Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine Issue 417

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ISSUE 417

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MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

M M MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

FEDERATION OF ENGINE REMANUFACTURERS Rediscovering Quality & Performance Developing highly valued manufacturing for this generation and the next with

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PREMIER LABELLERS Showcasing practical design and quality engineering

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PLUS Devon Valley Ltd P24

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Comment editor’s

ISSUE 417

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r o f d n u o r a g in p p Sho the best price in 3PL Where do you seek new customers if you’re in the third party logistics sector? Easy, you look for those that run their own accounts, the retailers and manufacturers who have always handled their logistics in-house. There’s obvious logic to this approach. A 3PL company should, if they are at all competent, improve service levels with cost reductions, increased efficiency and better effectiveness. And, this can all be done in a short period of time.

But winning contracts from other 3PLs is a tougher challenge since you’re dealing with a service provider who has already made the necessary adjustments you are offering. Any improvements you offer will surely be marginal and unlikely to sway a change of guard if reliability has been maintained over a period of time.

That’s why it comes as some surprise that over the last six months, according to statistics from the UK Logistics Confidence Index, more than half new business won by the 3PL sector has come from customers switching from other service providers. Commissioned by Barclays and Moore Stephens, the data shows only 9% of operators renewing existing contracts while a third claim current customer expansion has been their primary source of new contracts.

Despite continuing squeeze on prices by customers as well as competitors, and many operators suggesting over-capacity in the market, confidence is growing.

Rob Riddleston, head of transport & logistics at Barclays, says most businesses are planning significant investment over the next six months. “Such investment is critical to winning new business and with margins increasingly being squeezed, the survey would suggest that operators are looking to invest now to realise the rewards to be had in this vitally important business sector.” Indeed, four out of five operators surveyed believe conditions will further improve over the next six months.

Daniel Stephens Group Editor

Magazine Manager Daniel Beardsley Feature Managers Tom Waite Elliott Jenkinson Kyle Joyce Bradley Drake Group Editor Daniel Stephens Editor Ciaran Jarosz Contributors Jeff Senior Amy Marsden Art Editor Stacey Brewer Designers Carla Taylor Sam Dickinson Production Vicki Lindsay Lisa Pollinger 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 417

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SECTIONS

8 MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING 38 CONTRACT MANUFACTURING 40 AUTOMATION 48 CIVIL ENGINEERING 54 RAIL

8 FEDERATION OF ENGINE REMANUFACTURERS

ASSOCIATIONS 14 SHARING IN GROWTH

Offering a helping hand to the global aerospace and manufacturing industries

22 CONFEDERATION OF PAPER INDUSTRIES The voice and face of the UK’s paper based industries

28 TECH UK

Defining the world for today and tomorrow

40 PPMA

Providing a range of quality and cost effective services and publication

48 STEEL CONSTRUCTION CERTIFICATION SCHEME The SCCS was established in the early 1980s to provide a Quality Management Systems certification service for steelwork contracting organisations

54 RIA

Putting rail first - RIA membership continues to grow

14 OWTH SHARING IN GR 2

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42 PREMIER LABELLERS REGULARS 4 UPDATE

The latest news from the industry.

60 THE LAST WORD

To boldly go... The Mercury Messenger

FEATURES 8 FEDERATION OF ENGINE REMANUFACTURERS Rediscovering quality and performance

30 4SECURE

28 TECH UK

18 STONE FOUNDRIES Leading European manufacturer of high intensity aluminium and magnesium castings

24 DEVON VALLEY LTD

Offering a comprehensive paper range that is second to none

30 4SECURE

One of the leading consultants on data in the UK

34 TROY UK

More than just a buying group

38 OREAN PERSONAL CARE Cutting edge product formulation and packaging

42 PREMIER LABELLERS Practical design, quality engineering

50 D.C. STEEL FABS Solidifying success

52 BLAKE GROUP

75 years of engineering success

18 STONE FOUNDRIES

56 PERPETUUM Global leader in vibration energy harvesting

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update THERMOFORMED PACKAGING SOLUTIONS European packaging company, Færch Plast A/S, has further strengthened its position as a significant supplier to the expanding global food industry with the acquisition of Cambridgeshire-based Anson Packaging Ltd, manufacturer of high-quality thermoformed packaging solutions primarily for the UK food market.

The acquisition takes place just a year after private equity fund EQT VI, acquired Faerch Plast. This new ownership has opened up a number of opportunities for the further development of Faerch Plast on the international market through acquisitions and organic growth initiatives.

“Faerch Plast has the potential to develop further in Europe and even globally. The new ownership has provided us with a platform to take a more aggressive approach to acquisitions. We are therefore delighted that the acquisition is now a reality. With Anson Packaging, we

will strengthen the Group’s position as a leader in the production of high performance packaging solutions for ready meals, fresh meat, and cold foods and snacks,” says Faerch Plast president & CEO, Lars Gade Hansen.

Anson Packaging’s headquarters is located in Ely Cambridgeshire, and with more than 40 years of experience and turnover of more than DKK 500 million, the company has a very strong position in packaging for the food to go, dairy desserts, bakery and convenience sectors.

Andrew Osborne-Smith, managing director of Anson Packaging Ltd comments: “Faerch Plast has an enviable reputation for customer focus and manufacturing excellence. This combined with our strength in product design and market position, will enable us to accelerate our growth and deliver more value to our customers and opportunities to our employees. “

World-Class Distance Measurement Reliable measurement of extremely small components in the micron rangeoften pushes optical sensors beyond their limits. With the introduction of its new PNBC range, wenglor sensoric GmbH presented a total of eight new High-Performance Distance Sensors at the beginning of March 2015, which are setting new standards where accuracy is concerned with their revolutionary maximum resolution of 0.06 µm with only 0.05% linearity error.

This impressive precision is additionally supported by excellent reproducibility and thermal stability – even at output rates of up to 30 kHz. wenglor’s new range of PNBC sensors work with a high resolution CMOS line array and determine distance to the object by means of angular measurement. Top quality optics make measured values possible which can be read out with 16-bit resolutionand can thus go all the way down to 0.06 µm. Thanks to proven

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algorithms, stable measured values are obtained even for difficult to measure surfaces, for example sheet metal with speckle effect, and can be reliably evaluated. The measured value itself demonstrates exceptional accuracy. Relative to the entire measuring range, maximum linearity error amounts to just 0.05 %. With a maximum range of 1,000 mm, PNBC products are amongst the most accurate sensors available on the market. But they’re not distinguished by accuracy alone – the speed at which they measure objects makes one sit up and take notice as well: with measuring frequencies of up to 30,000 Hz, PNBC sensors are well above average relative to other, comparable distance sensors.

Minimized temperature drift makes use of the sensor possible immediately after switching it on without a long warm-up phase, and the sensor can

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get down to work without delay. The measured value is read out simultaneously via the analog output and the Industry 4.0 compatible Ethernet TCP/IP interface. This provides the user with the opportunity of forwarding data to higher-level system participants directly via network integration.

That the new high-end products fulfill all requirements of modern measurementtechnique not only arises from its intelligent system integration.

The new sensors areequipped with up to four switching outputs which can also be used, for example, as incremental encoder inputs or for switching emitted light on and off. Beyond this, diverse sensor setting options are made available by external wenglor software (wTeach). In particular, the software is extremely well suited for diagnostic purposes, i.e. checking temperature or signal strength.

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update MILLENNIUM ASSEMBLIES ACQUIRES BIRMINGHAM’S JJ ENGINEERING

PRICE RISE HURTS EUROZONE FACTORIES Eurozone factory activity has grown at a slower pace after manufacturers raised their prices for the first time in eight months.

For April, the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) from Markit was 52.0, down from 52.2 in March when it reached a 10-month high.

But the figure has been above 50 for 22 months, showing an expansionary trend.

Ireland and Spain performed best, with an increase in export orders boosting most other eurozone countries.

The Austrian PMI showed that the country's manufacturing

39 Birmingham manufacturing jobs have been saved in a deal that will create one of the largest independent metal pressings firms in the region.

Black Country-based Millennium Assemblies, which was founded last year to look for opportunities to work alongside Millennium Pressed Metal’s established business, has purchased JJ Engineering from the administrators.

It is now planning to use the additional capacity to embark on a 2year plan to significantly enhance joint sales revenue to £10m.

As part of the move JJ Engineering will be renamed Millennium Assemblies and will sit alongside Millennium Pressed Metal to form the newly named ‘Millennium Manufacturing Group’.

The acquisition, which was supported by Crowe Clark Whitehill and the Wilkes Partnership, was completed late on Friday afternoon.

Former Cab Automotive Managing Director John Faulkner will take the helm at the Garretts Green factory in co-ownership with Managing Director of Millennium Pressed Metal Anna Stevenson.

“JJ Engineering has a great

workforce and a long history of supplying quality metal parts. The team shares our commitment to world class manufacturing, innovation and customer service and we are very proud to have created a new platform for the future,” explained John.

“Sister company Millennium Pressed Metal had picked up a number of large contracts, so the ability to further increase our capacity with the purchase of the JJ Engineering plant was too good to turn down. There is also the added benefit of now being able to offer robotic welding, a wellequipped tool room and state-of-theart metrology lab.

“It has an enviable client base of automotive, domestic goods and construction customers, not to mention a presence in oil and gas…all areas we are looking to gain a greater market share in.”

He went on to add: “39 jobs have been saved and we are now setting our sights on growth, this will definitely involve increasing the workforce even further.”

For further information, please visit www.millpm.co.uk or contact 0121 553 7491

continues to stagnate, following a 7-month pattern of slowing.

Greece saw the sharpest fall in new orders and production since 2013.

But manufacturing employment continued to rise during April, with job creation rising for eight months consecutively - its highest since August 2011.

Markit's chief economist Chris Williamson said: "The dip in the rate of expansion will serve to check recent optimism that the [European Central Bank]'s quantitative easing programme has bought a guaranteed ticket to

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update BRIGHT FUTURE FOR MOBILITY COMPANY AFTER RIVAL ACQUISITION

THE ENERGY SAVINGS OPPORTUNITY SCHEME We all want to save energy.

Whether it's in our homes, offices or industrial plants, minimising monthly bills and helping reduce climate change are increasingly important factors that affect our everyday lives. However, whilst in the home it's relatively easy to ensure lights are not left on unnecessarily and electrical devices don’t spend endless hours on standby, for large businesses it's considerably more difficult.

That's why the UK government has launched the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS).

Here Jonathan Wilkins, marketing manager of industrial automation parts supplier European Automation explains the impact of the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme on UK industry.

Established by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), ESOS is a response to the requirement for all member states of the European Union to implement article eight of the Energy Efficiency Directive.

The scheme is estimated to lead to £1.6 billion net benefits to the UK - that's the cost of running

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just over 1.2 million standard light bulbs for a year.

ESOS is a mandatory energy assessment and energy saving identification scheme for large companies in the UK. To clarify this further, 250 employees or more, annual turnover exceeding £39.8 million or a balance sheet exceeding £34.2 million qualifies a company as "large". If this sounds like your company, you need to do three things to comply with the assessment.

The first phase is to measure total energy consumption across buildings, transport and industrial processes. Energy auditing activity - for example the Carbon Trust Standard dating back to December 2011 - can be used to support compliance, provided it meets the minimum requirements of ESOS. Alternatively, if you have an ISO50001 energy management system covering your energy usage, this is sufficient to constitute an ESOS assessment too. This first phase must be completed by December 5, 2015 for your business to be considered compliant.

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A Black Country manufacturer and developer of mobility products has acquired a Staffordshire rival.

Brierley Hill-based Sunrise Medical Holdings Ltd has bought RGK Wheelchairs, a bespoke wheelchair company formed in 1988 by former Paralympian Greg Eden and wheelchair basketball player Russel Simms.

The business makes wheelchairs for athletes across the world and was behind the Union Jack covered models used at the 2012 London Olympics.

Thomas Rossnagel, chief executive of Sunrise Medical, said: "RGK will play a vital role in Sunrise Medical's strategy of expanding further into the global high end sports and active manual

wheelchair market place.

"I am very excited as to what the future brings. RGK has a strong and dedicated team of people headed up by an excellent management team who will continue to run the business with the new support, resources, and experience we have at our disposal."

Nick Dawson, corporate partner at the Birmingham office of Irwin Mitchell, advised Sunrise Medical on the deal.

He was assisted by Nick Little.

Little said: "We are delighted to have worked on this deal. There is an excellent fit between the two companies and this acquisition will strengthen Sunrise Medical’s market position not only in the UK, but further afield."

PVCU BI-FOLD BEATS ALUMINIUM COUNTERPARTS An independent testing and certification company has launched its own stringent new scheme to tackle the reputation of poor quality bi-folding doors in the marketplace.

Despite other brands – including aluminium door sets – failing the exacting test requirements, the PVCu Liniar ModLok™ bi-fold is the first to successfully pass.

The Folding Sliding Door Scheme has been devised by Build Check to raise the bar and bring a greater degree of excellence and reliability to a product that is still increasing in popularity, in spite of some negative publicity from some homeowners who have been the victims of inferior installations.

Many aluminium systems, often perceived as much stronger and more durable than its PVCu

equivalent, have so far fallen short of the mark during these tests whereas the Liniar ModLok™ bi-fold has passed with flying colours to disprove a common misconception.

Established in 2004, Build Check operates throughout the UK and Europe and has gone from strengthto-strength to become a highly respected provider within the marketplace, operating a management and quality system conforming to ISO/IEC 17025 (Testing) and BS EN 17065 (Product Certification) and accredited by UKAS and the BFRC. For more information on Build Check go to: www.buildcheck.co.uk or call: 01494 452713.

To find out more about Liniar go to: www.liniar.co.uk or call: 01332 883900.

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update

Engineers suggest new ways for refining industries to cut carbon Researchers from Imperial have carried out a study that demonstrates how to reduce harmful carbon dioxide emissions from bio-refineries. They have also shown how manufacturers of Olefins, an essential chemical used to make plastics, can reduce carbon dioxide emissions without affecting their competitiveness.

The research, led by Dr Mahdi Sharifzadeh in collaboration with Dr Lei Wang and Professor Nilay Shah, is part of wider efforts by academics at the Centre for Process Systems Engineering to refine manufacturing processes, so that they are more efficient, sustainable and able to adapt to the challenges of the 21st Century, such as global climate change.

Dr Mahdi said: “Imperial has a long tradition of working closely with industry to improve manufacturing processes and to educate the next generation of process systems engineers. The challenge of global climate change means that now more than ever we need to find solutions that enable industries to manufacture the products our modern societies depend on, but in a sustainable way. However, for these

solutions to be adopted they need to make economic sense. We’ve produced two studies that show how bio-refineries and chemical manufacturers can be more environmentally friendly, while still maintaining their bottom line.”

The Imperial team have developed a new bio-refinery process, which they suggest could reduce emissions.

Conventional bio-refineries convert biomass such as wood and grasses into a renewable fuel, called biofuel. Bio-refining technology is relatively immature, with only a handful of plants currently in operation around the world.

The process for making biofuel involves heating biomass at very high rates. The produced liquids, called biomass pyrolysis oil or simply bio-oil is then mixed with hydrogen and substances that increase the rate of chemical reactions, converting it into bio-fuels that are compatible with automobile engines, which normally run on fossil-based fuels. However, conventional bio-refineries can emit high amounts of harmful carbon dioxide.

The team have calculated that only six

per cent of carbon atoms in the original biomass feedstock would be emitted into the environment as carbon dioxide, using their new process. A further 19 per cent of the carbon atoms would end up as biomass waste, which could be used as fertilizer, while the remaining 75 per cent is converted into bio-fuel.

The new process, which was published in the journal Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, involves capturing carbon dioxide emissions using a solution called an amine solvent. The captured carbon dioxide is then pumped into a vat of microscopic algae, which converts it into oxygen via photosynthesis. The excess micro-algae would then be harvested and used in the bio-refining process, reducing the need for external sources of biomass feedstock.

Dr Sharifzadeh and his colleagues have calculated that the cultivated micro-algae would provide 20 per cent more fuel than the conventional bio-refinery process. This extra biofuel would compensate for the increased energy needed to capture the carbon dioxide.

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING FEDERATION OF ENGINE REMANUFACTURERS

QUALITY & PERFORMANCE

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING FEDERATION OF ENGINE REMANUFACTURERS

The FER covers every aspect of internal combustion engine re-manufacturing including automotive, marine, HGV, rail traction, off-highway, racing and competition engines of all ages, makes and sizes.

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In 1937, a small body of engine re-manufacturers formed the National Association of Crankshaft and Cylinder Grinders with the main objective of establishing higher standards of workmanship within the engine re-manufacturing industry. In 1968 the Association was re-organised and became The Federation of Engine ReManufacturers and in 2004 became a Limited Liability Partnership, but the objective remained the same, establishing and maintaining high standards.

The FER is operated on behalf of its members by an elected board comprising of President Ken Worsdale (Foxwood Diesel), Vice President John Gray (Owslebury Crankshaft Services), and Treasurer Adrian Wilkes (Gosnays Engineering). The board also includes a number of directors including John Smith (T M Smith Motor Engineers), Gordon Pitcairn (Pitcairn Engineering), Andrew McClachlan (Davies Bearings), Alan Johnston (XRN Engineering), John Dormer (Serdi UK), David Eszenyi (Ivor Searle ), and Mike Knowles (Elring UK). Chris Holmes as Development and Technical Manager concludes the team as a non-board director.

The above team comprises of both remanufacturing, machining and supplier companies and therefore fully understands the industry and members’ needs. The BS Code of Practice BS AU 257 was an important development in 1995 (revised 2002) and remains an important element in the FER seeking to raise the profile of the industry.

Membership historically was restricted to companies with full machine shop facilities, however since the early 90s in recognition of there being many businesses who met the FER quality criteria, but who did not necessarily have a fully equipped machine shop, membership has been extended to include specialist engine rebuilders of historic and competition cars.

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING FEDERATION OF ENGINE REMANUFACTURERS

A stipulation of this membership is that non in-house machining is subcontracted only to another FER member. Additionally members standards must comply not only with FER engine and machining specifications, but also with an ethical customer relations policy.

All members benefit from the provision of a full technical, educational and business service plus a free Legal Advice line in the event of a complaint or uncertainly of H&S rules, employment law etc.

Through its members, the FER covers every aspect of internal combustion engine re-manufacturing covering automotive, marine, HGV, rail traction, off-highway, racing and competition engines of all ages, makes and sizes.

The Federation is now the only corporate body representing the interests of the engine re-manufacturing fraternity in the United Kingdom and is increasingly working interna-

tionally to support its members. Contacts throughout Europe and the rest of the world are being strengthened to influence developments, conditions in, and the image of the engine remanufacturing industry as globally industry and politicians are waking up to the value that remanufacturing can add to many businesses.

The FER alliance with FIRM and APRA in Europe ensures that it and its members are not only up to date with current legislation and policies but can also have input to future policies.

In common with many industries the members of the FER are finding it difficult to attract new blood and the FER is working with the training company Qualitrain to produce a suite of training programmes specifically for the skills required in the engine remanufacturing industry.

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING FEDERATION OF ENGINE REMANUFACTURERS

WHAT IS A REMANUFACTURED

ENGINE? A re-manufactured engine is exactly that – an engine which has been returned to the manufacturer’s specification to provide levels of performance, reliability and life similar to that of the original engine. It is not a "replacement", "exchange" or "rebuilt" engine.

British Standard Automobile Series Code of Practice BSI AU 257:2002 fully details how, for spark and compression ignition (diesel) engines, components shall be inspected and checked against manufacturers tolerances.

Key components including piston assemblies, big end and small end bearings/bushes, gaskets, oil seals, timing chains and drive belts are all renewed, whilst items such as tensioners and dampers are checked and replaced where

necessary. The standard is currently being reviewed in the light of current engine technology and piston re-use is likely to be allowed subject to checks. Important additional operations such as crack testing of machined components or de-burring reworked oil ways ensure original performance is achieved with reliability. As well as having all key clearances, tolerances and end floats checked during assembly complete engines are also required to be checked for oil pressure and compression values.

Due to the complexity of the modern engine there are many who say the future of engine remanufacturing is bleak and their business is doomed, fortunately there are more who have a

The challenge for the FER and other organisations representing remanufacturing is to work with the OEMs to have the remanufacturing potential of a component identified as part of the original design process.

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positive view. Buried beneath the composite manifolds, sumps, housings and managed by sophisticated electronics there still lurks at the heart of the majority of cars and all commercial vehicles an internal combustion engine with a design life of at least 150,000 miles, or effectively the life of the vehicle. However factor in real drivers use and abuse covering incorrect oils, additives, petrol in a diesel, excessive low speed trips in a diesel car, DIY servicing and old school mechanics and these engines will and indeed are failing at relatively early mileages.

The challenge for the FER and other organisations representing remanufacturing is to work with the OEMs to have the remanufacturing potential of a component identified as part of the original design process. What use is a crankshaft that cannot be reground at least once, a cylinder block that cannot be bored or sleeved? These are expensive items to manufacture and just throw away if worn for the sake of not being able to grind off as little as 5 thousandths of an inch of metal!

To locate your nearest FER member to your postcode please visit www.fer.co.uk If you are interested in becoming a member please contact ChrisHolmes@fer.co.uk

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING SHARING IN GROWTH

A HELPING HAND

Sharing In Growth was set up in 2012 to evolve, improve and develop the UK’s position in the global aerospace and manufacturing markets

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The fact the UK is second in the global aerospace market after the US may surprise many people. But the UK government is keen to maintain that position in a fast growing market, which led to the formation of Sharing In Growth in 2012.

The organisation was formed through a £50 million Regional Growth Fund grant which, with a recent conditional grant for a further £30 million and in kind contributions from the benefiting companies, amounts to a £250 million programme aiming to secure 10,000 jobs over its life and help drive competitive performance. That requires much work around lean principles, manufacturing

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process capability, sub-tier supply chain management, financial and cost modelling and leadership.

The way it will do this, according to CEO Andy Page, is quite unique and very ambitious: “To retain that position in the world requires companies to evolve, improve, develop and step up to the challenges the global market faces. With the money, expertise and time at our disposal, we’re doing something on a scale the UK government hasn’t attempted before.

We’re trying to create something that is commensurate with the challenges companies are facing so it’s been designed to have a scale and an impact.

“We believe high value manufacturing has a place in developed countries like

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the UK and want to develop it for this generation and the next. We want to make it more recognised and highly valued, with the secondary benefits of drawing people through education, providing them with challenging and stimulating jobs, with long-term security and a route for innovation and technology.”

Sharing In Growth is headed by experienced management with backgrounds in aerospace and manufacturing, backed by a ninety-strong team that’s set to grow to 120. They work closely with partners that provide business and strategic planning support, inspection and advanced manufacturing research capabilities, and tailored training that is very specific to the circumstances, chal-

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lenges and ambitions of programme members.

Those members currently number 33 and have to fulfil certain criteria to be accepted.

“They must be high value, UK manufacturing companies that contribute to aerospace, wish to export, have probably gone through the first generation of growth and are looking to build on that and move to mid-cap size,” recounts Andy. “Typically, companies are over £8-10 million turnover but not above £100 million, don’t need to be SMEs and their ownership structure can be anything. But they have to be ambitious, curious, open and willing to learn, change and develop.”

Each company receives £1 million worth of funded training and development over a fouryear programme that starts with a period of due diligence around the nature of the company and includes talking to its customers in order to determine what it needs to do. “We then go through a very deep, whole business diagnostic, which takes three to four months,” explains Andy.

“It looks at their maturity levels across all key elements of their business covering their board structure, leadership, governance, purchasing principles, manufacturing principles, cost modelling, pricing, production and all the important things in the industry. We come out of that process with an improvement plan that happens over the next two years. Then there is a further eighteen months of sustaining this activity where we check and review to make sure we’ve left them with the knowledge to continue on their own. Overall, each company goes through a four-year programme.”

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Each company receives £1 million worth of funded training and development over a four-year programme Sharing In Growth’s role is to co-ordinate, advise and provide the necessary support through the process, ensuring it’s adding value to businesses that will make their own decisions. The longer term hope is that participating companies, which can increase to 64 with the current funding, will perform, compete and form a powerful community offering support for each other.

And that, as Andy outlines, is already being encouraged: “We’ve held two better practice sharing forums so far where we have all the companies together. Typically, we choose three or four of those companies to give a presentation on the activities they’re undertaking, the challenges they’ve faced and the things they’ve learnt. They share their experiences with everybody else and they’re remarkably frank and very open, even though some of them are in competition. They recognise there’s a much greater benefit there by everybody learning from each other.”

Although the programme’s still at a relatively early stage, with the front runners just going through their first anniversary and most start-

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The immediate aims are to progress the initial 33 companies through the rest of the programme and to recruit additional members

ing improvement activity after completing the diagnostic phase, there are already positive outcomes. Increased confidence has allowed them to be more aggressive in the market and compete more effectively, and that’s contributed to the first £100 million of contract value being secured.

The immediate aims are to progress the initial 33 companies through the rest of the programme and to recruit additional members up to the current 64 capacity. After that, Andy believes there’s further potential: “The first priority is to try and do more of this until we maximise the benefit in the UK for aerospace. Then there are potential spin-off benefits because this is going to have a very meaningful impact on a number of companies by making them drive and accelerate their competitive performance. For them truly to grow, they need to

be thinking about technology development and almost certainly need to have access to capital for growth.

“We can link up with other schemes that are trying to stimulate technology and access to capital so we can start leveraging the benefits for those companies. There are also many other high value manufacturing sectors, should the government wish to try and expand this model there. The combined effect of having time and the resources to do something means we’ve designed this very specifically to be commensurate with the challenges in aerospace in order to achieve the objective of globally competitive performance.”

www.sig-uk.org Telephone: 01332 269096

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING STONE FOUNDRIES

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The process for making sand castings has been around for many centuries although the procedure has evolved using techniques such as self-setting sands and resin tooling, keeping pace with the ever-increasing demands of the markets served. Serving markets such as aerospace and defence, these developments have been essential in delivering cost competitive and safe products in a very competitive worldwide market. Stone Foundries has been at the forefront of these developments, indeed class leading in many

pre and post-cast disciplines.

Stone Foundries roots date back to 1831 with production of aircraft castings commencing in the 1920s. The company was in the forefront of development of magnesium alloys for aerospace and defence applications and has been involved in some challenging and intriguing projects in its long history. It is now a partner in the Stone Engineering Group, which specialises in casting and machining high quality aluminium and magnesium components for a wide range of engineered products.

“We get involved with our customers at

the early design stage where possible and work with them to make sure what they’re designing is manufacturable from a casting perspective and, as importantly, considering commercial, total cost and timescale constraints,” recounts Sales and Marketing Director Bob Bruce.

“The products are all bespoke, technically demanding and relatively low volume. For example, typical products supplied are used in most Rolls-Royce civil and military engines, supporting both engine build and spares requirements”.

PRECISION ENGINEERING Stone Foundries is a leading European manufacturer of high integrity aluminium and magnesium castings

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING STONE FOUNDRIES There’s also a collaboration with Cast Technologies Institute, part of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, on processes such as 3D sand printing. Stone Foundries is working on a number of projects, developing the process to potentially flight acceptable standard. This process is not only good for development programmes but potentially covers a gap in the market for the supply of low volume heritage parts and, as Bob recounts, various other innovations: “We use X-ray as an inspection process to make sure our products conform to the specifications. However, the film can potentially erode over time and is expensive to store.

“So we now offer a digital X-ray solution whereby the image is stored on a tape, is quicker, cleaner and more environmentally friendly.

Stone Foundries was the first light alloy foundry to have this process accepted by RollsRoyce. Also, traditionally post-cast processing includes a full or part dimensional inspection process to ensure conformance to the drawing.

We’ve now developed a process where we use a laser scanner to ensure the parts conform, which is far more efficient in time and cost.”

Environmentally, foundries have traditionally had an undesirable reputation. The company

is mindful of the effects they have on both local and global communities and so has signed up to a unique, DEFRA-funded, actionbased research programme. Along with other companies in the Rolls-Royce supply chain, it has access to a resource efficiency manager who will help determine the potential for b u s i n e s s improvement while allowing the company to sets its own priorities. The project is expected to last 12-15 months and the outcome will be a more efficient operation with improved environmental credibility through reduced waste of natural resources that include energy, water and materials.

The biggest driver of change currently, is Stone Foundries’ participation in the Sharing in Growth programme. It was the fourth company

“A major benefit from the Sharing in Growth programme has been a significant improvement in employee engagement”

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to be accepted, has just completed its first anniversary and was one of only four companies to be invited to present at the organisation’s Best Practice event. Although only 25% through the four-year programme, the company has seen remarkable improvements. Delivery performance has improved dramatically with the demanding On

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING STONE FOUNDRIES Time in Full (OTIF) measure increasing from 40% to 90% by the end of the first year and arrears decreasing from £500,000 to £30,000 over the same period.

A major benefit from the Sharing in Growth programme has been a significant improvement in employee engagement. “We ran a survey in February 2014, which found that employees were not really engaged in the business, had a typical distrust of management and, on a scale of one to five, we averaged 1-1.5,” recalls Bob. “During,

the year, we ran company briefs explaining the journey, a number of workshops, lean manufacturing exercises, NVQ programmes and engaging employees in problem solving activities.

Sharing in Growth ran the survey again in December 2015. The first survey had a response rate of 67 out of 105 while 85 responded to the second survey with an average score of 4.5 out of 5. This was a remarkable change in such a short period and clear evidence that employees have bought into and see a value in the programme. The knockon benefits are sometimes unquantifiable but, as evidenced in daily briefs and by regularly walking on the shop floor and talking to people, there is an infectious desire to be part of the team and not purely an employee.

That turnaround has enabled Stone Foundries to be more flexible and adaptable, illustrated by a recent request by a customer, Agusta Westland, to increase production of demanding part for its Lynx helicopter programme from 12-13 annually to 53 in 2014.

Using some of the tools and techniques developed through Sharing in Growth, and engaging the employees in the challenge, it achieved the target, a feat the customer described as “nothing short of a miracle”.

Longer term, Bob believes, the programme is preparing the company for future challenges, saying: “We have to remain match fit so we’re in a position to continue to compete in a very tough international market. It’s enabling Stone Foundries to look beyond its main UK market.

We are now seeing further opportunities abroad and are experiencing growth opportunities with customers in France, Italy, Germany and, North America. Interestingly, these customers are aware of Sharing in Growth. I recently received a call from a potential customer in Canada who is quite intrigued about the benefits it’s brought to customers and they’re inviting us to go out there and present our business to them.”

www.stonefoundries.com Telephone: 020 88534648

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING CONFEDERATION OF PAPER INDUSTRIES

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With the targeted goal of unifying the UK's paper-based industry, the Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) has the singular purpose of promoting paper's intrinsic value across the industry as one of the most reliable, renewable and sustainable fibre-based materials. Through enhancing its competitiveness on a national scale, the CPI has successfully maintained paper's position at the forefront of the manufacturing industry by seeking to reduce legislative and regulatory impacts as well as promoting best practice standards.

Representing an industry with an aggregate annual turnover of £6.5bn, the CPI's influence in the UK paper industry is undeniable. The key areas in which the CPI is working to promote include: a positive image for paper, securing energy supplies at competitive prices, resource efficiency within a coherent waste strategy, the benefits of packaging, a sustainable UK paper industry, manufacturing as a core role in a balanced UK economy and a competitive, but level playing field for the UK's paper industry.

Through consulting and supporting its members with standing committees and sector bodies which are in turn responsible to the CPI Council, the CPI is effectively able to deal with many of the varied issues facing the industry as well as providing a range of supporting services to member organisations to promote their individual interests. Such services offered to members by the CPI include: health and safety, employment services, training, member communications, statistics, lobbying and external communication. Through these services, members are effectively able to focus upon what it is they do best, paper instead of becoming bogged down in the ever-evolving politics and regulations of the UK paper industry.

One of the key areas in which the CPI has been utilising this influence to promote best practice across the sector is in the area of sustainability. Being intrinsi-

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cally energy intensive, paper mill operators are consistently seeking ways to incrementally improve efficiency and therefore remain competitive, something which the CPI supports wholeheartedly.

Figures recently released by the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) show that 2014 emission figures for the paper industry sported a 13.% lower figure than those in 2013, and a shocking 42% lower than in 2008, clearly pointing to the success of the CPI and paper mills in developing their operations into more sustainable, environmentally friendly organisations.

Specific figures shown from the report show that carbon dioxide emitted by UK paper mills have fallen by a third in just seven years – from 0.64 tonnes CO2 down to 0.42 tonnes per tonne of production.

CPI Director General, David Workman, commented: “These figures show that UK paper mills are more than playing their part in reducing emissions and helping the UK reach climate change related targets.

However, Government must also play its part by setting long-term stable policies to ensure that UK installations can remain internationally competitive while continuing to decarbonise. We look forward to working with a new Government to take forward the sector 2050 Roadmap just published.

“Don’t forget that more than half of the paper used in the UK is made elsewhere, with associated emissions not being counted in the UK. We’d much rather see the paper used in the UK being made in highly efficient UK mills, providing jobs and creating wealth here. Since 2008 our production has fallen by around 600,000 tonnes. Nonsensically, emissions associated with imported paper simply aren’t included by Government in UK emissions data.”

www.paper.org.uk

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING CONFEDERATION OF PAPER INDUSTRIES

THE VOICE AND FACE OF THE UK’S PAPER BASED INDUSTRIES

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING DEVON VALLEY LTD

Speciality

Papers From sausage casing paper to teabag paper, floor surfacing, and speciality long-fibre products, Devon Valley has a comprehensive paper product range that is second to none.

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With a long and proud history in the production of speciality papers, Devon Valley Limited has been producing a wide range of paper products for key industrial and food-sector markets. From sausage casing paper through to teabag paper, floor surfacing, overlay paper and speciality longfibre products, Devon Valley is essentially a one-stop shop for your paper product needs, with a comprehensive product range that is second to none.

Devon Valley is a part of the Purico Group, founded by Professor Nathu Ram Puri in 1983 and as a result benefits from the assets of the international company group. Being one of the most diverse and successful private enterprises in the UK, Purico maintains sustainable manufacturing interests in: paper manufacture and distribution, polymers and plastics, IT and communications, engineering, trading companies, hospitality, real estate and property investments. Key to the group's operations is its dedication to continually innovate and promote growth amongst its companies, with a comprehensive five-year expansion plan focusing on: technical and product leadership, opportunistic investors, customer care and satisfaction, culti-

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vating competitive advantage and globalisation.

Committed to leadership in the “next generation” of technology, Purico is well-positioned to drive growth for the future through its wealth of technical expertise in each business by developing a global technical capability as well as increasing new product growth and investing in global research. The group explains: “Our vision focuses on investing in our business and technology to improve the performance on our installed base and the way we maintain position of our products in the competitive commercial world. Through better planning, we go beyond conventional engineering to implanting complex production strategy in the installed base. By doing so, we dramatically improve our customers' competitive positions. Purico is in the midst of an incredible transformation brought on by the Internet explosion. Our initiative of digitization will rapidly change how businesses interact with each other electronically.”

Located in the south west of England, Devon Valley is well placed for he country's motorway systems and Is therefore positioned perfectly to serve the nation. Combined wit the company's considerable experience in meeting the specific needs of industry clients, you can count

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING DEVON VALLEY LTD

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING DEVON VALLEY LTD on Devon Valley to come through regardless of paper specification or requirement. The company also has a very prestigious and esteemed history regarding which the company explains: “In Saxon times, prior to the Domesday Record of England in 1086, Hele had been a small settlement on the River Culm in Devon.

Later it had a Grist Mill, powered by the flow of the river, and in 1762 the new activity of hand

bank notes, both at home and for currencies throughout the Empire of that time. From this the Mill continued a highly profitable and renowned business, providing highly specialised papers to the present day.”

As one of the world's largest global producers of sausage casing paper, manufactured from specially selected high-quality Abaca fibres bonded with a property binder system, Devon

No matter the specification or requirement, Devon Valley is sure to rise to the challenge paper-making was started in a redundant barn.

It succeeded exceptionally well with the establishment of professional papermakers – culminating in the West Country family of Dewdney, who gained a gold medal for the invention of glazed writing-paper at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The company was at the fore-front of technical innovation installing turbine power and newly invented paper machines for continuous paper production, and the discovery of deeper sources of water of the high quality necessary for exceptional quality water-marked paper. This led to them making the paper for

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Valley is a true role model in excellence for the sector. Paper is designed specifically to convert efficiently on all casting extrusion lines as well as having: excellent viscose uniform absorbency, superior clarity, first rate run-ability, being biodegradable and offering exceptional dimension stability, consistency and mechanical strength. Coming in a wide range of paper from 12gsm to 28gsm, you can rest assured that Devon Valley will be able to offer high quality products and solutions to specific needs.

Devon Valley's non-heatseal teabag paper is produced in 12.5gsm from high quality Abaca

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fibres and cellulose fibres, boasting impressive: dust retention, consistency, taste neutrality, run ability and infusion properties. Through such high quality teabag paper, Devon Valley is able to support one of Britain's much loved drinks, something which it is no doubt incredible proud of.

Additionally, Devon Valley is one of the largest suppliers of modern overlay papers, meeting the oft complex and specific requirements of its clients with a comprehensive range of product covers, including the most flexible and specific solution all the way through to the standard overlay products. With a product weight range of 18gsm through to 45gsm, Devon Valley's products offer high dimensional stability, excellent uniformity and clarity, perfectly suited for surfaces such as flooring and kitchen counters.

Essentially, for all paper needs there is Devon Valley – an organisation boasting second-to-none quality, efficiency and best practice standards. No matter the specification or requirement, Devon Valley is sure to rise to the challenge, meeting and exceeding all customer demands.

www.devonvalleymill.com

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING TECHUK

DEFINING THE WORLD...

4 techUK represents the companies and technologies that are defining today the world that we will live in tomorrow. More than 850 companies are members of techUK. Collectively they employ more than 500,000 people, about half of all tech sector jobs in the UK. These companies range from leading FTSE 100 companies to new innovative startups. Tech UK membership covers both the large and multinational technology organisations and small and medium-sized businesses.

Few sectors move and change as quickly as digital technology and its trade association has evolved to keep in step with the sector Intellect, techUK's predecessor which was formed in May 2003 as a result of a merger of the Federation of the Electronics Industry and the Computer Services and Software Association which brought the worlds of hardware and software together into one association. Ten years later, Intellect has been renamed techUK to better reflect the accelerating pace of innovation and to support an increasingly diverse base of growing tech companies operating across the economy and across the UK. As a trade association representing technology companies, techUK has a long heritage dating back almost 100 years. Successive waves of innovation in wireless technologies; electronics; computing; and software often originating in the UK have re-shaped the world we live in. techUK believes that to ensure jobs and growth in the future the UK has to be amongst the world's most advanced digital economies.

This means that it needs to be a leader in both the development and use of digital technology for the benefit of the UK economy and its citi-

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techUK members collectively employ more than 500,000 people, about half of all tech sector jobs in the country zens. This vision inspires and informs everything that techUK does. techUK is committed to helping its members grow, helping the sector grow and helping the wider economy grow through the smart use for tech. To this end, techUK activities are specifically designed to support its members’ efforts to develop markets, develop communities and networks and to reduce business costs and risks associated with operating in the UK. techUK programmes are designed around vertical and cross market areas of work which we are pursuing on behalf of the tech sector.

The programme grid demonstrates the breadth

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of techUK work and indicates where organisations can get involved with techUK In order to derive value. techUK’s vertical groups are segmented into technology for Government and technology for business and consumer markets. Within this framework, our programmes revolve around key markets where technology is seen as a driver of economic growth in a digital economy. Every year, techUK works with its members to identify the most important issues that cut across the vertical programmes. These add context and relevance to techUK work.

The UK’s reputation for innovation is renown throughout the world. Despite the emergence of low cost economies to manufacture volume product, the UK has carved a niche for high value, innovative products and systems.

The UK’s technology sector includes major brands for high end quality products, and excels in the supply of systems, sub-systems, assemblies and components.

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING TECHUK Technology has also changed the way we conduct global business, and we now see the emergence of small and medium sized companies now capable of delivering innovative solutions at a global level. Multi-nationals have also taken note, and now regard the SME and academic communities for new ideas through Open Innovation and Technology Scouting.

In turn, this is changing the role of networks and trade associations in efforts to broker engagements, creating new business opportunities and collaborative partnerships.

A key component of techUK’s electronics programme is the Electronics technology Network (ETN) - the UK’s largest technology network. The network has over 6,000 members (comprising 15% academics and over 4,300 businesses) and a strong focus on SME services (95% of members are from small or medium-sized businesses).

The programme brings together for the first time, under one umbrella, a network of individual experts from the network with a corporate trade association. techUK is the first organisation to connect the supply and demand in the innovation space enabling technology scouting from the large multi-nationals

and brands, and offering channels to market for SMEs and academia.

The UK cannot rest on its laurels as the champion for global innovation; there are many suitors for this title.

The UK also has some underlying traits to manage regarding its capacity; specifically, how to enable its talented technology SMEs to deliver their product into global markets, reducing the risks associated with “the valley of death”. Great ideas and innovations come to nothing unless they find a route to market, and this is the challenge that techUK can overcome.

“techUK’s programmes are designed to enable the UK technology industry to realise its true potential”

Conversely, this is also an opportunity, as multi-nationals and global brands begin to realise that the most effective way to develop their innovation programme is to open up their challenges to a wider network to resolve.

Whether this is framed as Open Innovation or technology scouting, the result is outcomes are usually the same, where SMEs find partners to develop their innovations into commercial products, and multi-nationals reduce their R&D costs, and innovation cycle time, by engaging in B2B brokerage with SMEs and academia. techUK, with The Electronics Network, is well positioned to facilitate Open Innovation and Technology Scouting; one of the key reasons why techUK leads the Innovation work stream, liaising with Government through the ESCO group. techUK’s programmes are designed to enable the UK technology industry to realise its true potential; that UK electronics, manufacturing and design will continue to be internationally recognised for both creativity and innovation, enabling commercial growth through new business opportunities, and increased domestic jobs that reflect a strong and vibrant sector.

In addition to our extensive programme of activities, techUK members enjoy access to a growing number of services that have been created to help members refine, grow and develop their businesses. These range from meeting space for up to 120 people conferences as well as smaller business meetings, business building services, quality accreditation schemes and HR and legal advice.

Additionally member business resources include market insights, reports and regulatory consultation documents as well as a wide variety of member discounts that cover training and development, software validation and Escrow services.

For more information on techUK programmes of activity, technology news, views, insights and services visit: www.techuk.org

FOR TODAY & TOMORROW.

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING 4SECURE

ADVISE PREVENT SOLVE

4Secure is one of the leading consultants on data security in the UK

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With cyber crime on the rise in the current Internet age, the costs of data loss can be immense. According to one estimate, over 50 million people worldwide have had data about them exposed in the past 18 months alone, and the consequences of a breach in security can damage not only the performance of an organization, but also its reputation.

4Secure is one of the leading consultants on data security in the UK – for more than a decade its highly qualified team of IT systems engineering consultants has faced some of the most demanding security challenges of all, head on. The company aims to provide the best solutions possible for its clients – who include global corporations, government departments, critical national infrastructure, financial institutions, schools, and telecom companies.

When an organization is connected to the Internet via desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and servers such as email and web applications, it is at risk of cyber attacks.

4Secure support its customers in adhering to the government’s Cyber Essentials Scheme – an initiative that aims to mitigate these risks in all UK organisations regardless of size.

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4Secure provides services in optimizing security settings, known as System Hardening, Firewall Administration, Risk Assessment and Vulnerability Assessment, and even performing Penetration Tests. “A Penetration Test will investigate any vulnerabilities identified and examine how the system can be exploited and the associated risks,” explained the company.

“Areas of vulnerability include design flaws, configuration errors and software bugs, as well as software patching deficiencies and absence of required configuration updates. The good news is, once identified they can usually be quickly resolved.”

After this process, a comprehensive report is compiled that highlights any actions that may be taken, which is then provided to the organisation.

The company also delivers a range of custom tailored Cyber Security Training Courses, equipping clients with the skills to protect their organisation from security breaches, data protection breaches, and loss of earnings. The courses support best practice in Information Assurance (IA) and cyber security and come in a variety of packages suited to any level of business.

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING 4SECURE

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4Secure offers Cyber Security Training Courses at foundation or expert level, as well as Security and Risk Management courses, Advanced Threat Methodology courses – designed to train participants to recognize and defend against Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) tactics in a practical environment, Operational Digital Forensics aiming to teach participants to perform fast and efficient investigations into high end cyber threats, and Cyber Leadership courses which enables participants to replicate standard cyber skills training and awareness for themselves.

Recently 4Secure has begun offering support to new customers through the Innovation Voucher application process, by giving advice on Intellectual Property straight from one of its own dedicated specialists. The voucher services could also include Information Assurance consultancy and training, Data Communication Consultancy and Training, Cyber Security Consultancy and Training, and Security Architecture Consultancy and Training.

Companies can gain access to training with 4Secure by applying for an Innovation Voucher of up to £5,000 in funding.

If the worst should happen and companies find themselves the victim of data loss, 4Secure also provides a range of Digital Forensics tools – both hardware and software – to help the

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“Many existing forensics devices arenʼt evolving with the changing state of cybercrime. This creates needs for tools and devices that enable efficiency, smooth data and disk imaging and transfer” opera-

organisation get back on its feet as quickly and efficiently as possible. Digital Forensics is a branch of forensic science which facilitates the recovery and investigation of digital material.

“Many existing forensics devices arenʼt evolving with the changing state of cybercrime.

This creates needs for tools and devices that enable efficiency, smooth data and disk imaging and transfer, and new ways to maximize your time,” a spokesperson from the company told MEM. “CRU has an established reputation for high-quality products and personal customer service, including technical support and is a widely acknowledged leader in providing hardware products used in the field of digital data capture and digital investigation.”

As part of a Disaster Recovery Plan, 4Secure will assess organisation’s activities and how its resources are interconnected.

“A Disaster Recovery plan will ensure that should the worst happen, for instance, a natural disaster, burglary or cyber attack, company operations will be able to resume normal services as quickly and effectively as possible,” explained a spokesperson. “We will also conduct an incident response analysis to demonstrate the impact of the incident on a company’s

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tions, and provide a post incident report.”

Recently 4Secure announced the introduction of specialist IA and Cyber capabilities to the UK Governments Digital Marketplace, also known as G’Cloud 6. The development aims to work with Her Majesty’s Government by responding to the cyber challenges posed by the 21st century, through the delivery of professional, proportionate and cost effective IA and Cyber Security Services.

www.4-secure.com

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING TROY UK

MORE THAN JUST A

BUYING

GROUP TROY UK is the leading engineering distributor group with members throughout the UK

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Troy UK is a membership based industrial buying group based in Barnstaple, North Devon, with 181 independent industrial and trade distributors within its membership, covering 256 locations throughout the UK and a diverse database of over 300 suppliers. Troy was founded in 1986 and grew steadily, utilising the tried and tested values of a traditional buying organisation.

However, since November 2010 the group has been under new ownership and over the past four years has evolved rapidly, fast becoming the group of choice for independent distributors in this fast paced and ever changing market.

The new management team have applied their business plan to the traditional buying group principle and have ‘added value’ to all stake holders in the supply chain - all being equally important, the member, supplier and ultimate customer, whether it’s a blue chip company contract or a single enduser sale, all have to benefit.

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They have invested in a new state-of-the-art back office system, facilitating the exchange of electronic invoices, a new Troy website with member portal and personnel in key areas which will enable them to move forward in line with the growth of the group. Together with this investment, a sharp focus on maintaining and establishing strong and close relationships with its members and suppliers, old and new, have been paramount to breaking down barriers and creating a simple and efficient, yet highly progressive and forward-thinking platform for business.

Troy believe the key to their members’ success lies in their unique understanding of their local customers and their competition. Troy’s rationale is to select supply partners who are equally determined to develop their businesses by working closely with Troy members. Troy has invested greatly in an experienced business development sales support team to channel the feedback they receive and expand the portfolio of suppliers, in

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING TROY UK

Troy believe the key to their members’ success lies in their unique understanding of their local customers and their competition

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING TROY UK

line with the members’ demands.

Troy is committed to offering the group’s combined purchasing power allied to a willingness to work together and to offer their suppliers a cohesive and independent alternative to the national distributor. Although the group continues to evolve to meet the demands of the ever changing market, their core competence remains suppliers and specialist brands who offer their members the best mix of quality and price. Troy combines the group’s buying power and consolidates members’ purchases and makes one single payment to suppliers, thus reducing administration costs.

Where needed, Troy also supports its members and suppliers by the use of its central warehouse to further assist their easy buy policy. This has recently supported the group’s PPE and safety catalogue and its quarterly special offer publication ‘Troy Trader’, where minimum and carriage paid orders, by some suppliers, can be prohibitive.

Troy believes it’s the extra things that matter, like expert and impartial advice from an experienced, technical sales team. For global manufacturing companies, developing an individually tailored supply chain and vendor management inventory (VMI) system has become a standard cost management strategy.

In today’s highly competitive market Troy see more, smaller manufacturers turning to the cost saving benefits of keeping a smaller number of suppliers closer to their business. This trend is especially noticeable with manufacturing, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies who work in more technical engineering sectors.

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Where needed, Troy also supports its members and suppliers by the use of its central warehouse to further assist their easy buy policy.

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MANUFACTURING & ENGINEERING TROY UK

2015 TROY MEANS BUSINESS EVENT

With a little help, independent distributors like Troy members can be part of this changing market and offer their customers an invaluable level of product knowledge and assistance.

Troy has recognised that ‘integrated supply’ is playing a greater part in today’s manufacturing industry and has invested in a contract sales team to offer members expertise in this field.

The group’s experienced team can be called upon to work alongside its members, helping to develop sales opportunities and present effective cost down solutions. With their hands-on experience of implementing stock management processes, introducing usage control and product rationalisation, they can clearly demonstrate that this value added approach has a proven track record of success.

The group’s traditional business to process activity (cutting tools, metrology, oils, maintenance tools etc.) continues to prosper with the success of their contracts sales team assisting members and suppliers in securing new business. This has helped to further strengthen this market sector by working with members on their standard end user customers, as well as supporting contract accounts with technical prod-

uct trials to achieve cost down solutions. Their willingness to develop emerging market sectors is demonstrated by the recruitment of more key suppliers to the group, to support its members and to maintain their presence within the business to process market.

Troy has also invested in a business development sales team who work closely with the business to trade members and suppliers. Over the past four years this has resulted in significant growth within the hand and power tool sector and has even lead to bespoke products being produced for its members. This dramatic turnaround has been achieved by close working relationships between Troy, the member and the supplier.

The specialist skills you will now find at Troy cover all aspects of the market sectors that the members occupy.

Expertise that can help with everything from initiating a comprehensive integrated supply solution, to working with a single supplier, to finding bulk buying opportunities to provide special offers designed to stimulate local trade sales.

All of these services are available to every Troy member.

Troy works tirelessly with members and suppliers and by ‘adding value’ to all in the supply chain it’s enabling it to achieve its vision - to become the UK and Ireland’s largest and most effective industrial supply organisation.

Despite only being in its fourth year the ‘Troy Means Business’ show’s roots are firmly established. Expanding in popularity and size year-on-year, the tradeshow and the surrounding event has become highly anticipated. So much so that within 48 hours of the trade stands being available, 50% were booked, increasing to 80% by the end of the first week and completely selling out within the fortnight.

This year’s event is fast approaching, being held again at the iconic venue ‘The Wing’ at Silverstone Circuit. Many of the F1 race teams are customers of their members and suppliers, so it is fitting that their show is held at a venue where technical excellence is applauded.

The show has been hailed by suppliers as the best one day industrial show, where there is an opportunity to meet a high proportion of the group’s membership either at the day’s trade event or whilst networking at the evening’s gala dinner, with hospitality and entertainment rounding off a hard day’s work with a bit of light-hearted humour and fun. ………Troy really does mean business!

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CONTRACT MANUFACTURING OREAN PERSONAL CARE

CUTTING EDGE Orean offers a complete in-house package from cutting edge product formulation and packaging sourcing through to manufacture

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Orean Personal Care has developed a sound business strategy based on its passion to meet the needs of its niche. It offers a complete in-house package from cutting edge product formulation and packaging sourcing through to manufacture. Its capability means it can fill all shapes and sizes of bottles, jars, tubes and sachets. The company also provides a full contract packing and finishing service including cello-wrapping and shelf-ready packaging.

Orean’s flexibility and reduced lead-times are unrivalled and its experience and professionalism makes the business the perfect fit for concept, new and established brands within the industry. This has seen the company successfully establish itself as one of the leading manufacturers within the hair, body and skincare markets.

Across three main service levels, Orean’s onsite team are experts at developing efficacious hair care, skincare, bath and body, hand, foot, sun care, men’s, mother and baby, and natural products. Importantly, the company prides itself on the level of flexibility it can offer to clients.

Its full service package involves product development, raw material sourcing, packaging / printing / label sourcing, manufacturing, filling and packing. Orean also provides a separate product development service, offering manufacturing, filling and packing where packaging components are free issued, while its manufacturing division handles filling and packing where the client owns their formulations and packaging components are free issued.

Orean understands how important quality is

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to customers and to its reputation as a premium contract manufacturer. By conducting product development, manufacturing, production and quality testing in-house and to GMP guidelines the company can ensure every one of these stages meets its high quality standards.

In addition, its experienced in-house Quality Assurance team ensures that all finished products meet the relevant specifications and customer requirements before leaving the site.

Third party microbiological testing is conducted on all batches to ensure regulatory compliance, while the company is both ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 accredited.

The company’s manufacturing facilities include Liquid Hot and Cold, Solvents and Solid Systems. This gives it the ability to manufacture gels, balms, washes, liquids, emulsions, lotions, pastes, salts and powder in batches from 50kg to 2 tonnes.

The experienced production team and range of production lines ensures that Orean can meet customers’ packaging and finishing preferences. It can fill from 1ml to one-tonne in a range of receptacles such as tubes, bottles and jars.

Orean also has the facility to cellophane wrap boxes to give a premium look and feel to finished products. This service can be offered independently or in conjunction with production

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services.

The company can fill tubes and fill and label jars and bottles. It purchases labelled or printed tubes from its preferred suppliers, and can fill tubes from 2ml up to 250ml with diameters from 16mm to 50mm, including oval tubes of 40mm and 50mm diameter. In addition, it can fill bottles from 1ml up to 5,000ml, including Hot Fill products and jars from 5ml to 500mls.

www.orean.co.uk Tel: 01274 878206

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CONTRACT MANUFACTURING OREAN PERSONAL CARE

“Orean’s on-site team are experts at developing efficacious hair care, skincare, bath and body, hand, foot, sun care, men’s, mother and baby, and natural products” MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

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AUTOMATION PPMA

e h t

e c i o v

OF PROCESSING & PACKAGING SUPPLIERS The PPMA’s mission is to provide a range of quality, cost effective services and publications to help members develop their businesses

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he PPMA is the UK's trade association for suppliers of processing and packaging machinery to the UK market and represents over 400 member and associate companies. Its principle objective is to promote sales of machinery, both at home and abroad, through various projects and services of mutual benefit to both members and their

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customers by providing free technical and machinery information and advice.

Started in 1987 with just eight founder companies, the association grew rapidly over the following two years, and in 1989 enjoyed a substantial increase in numbers when it merged with the UK manufacturers association, PEMA. The years that followed saw further growth in membership and expansion in the number and type

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of services offered to members.

Currently the PPMA has over 365 member and associate companies who are responsible for the majority of machines sold in the UK each year.

The PPMA’s mission is to provide a range of quality, cost effective services and publications to help members develop their business. It also aims to provide a single voice for the machinery sector on relevant issues, while promoting standards of technical

service, training and know-how, making membership a mark of quality and service. It is also committed to providing channels of contact between members, members and customers, members and government and other organisations, and endeavours to provide cost effective access to professional and focused exhibitions.

The PPMA is a members' owned organisation and each member owns the same amount of

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AUTOMATION PPMA

“The PPMA is a members' owned organisation and each member owns the same amount of shares in the organisation”

shares in the organisation irrespective of their size or annual expenditure with the association.

Each member company can put forward an employee to be a director of the PPMA. The Board of Directors meets approximately every quarter to work with the executive to develop products and services that benefit the members. Each PPMA director has a functional role for which they are responsible. PPMA directors are not paid and give their time

voluntarily in the service of the association.

The current chairman is Richard Little. He became a director in 2007 and is a long standing director of Jenton International, a manufacturer and distributor of equipment to the packaging, printing and converting industry.

He is supported by vice chairman Grant Jamieson. Grant became a board member in November 2010 and is managing

director of Winkworth Group, a UK manufacturer and worldwide exporter of mixing equipment across all industry sectors.

Recently, the PPMA held its annual industry awards ceremony at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham. The who’s who of the processing and packaging industry descended on the venue for the event hosted by Rory Bremner.

Companies demonstrating innovation, strength and success

were declared the best in their field across 14 closely fought categories by an independent panel of industry leading judges.

The top award went to Loma Systems which was named Processing & Packaging Manufacturer of the Year. The company was praised by the judges as “a great example of how the drive for excellence in the individual elements of any operation leads to a sound and successful business.”

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AUTOMATION PREMIER LABELLERS

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AUTOMATION PREMIER LABELLERS

PRACTICAL DESIGN QUALITY ENGINEERING Premier Labellers produces a wide range of labelling systems for a variety of customers and applications

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Applying traditional British values has, as Managing Director Tracie White recalls, enabled Premier Labellers to grow continually since 1994 and it now employs 36 people over two businesses. “We’ve grown on the strength of the quality of engineering and the practicality of the design of our machinery,” she says. “We design and build machinery to last and, most importantly, to be reliable because, for the companies we supply to, the priority for them is the machinery performs efficiently and downtime is very minimal. The strength of the growth we’ve had is largely due to the fact our machines are well built yet still competitively priced against perhaps lower quality imports.”

Premier Labellers produces a wide range of labelling systems, initially concentrating on the upper end of the British market, supplying companies such as Robert McBride, Boots, EPC and AstraZeneca. Over the years, it has broadened its range to handle many different applications and has largely done it through being flexible and by adapting standard designs to accommodate constantly changing packaging formats.

Consequently, it now deals with a wide spectrum of customers and applications, ranging from large multinational food, cosmetic, toiletry, pharmaceutical and household manufacturers to small start-up companies.

The approach is different to that of those manufacturers and agents that supply mainly standard machines only and is necessary because the shapes of packaging, bottles and the products themselves are constantly

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AUTOMATION PREMIER LABELLERS

changing. “They present various challenges as to how we handle them and apply the finished label to the product,” explains Tracie. “Customers come to us with a problem and we offer either a standard machine or in many cases we will specifically design a solution to suit the particular application."

The market necessitates a flexible approach from not only Premier Labellers itself but also its component suppliers. Tracie says: “The way the market works is new products are developed over many months before

Technological innovation is largely driven by customer demands and has led to several innovative developments.

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they a r e released to manufacturing.

Tight deadlines and launch dates often leave the engineering and production people with very little time to modify, adapt or purchase new equipment for the production line.

“We then have to really put our operation into overdrive and that forces our suppliers to do the same thing because we’re all reacting to the demand from the customers. Most of the time we manage to pull it off and turn things around quickly but we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without the support and assistance we get from our sub-contractors. A lot of them have grown with us and we know we can ask them for a quick turnaround; they are extremely flexible and accommodating to our needs."

Technological innovation is largely driven by customer demands and has led to several innovative developments. One of the latest of these, as Tracie recounts, is label centralisation technology: “Products made in glass vary in size quite a bit and are not as regular as plastics. The most accurate labelling machine will place a label on the bottle in the same place every time but it won’t necessarily be central because each bottle isn’t the same size. So we’ve developed our machine software to compensate for those changes in the size of the bottles and that allows the machine to calculate where the centre of that bottle is and place the label accordingly. The LCT system on the Premier flagship model, the P250, is accurate to plus or minus 0.4 millimetres.”

The company is also involved in a new development for the fresh meat and fish market to accommodate vacuum sealed packs that are designed to extend the shelf life of products and are becoming more common.

Traditional ways of putting labels on packs don’t work so a new machine, the WEL90, has been developed. Another recent machine is the P500 tube labeller for products in tubes, enabling the customer to use generic size tubes with a variety of labels rather than needing to have multiple versions of pre-printed tubes to cover numerous product and language variations.

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AUTOMATION PREMIER LABELLERS One of its most recent developments is designed to counter an issue the cosmetics and toiletries manufacturers have been facing.

“They can fill at about 100 products a minute but they’ve never been able to label those products with high accuracy at that speed,” states Tracie. “The labelling at the end of the line has become a bottleneck when using inline labellers so we’ve developed a high speed three roller wrap system. It’s specifically designed to be very accurate in how it wraps the label around the product and that machine is now able to keep up with the filling machines and produce up to 100 bottles a minute. The first machine is currently being built and has already been sold to a major toiletries manufacturer in the UK. Premier Labellers faces a conflicting number of challenges, with environmental concerns causing manufacturers to reduce the size and amount of packaging while at the same time labelling regulations require more information to be provided. It is, therefore, faced with the problem of doing more with less and is also increasing its own efforts for improved sustainability by using more energy efficient motors and investigating linerless labels that don’t have backing paper that needs to be disposed of. However, such solutions have to be practical for the product and cost-effectiveness is a big issue that

we’ve developed a high speed three roller wrap system.

It’s specifically designed to be very accurate in how it wraps the label around the product determines demand.

The company attends various shows and exhibitions to promote its products.

It generally does this independently having previously exhibited overseas with the PPMA and its UK Pavilions. It also receives a significant amount of traffic from the PPMA website that generates sales leads and benefits from information and advice on new legislation and regulations that help it prepare for challenges ahead.

Those challenges confront the company in two ways because, in addition to having the machinery manufacturing operation, it provides a contract packing service for those customers that can’t afford the

investment in their own complete production line. The latter comprises labelling, liquid filling, specialist tube filling and general packing services that make up around 30% of the business. It means it is effectively a customer for its products and can help to drive the innovation that will keep the company moving forward.

Tracie says: “The plan for the future is to continue building on the solid customer base we have now, develop our markets overseas and most of all keep listening to what our customers tell us. We will continue to innovate and incorporate changes that help our customers. If customers know we’re constantly improving and addressing particular issues, they continue to support us in return.”

www.premierlabellers.co.uk Telephone: 01255 553822

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CIVIL ENGINEERING STEEL CONSTRUCTION CERTIFICATION SCHEME

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CIVIL ENGINEERING STEEL CONSTRUCTION CERTIFICATION SCHEME

ENCOURAGING QUALITY & PRODUCTIVITY The SCCS was established in the early 1980s to provide a Quality Management Systems certification service for steelwork contracting organisations

There is a case for steel in all construction scenarios. There is a solution for all projects and the different engineering requirements that they bring, such as fire protection, thermal insulation, acoustics, vibration and BREEAM excellence. Whether it is hospitals, housing, schools, offices, mixed use, warehousing, bridges, power generation, there are abundant examples of where steel has been the preferred choice.

The Steel Construction Certification Scheme (SCCS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA). It was established in the early 1980s to provide a Quality Management Systems certification service for steelwork contracting organisations. SCCS has subsequently developed additional certification and monitoring services for the steelwork contractors with integrated or separate environmental and health and safety management systems and factory production control systems.

The directors are committed to the principles of impartiality in carrying out

management system certification activities, management of conflict of interest and ensuring objectivity of the management system certification activities.

Quality management systems operated by the certified contractors' are formally assessed to ensure compliance with the requirements of ISO 9001:2008. Each certificate issued is valid for three years during which period SCCS conducts regular surveillance audits to monitor continued compliance with the certified management system.

Meanwhile, environmental management systems operated by the certified contractors' are formally assessed to ensure compliance with the requirements of ISO 14001:2004, and occupational health and safety management systems operated by the certified contractors' are formally assessed to ensure compliance with the requirements of BS OHSAS 18001:2007.

The BCSA, of which SCCS is a wholly owned subsidiary, is a national organisation for the steel construction industry. Its member companies undertake the design, fabrication and erection of steelwork for all forms of construction in

building and civil engineering. Associate members are those principal companies involved in the direct supply to all or some members of components, materials or products.

Corporate members are clients, professional offices and educational establishments which support the development of national specifications, certification services, fabrication and erection techniques, overall industry efficiency and good practice.

The principal objectives of the association are to promote the use of structural steelwork; to assist specifiers and clients; to ensure that the capabilities and activities of the industry are widely understood and to provide members with professional services in technical, commercial, contractual, quality assurance and health and safety matters. The association's aim is to influence the trading environment in which member companies have to operate in order to improve their profitability.

www.steelconstruction.org Tel: 020 7839 8566

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CIVIL ENGINEERING D.C. STEEL FABS

SOLIDIFYING SUCCESS

Established in 1984, D.C. Steelfabs has developed its capability to offer all manner of fabrication to a range of clients

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CIVIL ENGINEERING D.C. STEEL FABS

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D.C. Steelfabs Limited has enjoyed significant success in recent years allowing it to begin a new venture through the introduction of DC Siteserve Limited for steelwork installations and plant maintenance. This allows for on-site repairs and maintenance.

It’s a natural progression for the company which began in 1984 and has developed its capability to offer all manner of fabrication for a range of clients. This includes fabrication, welding, coded welding, pipework, structural and architectural steelwork, and mechanical handling installation and repair.

Added to this are recently introduced services for stainless steel manufacturing, aluminium fabrication and stainless steel fabrication for the food industry and platforms.

The company also specialises in manufacturing of portal frame buildings, specialist hoppers and conveying systems and balustrade amongst others. This is all carried out by D.C. Steelfabs’ fully skilled in-house

tradesmen and coded welders. The company also offers an on-site team suitably supplied with their own equipment. This is in addition to offering a full design and build facility using Auto CAD and Strucad, while the company remains up to date with all manner of safety aspects in the steel industry, for example, in relation to C.D.M. regulations.

Importantly, D.C. Steelfabs has the following equipment at its disposal: 500mm sawing capacity, 8' x 1/4" - 6' x 1/2" - 4' x 3/4" bending rolls, one press brake, two ironworkers, pedestral/radial arm drills, two 10' x 1/2" guillotine shears, Co2 welding machines, MMA welding sets, mobile welding plant/generators, a fork lift truck, a compressed spray unit, 12 tonne overhead crane, 5,000 sq. ft. and 3,000 sq. ft. existing factory space, and drawing and design office.

It has been all go for the company since the introduction of DC Siteserve Limited. In March 2012 it was awarded the operators licence for Haulage so that it can now offer an

"in-house" haulage service. In May 2014 it achieved ISO 9002 Quality Award and Certification, and followed this up one month later with a large contract for Central London to manufacture a sizeable steel structure, which was completed in November 2014.

The same month, it provided a footbridge for the local community, while adding stainless steel fabrication to its list of capabilities shortly after. This meant it could develop platforms and also provide steel fabrication for the food industry.

To follow up these achievements with CE Mark and ISO 9001 Quality Certification in July 2014 indicated the culmination of some very hard work coupled with an ability to deliver its promises for clients. The company has every right to be proud of its successes in recent years. On this evidence, the only way is up for D.C. Steelfabs. www.steelfabs.co.uk Tel: 01246 825829

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CIVIL ENGINEERING BLAKE GROUP

75 YEARS

OF ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE Blake Group is a 4th generation family business with a reputation for quality and service in the steel fabrication and engineering industries

Blake Group is an engineering business, operating from bases in Bonnington, Edinburgh and Livingston. The company focuses on metalwork, steel fabrication and the production of fuel storage tanks for which it is a UK market leader.

The business currently employs around 50 permanent staff, mostly from its Bonnington facility where it has around 30 fully qualified engineers, coded welders (BS EN 1090 and ISO 9001) and CE Certified (EN 1090) staff for the production of structural steelwork.

Growing throughout its years in business, Blake Group now operates three autonomous divisions. The Metal Centre supplies a wide range of products from cut steel, consumables and fabricated metalwork to smaller businesses and the general public. The Fabrication Division works with leading international construction and engineering companies on major construction and engineering projects. And, the Environmental Storage Tank Division is the UK’s pre-eminent supplier of steel oil tanks and the first manufacturer certified to OFTEC OFS-T 200.

Coupling its quality products and services with honest, trustworthy business ethics sets Blake Group apart from the competition, that’s why it feels clients return to it.

Current and regular customers to the business include the MOD (Ministry of Defence), AWE (Atomic Weapons

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CIVIL ENGINEERING BLAKE GROUP

Establishment), SPS (Scottish Prison Service), Scottish Government, numerous local authorities across the UK, Lothian Buses, Certas Energy, Rolls Royce, Jaguar Land Rover, Caterpillar, DRS (Direct Rail Services), Miller Group, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt and other major construction companies across the UK. Blake Group has been involved in many major engineering projects including recently the London Crossway rail project when it was the only UK company with the ability and capacity to manufacture and deliver 50 massive 22-metre reinforcing piles within the extremely tight timescales demanded for the project.

Currently the business is extensively active on the Forth Replacement Bridge Crossing, the largest engineering project in Scotland, with a permanent team onsite and constant produc-

tion of various elements ongoing within the factory.

Its engineering and manufacturing capabilities include a 17 tonne mobile crane, a 220 tonne four metre Amada brake press, 150 tonne press brakes, three-metre by 10 metre guillotine cutting, plasma and bandsaw cutting, in-house rolling facilities and various fabrication and manufacturing equipment.

Welding capabilities include Mig, Tig, Arc and Mag. Blake Group works in stainless steel, aluminium, other alloys and mild steel. It also has a qualified team for structural Rebar welding (BS 17660-1). Its design capabilities include a DS Solidworks (2014) 3D modelling system and qualified design team.

Blake Group has the capacity to manufacture on or offsite, deliver and install any required structural or secondary steelwork and

as a steel stockholder in its own right, often has the necessary materials in stock to reduce production timescales on certain projects.

Blakes recently delivered eight secondary containment working platforms to Oilfield Mineral Solutions in Aberdeen. The secondary containment working platforms are utilised in the NORM decontamination and decommissioning global market for siting specialist equipment to ensure there is as low a risk as possible to impact on the local environment while handling hazardous materials. This equipment fabricated by Blakes will be transported to Angola, for use in the country’s offshore deepwater fields.

www.blakegroup.co.uk Tel: 0131 554 1646

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RAIL RAILWAY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

PUTTING RAIL FIRST RIA membership continues to grow as association focuses on collaboration and innovation

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RAIL RAILWAY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

T

he Railway Industry Association (RIA) is the trade association for UK-based suppliers to the world's railways.

Originally established for steam locomotive builders, membership now covers almost all aspects of railway supply, including manufacturers, maintainers, contractors, consultants and special service providers. Membership, which is by company, currently stands at 194 of all sizes from small to multi-national and is growing steadily.

RIA provides a number of key services such as representation of its members’ best interests. The association has developed close working relationships with key clients such as Network Rail and Transport for London, government bodies including the Department for Transport, and other industry stakeholders and seeks to represent and promote the interests of the supply industry.

It is also committed to aiding the networking process by bringing members into contact with each other, as well as with clients. This is especially useful for smaller companies and those seeking to raise their profile and develop their rail

activities. Much of RIA's activity with its members takes place through a series of interest groups, focussing on particular sub-sectors or technical disciplines and bringing together members and clients. Major technical and commercial conferences are held each year.

Elsewhere, RIA has a long history of supporting UK exports and works closely with UK Trade & Investment and British Embassies. As a UKTI Trade Challenge Partner, RIA delivers activities such as trade missions, seminars and 'Meet the Buyer' events and organises UK pavilions at key overseas trade fairs.

RIA's 'Value Improvement Programme' uses externallyfacilitated workshops to change culture and improve relationships across the supply chain to improve efficiency and reduce waste.

Adapted from a model developed in the aerospace industry, more than 100 workshops have been held, typically focussing on projects, programmes and frameworks contracts.

An overarching theme of much of RIA's activity is collaboration. The railway industry became significantly fragmented during the privatisation of British Rail, and bringing people back together has become very important. RIA has had much

success, particularly with Network Rail, in getting suppliers more involved in projects at a earlier stage, and in developing joint working groups to address key issues. A good example of this is in the current main line electrification programme, where RIA and its members have been working closely with Network Rail to understand and meet the substantial skills and training needs, to develop better and more efficient ways of undertaking the work, and in addressing the inevitable challenges that arise in the most extensive UK electrification programme for many years.

Innovation is also an important part of RIA’s work. With much attention on finding better and more efficient ways of providing the railways of the future, RIA has worked closely with the FutureRailway team and Knowledge Transfer Networks to fund competitions and encourage the transfer of technology to and from other sectors. RIA's Unlocking Innovation Scheme seeks to remove barriers to innovation and help innovators access the considerable support that is available to them. It is strongly supported by key industry players, including Network Rail, Transport for London and UK Tram. www.riagb.org.uk

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RAIL PERPETUUM

GLOBAL LEADER IN VIBRATION ENERGY HARVESTING Every so often, a revolutionary idea comes along that tears down barriers and enables solutions that change the world forever.

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We live in an age of technological innovation and machinery, an age of environmental awareness, efficiencies and of building a future we can all be proud of. As we all know, fossil fuels are an increasingly finite resource which cannot be relied upon to sustain our future, which is why leading researchers across the globe have been working tirelessly to develop sustainable energy sources and more efficient ways of working.

While large-scale ambient energy projects, such as solar and wind energy farms which might spring to mind, at the other end of the scale lies the revolutionary concept of Energy Harvesting (EH). Energy harvesting is a process which captures small amounts of energy that would otherwise be lost as heat, sound, vibration of movement and utilises it to improve overall energy efficiencies of existing technologies as well as developing entirely new ones.

Perpetuum is the global leader in the provision of information to maximise safety and reli-

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ability and reduce costs through wireless condition monitoring. It has a strong reputation for producing the number one choice for highpower, precision-engineered, scalable electromagnetic vibration energy harvester-powered solutions for wireless systems. Through developing revolutionary systems for vibration energy harvesting and sensor technology, Perpetuum has not only helped to redefine the global energy efficiency landscape but has also greatly influenced the future of the rail sector as a result. This has been through the investment in the analysis of the vibration data to provide clients with real-time condition information on their assets.

Originally serving as a spin-off from the University of Southampton, Perpetuum was formed in a bid to industrialise and develop a commercially viable product able to effectively convert kinetic energy into electrical energy through the use of vibration, as a replacement for batteries in remote and inhospitable areas.

Such areas include utilities, refineries and

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industrial sites where the sheer expense and difficulty of maintaining such batteries needed to be resolved. The harvester’s concept is relatively simple, using Faraday’s Law with a solenoid oscillating in a magnetic field – the complex engineering has been in designing the unit to be able to operate reliably for decades without any maintenance.

Justin Southcombe, Commercial Director of Perpetuum explained how the new, commercially viable solutions were received by the market: “There's an ongoing need to replace unreliable batteries from key processing and measuring equipment that these types of plants and facilities have. The certification processes in these areas for these pieces of measurement equipment reflect safety critical nature of the equipment. The type of clients we're been working with and the front-end providers are the likes of Emerson, Honeywell, GE and National Instruments – clearly very large instrumentation corporations. The take up from them was very positive and we continue to

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work closely with them while the various authorities for introducing new technologies are consulted with.”

But simply developing power solutions for industrial applications is not where it ends for Perpetuum, as the company has taken great strides in extending the accessibility of its solutions to other strategic sectors such as that of the railway sector. Rail, as we know, is a sector which naturally encompasses a great deal of vibration which has led Perpetuum to look not only at developing energy generation devices, but also for developing on-board sensors to: improve reliability and safety, reduce operational and maintenance costs, improve asset utilisation and reduce overall service disruptions.

Justin explains how the company entered the rail sector and overcame some of the challenges within it: “We used our vibration knowledge to better understand the condition of assets in this high shock and high vibration environment. That's when we started developing a wireless, self-powered sensor node which could be attached to the unsprung parts of the bogie. Historically, it's an area which isn't very well known about because of the difficult access to power and also it's clearly quite a violent area to work in because of the high shock and vibration – with relatively frequent shocks over 100g. Our analytical and engineering expertise in vibration allowed us to provide robust alerts on the condition of key assets, like

Over the years, Perpetuum has successfully established itself at the forefront of the energy harvesting and sensor technology sector

bearings and wheels, many months in advance which enables maintainers to move to condition monitored maintenance – i.e. only replacing an asset when it is about to expire. This expertise was tested further last year by using the bearing box mounted sensor to not only monitor bearings and wheels but also track, simultaneously – turning the algorithms on their heads and analysing what had been regarded as track “noise” up until then. We are now discussing with Network Rail on how to develop this opportunity further.”

Over the years, Perpetuum has successfully established itself at the forefront of the energy harvesting and sensor technology sector, especially within rail. Due to the positioning of the company in, which could be described as on the “front line” of bringing technological breakthroughs to the sector, the level of experience displayed by its operatives is second to none.

Also due to this position however, the company cannot wait for success to come to it and every employee looks to exceed their own limits, dis-

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RAIL PERPETUUM cover new truths and essentially pave the way for “new” knowledge that can then be used to develop new systems. As an SME, and a rapidly growing one, Perpetuum’s requirements are changing and its recruitment drive is critical to its success during these times of rapid change.

It places a very high value on recruitment and training, ensuring that the new employees are of the highest standard and relevance as there is no room for duplication or redundancy.

Commenting on the success of the company over the last year, Justin said: “We had a very successful week in Berlin at Innotrans in September with 1 000 visitors to our stand and developing opportunities with clients from all corners of the world, including Australia, China, USA, Denmark and Russia. We also deployed our equipment and services in Sweden – it was the first export project for us for full deployment. It is a high speed application as well, clearly a product segment that holds a lot of interest. These trains, like the Eurostar we will be equipping later this year, are very high value assets and will therefore benefit significantly from reduced maintenance costs and increased availability.”

Perpetuum isn't simply a company following in the footsteps of any other. The company continually strives to achieve new levels of technological success, developing a deep understanding of the life cycle vibration characteristics of key railway assets – a domain which was deemed too technically challenging in the past.

This is achieved only because the company values knowledge and research very highly. Justin commented: “The development of our business is in information, which means that we need to understand the application of our data. The calibration and monitoring stages following deployment are absolutely essential, which is why our business model is not just on offering a product, but providing an ongoing service. By getting the information right we ensure that our client’s investment in the products has been maximised.”

Perpetuum's service is robust not only because of the technical expertise and innovative nature of the company, but also because of the close bond which the company holds with members of the supply chain. This relationship enables the company to extend beyond the limits of its size and offer a service with great capacity and scope. Justin explains this further: “Perpetuum is focused around research, development, design and engineering and therefore took the decision early on to outsource the manufacturing completely. Because of this our supply chain is absolutely critical and without it we don't wouldn’t have the capa-

bility to deliver the product, and ultimately our services. Our supply chain is one we can trust and is completely reliable. We work with two key subcontractors who deal with the assembly and integration of the product here in the UK. On the development side we also engage with many of the leading players in their respective sectors, such as in the telecommunications market, so that we can better understand the opportunities for new applications within our systems.

“We've worked with our suppliers for a long time – during all the challenges and questions that innovation projects bring with them and they have proved themselves. They performed... The likes of IPRO and CSM Electronics are integral to us. Collaboration and trust are essential to delivering complex projects – they are things that are learnt and developed over time and Perpetuum values these qualities in its supply chain partners.”

We've worked with our suppliers for a long time – during all the challenges and questions that innovation projects bring with them and they have proved themselves

Tel: 023 8076 5888 www.perpetuum.com

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THE LAST WORD...

To Boldly Go… Space Explorer Messenger Makes Pre-Arranged Crash Into Mercury After Four Years Orbiting The Planet

NASA’s Messenger space probe has made its pre-arranged crash landing into Mercury after an exploratory orbit around the planet.

The mission, which began in March 2011, was the culmination of a six-year journey to the planet meaning Messenger has spent more than a decade in space. It was initially only meant to orbit the planet for one year but has surpassed that goal to deliver valuable data to scientists back on earth.

Following Messenger’s final powered manoeuvre, the probe began losing altitude, hitting the planet’s surface at an incredible 8,750mph. The craft, measuring just 3m across and weighing 513kg, will cause a crater 16m wide near the planet’s north pole on impact. The high-speed collision, 12 times faster than sound, will completely destroy this innovative craft.

During its twice-extended mission, Messenger (which gets its name from an acronym formed from the words - MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) has successfully transformed our understanding of the planet. During the

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course of its mission it sent back more than 270,000 images and 10 terabytes of scientific measurements.

Some of its most interesting discoveries include evidence of water ice hiding in the planet's shadowy polar craters, while recording data that showed the planet’s magnetic field is off-centre, shifted along the planet's axis by 10% of its diameter.

“A lot of people didn't give this spacecraft much of a chance of even getting to Mercury, let alone going into orbit and then gathering data for four years instead of the original scheduled one-year mission,” said William McClintock from the University of Colorado Boulder, principal investigator on MASCS (the Mercury Atmospheric and Surface C o m p o s i t i o n Spectrometer, another of the seven scientific instruments on board).

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Indeed, the planet has been mapped and studied to a level of detail far beyond the original ambitions of the mission’s controllers. "In the end, most of what we considered to be gospel about Mercury turned out to be a little different than we thought,” added McClintock.

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