Autoclaves Group will be attending the upcoming JEC Europe in Paris on 27^th, 28^th and 29^th March 2012 at the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre. Our sales team will be delighted to see you there on stand X38 to help with any of your autoclave enquiries.

If you would like any further information regarding this then please do not hesitate to contact us on +44 (0) 1535 687450 or email us on info@autoclavesgroup.com

Successful Attendance at the Composites Engineering Show 2011

The Composites Engineering Show took place on 9-10^th November 2011 at NEC Birmingham. Autoclaves Group attended this show alongside 400 other exhibitors. The show hosted over 7000 national and international visitors over the two days.  

The Composite Engineering Show is part of a larger group of events named Advanced Engineering UK 2011. This is an annual event and holds exhibitions from three other industries; these being aerospace, energy and plastic electronics. All four events were held together under one roof making this an extremely important and vital event for those in their respective industries. As well as exhibiting the event also held many seminars over the 2 day event and gave exhibitors the chance to participate in online forums before and after the event.

This is the first time Autoclaves Group have attended the UK based show as an exhibitor and found the event extremely successful.  Autoclaves Group is proud to be part of the growing number of company’s who support British engineering and manufacturing. Autoclaves Group will continue to attend exhibitions and support the UK industry in future. The event allowed Autoclaves Group to meet with many existing and potential customers both from the UK and the international markets receiving some very valuable enquiries from the industry.

AUTOCLAVES GROUP COMMISSIONS FIRST OF THREE MACHINES FOR TELEDYNE CML

BRIEF:

To supply, install and commission a new autoclave, which is BMI capable measuring 2.5m diameter x 6.2m deep internally. This new autoclave would be the latest addition to the already growing number of state of the art equipment at CML’s facility at Bromborough.

The machine has been installed in a new 60,000 sq ft state-of-the-art composite manufacturing facility, also on Merseyside, established chiefly to deal with larger projects and develop the group’s portfolio. 

COMPANY HISTORY:

Teledyne CML is a leading manufacturer of precision machined structures and carbon fibre composites for commercial and military aircraft, primarily in Europe.  

Being part of the aerospace industry since the 1940’s, CML specialises in making tooling such as tooling moulds and parts for Aerospace. Originally based in Birkenhead the company has also recently opened a new composites facility in Bromborough to deal with larger projects and develop their portfolio.

The composites division boasts a broad product range of both structural and non-structural components and assemblies, such as wing and fuselage fairings, covers and panels, and nose and tail cone assemblies. Spares and new build requirements for civil and military customers are successfully combined in the new facility. Apart from this CML also covers a range of services including Precision Machining, Composites, Fabrication and Surface Treatments.

Their primary customer base includes Airbus UK, BAE SYSTEMS, Marshall Aerospace, Raytheon Systems, Hawker Beechcraft, Magellan Aerospace and many more.

TRADING RELATIONSHIPS:

CML have been customers of Autoclaves Group for the past 4 years and have successfully created a strong working relationship.  Autoclaves Group had provided a servicing calibration and thermal survey of the existing machine based at the Price Street facility in Birkenhead. However, in 2009 CML ordered a new autoclave measuring 2.7m diameter x 7m long to be placed into their new purpose built facility on the Tebay Road site based in Bromborough, which was delivered and installed in June 2010.

Autoclaves Group managing director Russell Gibson said: “Like ourselves, Teledyne CML Group prides itself on quality workmanship, modern equipment, highly trained and motivated employees.

 “We worked closely with their personnel at all stages of the contract to ensure that the project ran as smoothly as possible to ensure effective installation and commissioning, and seamless handover – on time and on budget.

Autoclaves Group attended the RWM Show in partnership with CIWM at NEC in Birmingham on 13^th-15^th September 2011. The show was attended by 13000 visitors and over 650 exhibitors, many from the recycling and waste industry both nationally and internationally.

Waste has now become an important item on the political agenda. RWM brings together over 650 exhibitors to display their products and services in order to make available the information people need to manage waste more appropriately and resourcefully. The show held a variety of events including a catwalk showcasing the latest trends in recycled fashion, presentations from key note speakers, case studies highlighting the success of latest product innovations, and also introduced some new waste policies for the public sector.

Autoclaves are part of the waste management sector and have already begun contributing to its processes. We attended the RWM Show for the first time to raise our profile as a key supplier within the sector. Exhibiting at the RWM Show gave Autoclaves Group the exposure it needed to increase people’s awareness of our presence in the waste industry. The event allowed Autoclaves to meet with some new and potential customers as well as reacquaint itself with the current market. 

Autoclaves Group found the event to be very positive and received some excellent opportunities within the industry.

Autoclaves group will be exhibiting at this years Composites Engineering Show. The show will take place at the NEC in Birmingham on 9^th and 10^th November 2011. Come and visit us on stand 1145 and talk to our friendly sales team.

If you would like any further information then please do not hesitate to contact us on +44 1535 687450 or you can email Sumera Aijaz at sumeraaijaz@autoclavesgroup.com

Autoclaves group will be exhibiting at the upcoming Recycling and Waste Management (RWM) Show where there will be opportunities to meet with people from the Waste industry. The show will take place at the NEC in Birmingham on 13^th, 14^th and 15^th September 2011. Come and visit us on stand 1855 and talk to our friendly sales team.

If you would like any further information then please do not hesitate to contact us on +44 1535 687450 or you can email Sumera Aijaz at sumeraaijaz@autoclavesgroup.com

Autoclaves Group attended the JEC Composites Show in Paris on 29^th-31^st March 2011. The event was held at the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre and was attended by a mix of international visitors and exhibitors.

JEC is an industry organisation dedicated to promoting composite materials internationally. It supports the development of the composite materials industry by transferring and exchanging knowledge between suppliers and users. The JEC show attracts over 28,000 visitors a year and to date has connected over 250,000 professionals in the composite industry from around the world.  These industries include Aeronautics and Space, Construction, Automotive, Sports and Leisure, Energy, Marine, and Transportation.

The three day event allowed Autoclaves Group to meet with key existing and potential customers and generated a large amount of interest from the Aerospace industry, Research and Development, Education and Motorsport industry. Autoclaves Group met with visitors from an international platform who were able to discover the full spectrum of the composite industry from processes and materials to the most current composite solutions available. Visitors from many different countries including Russia, China, France, Turkey, Spain, Korea, Germany, Thailand, Czech Republic, India, Malaysia and USA visited our stand.

The expanding Keighley-based manufacturer of new and refurbished autoclaves and ovens has taken on three new apprentices as it seeks to nurture its employees of the future and help plug a skills gap in the industry sector.

All three are combining in-house training with studies at Bradford College. Curtis Schofield, 16, of Keighley, Will Dodd, 16, and 18-year-old Tom Gott, who both live in Skipton, are undertaking ONC Manufacturing and NVQ Level 2 Engineering Operations courses.

The 18 month apprenticeship began in September 2010. Each apprentice is offered 6 months experience in all of the specialised fields of Design and Project Management, Fabrication, and Machine Fitting allowing them to appreciate what Autoclaves has to offer. The purpose of the rotation is to give each apprentice a direction and the opportunity to discover their own particular niche field.

Autoclaves Group, which is experiencing marked growth across all markets, including its core UK and global motor sport and aerospace industry sectors, now employs a 31 strong workforce.

Managing director Russell Gibson said: “Our new apprenticeship programme has been instigated in response to recent research, which shows that the majority of industrial skills shortages are due to lack of technicians and apprentices.

“For the UK to compete globally, we must make certain that our world class knowledge-base continues to evolve. One of the most effective solutions is to develop further education and apprenticeship opportunities to ensure we have enough skilled operatives coming through the system.”

THE BRIEF

To manufacture and install a new 1.0m diameter x 2.0m long autoclave, with full turnkey solution incorporating compressors, pipework and cooling systems, for the School of Logistics and Manufacturing Engineering at Swansea University.

THE ORGANISATION

Swansea University is one of the UK’s leading centres for materials teaching and research, and a key player in some of the largest materials science projects in the world. It is being funded by prestigious organisations such as Rolls Royce, Airbus, The European Space Agency and Corus.

It has outstanding teaching and research facilities, with integrated training and research offered in collaboration with the power/aerospace industries, the steel technology sector and recycling organisations.

The university is also home to AutoTechnium, a world-class centre undertaking research and development projects for the motor and motor sports industries. Autoclaves Group has long been regarded as being among the industry leaders in both these sectors.

The project was led by Richard Thomas, head of the School of Logistics and Manufacturing Engineering, and joint director of the Non Destructive Testing Research Centre at Swansea University.

Mr Thomas was also project director for the AutoTechnium Centre and has a passion for the automotive industry. His main research interests are in stress analysis and the application of non-destructive testing techniques in the evaluation of material behaviour.

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

Central to this contract was the requirement to manufacture, install, fully trial and commission the autoclave to an extremely tight budget and timescale – just 12 weeks from placement of order to completion of assignment.

In addition, the project was particularly challenging in terms of specific problems involving both delivery and location of the autoclave. The machine had to be designed and assembled in such a way as to allow components to be removed on arrival at the site because of limited access, before being moved into position and reassembled.

Autoclaves was required to work hand-in-hand with key university personnel throughout the project, delivering in-depth autoclave-related training to ensure seamless handover on completion of the contract.

FLEXIBLE APPROACH

Autoclaves Group managing director Russell Gibson said: “The fact that we delivered this project both on time and on budget demonstrates our capabilities in responding to the individual – sometimes extremely specific and demanding – needs of customers.

“The education sector is an important growth area for us and we have also successfully undertaken projects at other universities and colleges in the UK who use autoclaves as part of the learning process, notably in the aerospace and motor sport arenas. Others similar contracts are in the pipeline.

“We are proud to be playing our part in helping, albeit it in a support role, to educate the potential future stars of our core industry sectors.”

If you would like any further information then please do not hesitate to contact us on +44 (0) 1535 687450 or email us on info@autoclavesgroup.com