announcements.

For more information: Tel: 01235 820813 www.achilles.com

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ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT ARC ENERGY RESOURCES

WELDING ENGINEERING SPECIALISTS Arc specialises in the supply of corrosion resistant weld overlay cladding and the manufacture of specialist fabrications

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Arc Energy Resources supplies the oil and gas, nuclear, renewable, water and wastewater, and naval industries with corrosion resistant weld overlay cladding and the manufacture of specialist fabrications. Established in 1994 by International and European Welding Engineer, Alan Robinson, the company’s first year of trading saw it operate with just four staff and return sales figures totalling a little over £1,000. Today, Arc Energy has expanded into a multi-million pound business with 70 staff, regularly trading with some of the largest companies in the world.

Driven by a dedication to customer service and high standards, quality remains the bedrock of success for Arc Energy. Indeed, in 1995, just a year after inception, Arc Energy signalled its intent by achieving ISO 9002. With this accreditation on board, Arc Energy’s rapid growth began. Sales topped half a million pounds in 1996, doubling to over £1m in 1997.

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By 1999, Arc Energy had out-grown its premises, and moved into a new 15,000 sq ft factory in Eastington, Gloucestershire. With new premises, the company continued its progress of growth, and in 2002, true to company philosophy, achieved ISO 9001 and ISO 3834-2 certification.

2004 saw sales in excess of £2m for the first time. It was also the first year that Arc Energy became a corporate sponsor of Gloucester Rugby Football Club. In recognition of the company’s dedication to quality through people, the prestigious Investors in People award was bestowed for the first time.

With continuous growth, Arc Energy expanded again in 2005, taking on two extra

company directors, increasing the board to four. As well as this, it also increased workspace by taking on two extra units. In 2007, Arc Energy was certified as an ASME U & National Board R Stamp holder, becoming the first weld overlay specialist in Western Europe to hold the certification.

By the end of 2008, sales had risen to £5m with the business employing 65 staff and further expanding its base of operations. The environmental standard ISO 14001 was achieved in 2010, and the Investors in People accreditation was renewed with another glowing report. In early 2012, accreditation for OHSAS 18001 was also gained.

INVESTORS IN PEOPLE 2013 saw Arc Energy Resources achieve the Investors in People Bronze award, an outstanding achievement for an SME. Arc Energy also became one of only seven companies in the UK able to offer ASME U2 services, through accreditation by ASME. This year, Arc Energy celebrates 20 years in business. With significant recent investments in machinery, premises and people, the company has every reason to look positively to the future, continuing its philosophy of supplying quality assured goods, whilst providing unsurpassed technical support.

For more information: Tel: 01453 823 523 www.arcenergy.co.uk 58

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REACH THE PEOPLE

WHO MATTER

A DV E R T I S E I N

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CALL 01484 437300 MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

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THE LAST WORD...

THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLGY IS ALREADY HERE When science fiction becomes science fact

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obotic police and cyborg lawmakers populate filmmaker Paul Verhoeven’s vision of our future world. But how far away from the truth is this? Consider how much we already rely upon computers in the way we work, communicate with each other, shop and socialise.

Technology is moving at such a pace that when 5G becomes the norm for mobile networking (as soon as 2020), we’ll be able to retrieve date at such high speeds that 100 HD movies will download to a connected device in one second.

What is fascinating is that the technology that’s likely to change our world is already here.

It might be primitive right now but you can see the roots from which a robotic police force or even flying cars will flourish.

Take online retailer Amazon for instance. It is already trialling drones to deliver goods directly to your home! Elsewhere, third party logistics provider ID Logistics, which looks after a number of high value goods for its customers, is using an innovative robot to watch over its warehouses.

The international leader in contract logistics, along with EOS Innovation, the award-winning French robotics service company, announced a partnership to roll-out the e-vigilante robot at ID Logistics warehouses. The innovative e-

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vigilante mobile surveillance robot delivers optimum security, as well as increased reactivity and mobility.

EOS Innovation designed and created the e-vigilante robot to enhance the interior security of warehouses, industrial sites and logistics platforms. The mobile, autonomous and multi-function robot moves at speeds up to 10 km/h, follows pre-programmed rounds and identifies anomalies, break-ins and movements.

When it detects an incident, e-vigilante alerts an off-site security operator, sending real-time

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video feed and incident information which displays on the site map. The security operator can then take control of e-vigilante remotely to assess the situation, categorise the level of alert and take any necessary measures, all the time staying out of physical danger.

Eric Hémar, Chairman and CEO of ID Logistics, commented: “I’m delighted to be announcing this partnership with EOS Innovation. Thanks to EOS Innovation’s acclaimed expertise in robotics, ID Logistics is able to offer optimum and innovative security arrangements at its logistics platforms to meet the needs of our prestigious customers.”

David Lemaitre, Chairman and Founder of EOS Innovation, said: “The e-vigilante roll-out at ID Logistics demonstrates the trust and interest shown by this major logistics group in a solution that enhances the security of its sites, for the benefit of clients.”

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ISSUE 412

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MAN-MADE TO MACHINING Amy Marsden takes a look at the Industrial Revolution and looks at some of the key innovators and pioneers

PLUS:

Rolls Royce:

The sign of excellence

ISSUE 412

TEIGNBRIDGE

AGRICO UK

Designers and manufacturers of high quality marine engineering products.

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