WINTER 2012

AirTalk

IN THIS ISSUEAirTalkFee for Intervention Page 8

Auto enrolments clock Page 8ticking for A&D

ConnectBloodhound rocket test Page 2

Vince Cable & Page 3Haley Engineering

Change:

02

In all our business and personal planschange is a constant feature. In our personal lives it can be as simple as ageand the change and challenges thatbrings. We can deal with that throughgood diet, healthy living, keeping fit andhaving a plan for addressing those challenges for the future.

In business there are many change factors at play that complicate ourplans. Organisational changes canmean making new contacts or losingold connections, advances in technology and engineering can introduce risks or develop new horizons,political change can offer opportunityor it can destabilise environments,global and national economic changecan apply pressure or open new markets.

Ultimately business is like life, be prepared for change, have a plan forchange impacts and be fit enough to deal with it. Change in the Aerospacesector has been a constant feature of life, much of it I believe for the good. Increasing demand for higher performance, reduced cost and improving environmental impact hasdriven constant change in our technologies, business performancesand skills.

Emerging markets and new customerscoupled to increasing programme ratesfrom existing customers has also driventhe need for changing business practices and innovative solutions.Those who have foreseen and

embraced change have been successfuland are now reaping the benefits.As we look forward in our business planning we will all be challenged bychange factors and dealing with themwill be an ever increasing expectation ofour customers at all levels. Innovationand being at the front of the changeprocess will become a global competitive attribute and it is importantwe all grasp the opportunities changecan bring whilst mitigating the risks accompanying it.

WEAF has also been a part of thischange process, looking to offer greatervalue and being innovative in what itcan do for you our members and our industry in general. Developing its services to meet the changes both youand the industry are facing is part ofWEAF embracing change and we are looking forward to supportingyou in reaping those benefits thatchange can bring.

Inside:

AirTalk is published by theWest of England Aerospace Forum:Unit C St David’s Court, Windmill Road,Clevedon, North Somerset BS21 6UPTel: +44(0)1275 872 353 Fax: +44(0)1275 872 355Email: enquiries@weaf.co.uk Web: www.weaf.co.uk

AirTalk is printed on recycled paper

Print: Apple Colour 0117 972 8900

www.applecolour.co.uk

Design: WEAFwww.weaf.co.uk

From the Chair 02

Chief Executive’s Report 03

Member News 04Efar and BloodhoundCharles GeeProtechnic

New Members 06

A&D report from Deloitte 07

Fee for Intervention 08

Pension Enrolment 08

Gala Dinner 09

WEAF Annual Conference 10

Jelf Lampier Backcover

Fromthe Chair

Frank Bamford, Chairman, WEAF

Front cover image courtesy of The BLOODHOUND Project

I looked up a few sayings on the internet that referred to change. Here are just three:

If you do not like something, change it. If you cannot change it, change your attitude.

All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward

If you change the way, you look at things, the things you look at change.

As you see it evokes a lot of theory, however what is needed is to stop thinking about what it means for our business and to reallyaddress change to ensure we are fit for purpose and that our customers value our products and services. Today it seems like the rateof change in the world is increasing exponentially, with huge developments in business, technology and innovation that are resultingin changes to the way we make our products and the way we do business.

One of the big changes is the way in which the industry engages with the Government. The Aerospace Growth Partnership has beenestablished as a partnership between industry and Government to create a vision and strategy for the future of the UK aerospaceindustry for the next 15 years and beyond. The AGP brings together industry and Government working together in a deep and jointdialogue to secure the future for UK aerospace. This is not about the Government seeking to impose a strategy on the sector; itsgoal is instead to work closely with business to understand the opportunities, threats and barriers to growth that exist, and to identify where Government has a legitimate role in helping to create long-term sustainable value for the industry and the wider UKeconomy. The AGP also plays an important role in getting the industry to work better collectively and coherently across its supplychain. This will certainly benefit the growth of the sector well over the next 10 to 15 years. WEAF plays an active part in the communications chain by feeding in our members concerns and issues to ensure that a bottom up approach is taken.

On a more personal level, my answer to the change question was to centre WEAF on supporting members to grow. We won the contract to deliverer the Aerospace and Advanced Engineering iNet and have previously run SC21 and other business improvementprojects. All were designed to support companies in making them more competitive, adopt innovation and technology as a key forgrowth but more importantly help companies survive in what has been a very turbulent 3 years.

This we will continue to do through both changes internally and by supporting our members to change to enable them to competein this growing global sector

If you need that support then do get in touch my e mail address is barry@weaf.co.uk

Barry Warburton Chief Executive

03

WelcomeChief Executive’s Report

04

Member News

NewsMEMBER

The Charles Gee Group have successfully delivered out of gauge aircraft nose cone tooling to the Hong Kong Aircraft EngineeringCompany Limited in Hong Kong.

The Charles Gee project support team collected the consignment fromManchester where it was manufactured by the Hyde group and provided a door to door service to Hong Kong. Utilising own group transport equipment and our local Hong Kong office the Charles Geeproject support team were able to manage the whole operation fromstart to finish, including delivery to the client during the hours of darkness to comply with local traffic laws.

The Charles Gee Project Support team engages all areas of Charles GeeGroup experience and capability including our global office network toprovide specialised supplychain solutions for their customer’s sometimescomplex requirements.

Charles Gee Deliver Aircraft

Tooling to Hong Kong

EFAR and Bloodhound Hybrid

Rocket Test newsOctober saw the biggest rocket fired in the UK for over 20 years. This was a key milestone in the development towards shattering the 1,000 mph mark (1.4 times the speed of sound), which is considerably faster than the current land speed record of 763 mph. BLOODHOUND’s rocket test isthe largest of its kind ever designed in Europe.

Efar, a sponsor for Bloodhound, provided the large bandwidth accessand servers that power the Bloodhound website to cope with the massive surge in capacity and bandwidth as tens of thousands of viewers across the world accessed the live firing of the engines. Thistest represents the most significant milestone yet for the global education programme as it develops the world’s first 1,000 mph / Mach1.4 racing car.

“This is an incredibly exciting development to be supporting and taking responsibility for the robust web hosting and high volume internet access required by Bloodhound. As members of the West of England Aerospace Forum, this plays to our strengths and expertise, providing high volume connectivity of companies within the Aerospace, Engineering, Energy and Manufacturing markets”. Matthew Wring, Technical Director, Efar, visit www.efar.co.uk. Tel: +44 (0) 333 222 9 300

Efar Networks and Telecommunications encompass a unique bespoke design and optimisation of communication networkssupporting voice, data, security and hosted services. Our broad capabilities cover the UK and Overseas, bringing businesses,their suppliers and customers together. Visit our website and watch the latest spectacular Bloodhound Videos.

Matthew Wring and Richard Noble

Bridgwater Ltd

05

Member News

Growth and excellencethrough design

New WEAF member brings corporate financial advice to aid of members

Three years following their successful move to new 22,000 sq.ft. premises in Nailsea, Protechnic continues to flourish. The additionalspace and continued investment in facilities and staff has enabled long held ambitions to be achieved, including the widening oftheir customer base and new case development.

Considered a Cinderella of industry and accepting long established manufacturingtechniques, transit cases such as the ubiquitous flight case have not been improvedsince their inception, back in the rock and roll era, some 60 years ago. Through experience, reacting to customer’s needs and utilising the latest analytical techniques,to establish market opportunities, the new look EXO Case evolved to satisfy the identified product gap. The hybrid design which incorporates many of the features ofthe injection moulded plastic hard case with the bespoke flexibility of the flight casehas been successfully tested to IP55 standards and also accredited to MoD, DEF STAN81-41 Level ‘J’. 19” rack case solutions were inherently borne of the same requirement.

The success of the of the EXO Case when used in conjunction with other products fromthe Protechnic unique case range, combined with ‘in house’ designed and generated,CNC routed foam solutions has established Protechnic Ltd., as a major supplier to anumber of the West Country’s leading industrialists. Further commitment to the designprocess is evident in the development of yet another new case. The ‘NIO Case’, which continues with the Protechnic family ‘look’,is aimed to compete with similar sized cases imported from the Far East, but offering greater flexibility and performance, betteravailability and local support.

As an organisation Protechnic are committed to delivering growth and excellence through design.

WEAF’s members will be only too aware of the current economic influences on their day-to-day business. In some cases members may have found that the investmentroutes for expansion or R & D activities appear to be blocked; in others that an initialdeclaration of interest by major industry companies in partnerships, takeover or merger,somehow falters through no fault of their own. After many years on the boards of Aerospace, Defence and Security companies, David Sebire, the Chairman of new WEAFmember, PegasusBridge Corporate Finance, decided to create an organisation thatWEAF members could approach for M&A advice, development fundraising, and otherSME corporate financial activity. “I invited a group of experienced, well-qualified anddiscreet directors, with whom I’d worked in the past, to join me in establishing a newboutique finance house, which provides financial advice and transaction support,” explained David.

The team includes Tom Beese, who led the spin out and funding of an Electronic Surveillance Measures business; Richard Excell, former Chairman of MOD/Qinetiq Feasibility Study for the UK Aircraft Carrier Contract; Andrew Hunt who, following a distinguished career with Bankers Trust, has wide experience of fundraising and PatrickNaegeli who has more than 25 years of international experience as a senior strategyadvisor and management consultant.

Working closely with WEAF, members of the team will be available for discreet one toone meetings without commitment at the WEAF offices and on occasion at WEAFevents or via www.pegasusbridgecorpfin.com

06

New Members

Welcome to ournew membersACC Silicones www.acc-silicones.com ACC Silicones has been supplying and supporting theaerospace industry for over 25 years. Our Silcosetbrand is well respected and approved by many aerospace companies. With the development of newtechnologies we are now able to offer our newAS1800 range of neutral cure RTV's with a measureof fuel resistance, high thermal conductivity andtemperature resistance.

CyberVector Ltd www.cybervector.co.uk CyberVector provides troubleshooting services andtools to complex defence and security projects and programmes. With over 20 years of experience anda staff with SC and higher clearances, we deployquickly to help to turn around failing activities, transfer our skills and knowledge to your teams andre-motivate them to successfully deliver.

PegasusBridge Corporate Finance Ltdwww.pegasusbridgecorpfin.com Our team have a detailed knowledge of the aerospaceand defence sectors. Combined with many years experience of corporate finance and investment banking we raise equity and debt for SMEs, advisecompanies looking to be purchased and use ourknowledge to handle disposals of non core business.

Sandler Wessex www.wessex.sandler.comSandler provides training and consulting solutions forall types of businesses through sales and sales management training, management and leadershiptraining for business owners and senior executives,negotiations training, customer service training,coaching and mentoring, negotiation, bids and proposals. Sandler enables sales professionals and management to achieve significantly increasedsales performance.

Succinct Solutions Ltdwww.succinctsolutions.co.uk Succinct Solutions are a business improvement company that can help your business improve andgrow. Through working in partnership with you we areable to identify opportunities for improvement anddrive home change that can increase efficiency, decrease waste, maximise your profits and grow yourbusiness through excellent sales and marketing.

Protechnic Ltdwww.protechnic.comLeading manufacturer of custom flight cases, transitcases, and smart cases, UK. For over 20 years Protechnic has been delivering high quality bespoketransit cases to a variety of market sectors. We are aleading UK manufacturer of protective smart andflight cases, combining this with outstanding technicalexpertise and service levels, which are valued by clientsthroughout the UK.

Whiddon Valley Engineering Ltd www.whiddonvalley.comWhiddon Valley specialise in precision manufactureof machined components and assemblies, usingstate-of-the-art CNC machine tool technologies. A leading manufacturer of sub-contract CNC andmanual machined parts for industries ranging fromFormula 1 and Aerospace to Marine, Medical andGeneral Application. WVE offer a full service to all itscustomers and provide turnkey solutions and designsupport as required.

Symbiotics Limited www.symbioticsltd.com Symbiotics Limited is highly experienced Human Performance Company, established in 1996, that hasexpertise in all elements of human performancewhen operating in the workplace. Specialists in situations where people must be competent in knowledge, skill and attitudes to perform complex,safety-critical, multi-tasking activities in a consistent,safe and effective manner. Considerable experiencein the military training environment providing a fullrange of services from Training Needs Analysis tohighly qualified Training Delivery. A high level of expertise in the aviation sector spanning, civil andmilitary environments for both fixed wing and rotarywing platforms. We are known for generating quality solutions to changing market needs. Our skills inHuman Factors provide a basis for all our workstreams.

07

A&D Survey Report

Earlier in the summer WEAF, in conjunction with Deloitte conducted a member survey to gather views from the South West aerospace cluster on a variety of topics. This article provides a brief summary of the key findings from the survey. The full surveyis available for download from our website www.weaf.co.uk/downloads

• The speed of economic change remains a major preoccupation for the sector, both in the Eurozone and increasingly in China and India. Whist there are some signs of an uplift in the commercial sector, defence expenditure remains flat. Against this backdrop, a major challenge for companies in the South West is to source the skilled labour which is needed for success.

• Many small businesses exporting overseas are not making use of government assistance that is available, such as the UK Export Finance Department. This agency which backs £2.3bn of UK exports had only been used by 3% of responding member companies in the South West.

• With increased pressure on margins and a greater sharing of risk and reward, managing efficiency, minimising cost and having a professional approach to contract review and negotiation is essential. There is cause for optimism as nearly 50% of respondents reported an increase in the length of their order book over the past 12 months.

• Companies in the South West are continuing to invest in technology and product development but are not taking advantage of all available incentives. For example only 53% of respondents claim R&D tax credits and only 43%take advantage of available grant funding.

• Employers are faced with complex changes to UK employment taxes regulation. At the same time, companies are increasingly sending UK employees overseas as they look to expand their markets. Employers are yet to fully grasp the resulting complexities that these changes bring.

WEAF and Deloitte are interested in understanding any changes in attitude/practice in the South West since the original surveywas carried out. You should have received an invite to complete a short update to the Member survey. The results of this updatedsurvey will be presented at the annual conference in February.

NB:

If you have not received the link to update this survey and you would like to take part please contact pauline@weaf.co.uk who will get the link sent to you.

South WestAerospaceand DefenceSurvey 2012

0708

Are you ready for theFee for Intervention?

Line Business Services Ltd is an established Health & Safety Advice and Training provider based in Keynsham. As fellow member ofWEAF we are offering to undertake an H&S Audit for fellow members to ensure they do not fall foul of the new scheme the HSEhave introduced.

HSE have introduced a Fee for Intervention (FFI) cost recovery scheme which came into effect from 1st October 2012. These Regulations will put a duty on HSE to recover its costs for carrying out its regulatory functions from those found to be in material

breach of health and safety law. A material breach is, when in the opinion of the HSE inspector, there has been a contravention ofhealth and safety law that is serious enough to require them to notify the person in material breach of that opinion in writing (improvement or prohibition notice). HSE and the government believe it is right that businesses and organisations that break healthand safety laws should pay for HSE’s time in putting matters right, investigating and taking enforcement action. Without FFI, thisis paid for from the public purse. The proposed “Fee for Intervention” rate for 2012/13 is £124 per hour per inspector. FFI will alsoencourage businesses and organisations to comply in the first place or put matters right quickly when they don't. It will also dis-courage those who undercut their competitors by not complying with the law and putting people at risk.- HSE Website

With this in mind Line BSL will offer H&S Audits for WEAF members where we can advise them of their legal requirements. Auditswould be undertaken by our qualified H&S Consultants some of which are former HSE Inspectors. After initial inspections, a detailedreport will be written giving guidance on areas where employers are in breach of H&S Law or where improvements can be made. Line will then be in a position to help members or provide information on where they can go to getadditional support.

Any WEAF member that takes up this offer will be given a 10% discount but initially we are offering a no obligation meeting with the Head of Health & Safety Services, Wayne Davis, who will attend their site to discuss the options available to them. Please contact Wayne on 0117 986 2194 or email your enquiries to wdavis@linebsl.com

WEAF Member, Line Business Services Limited are here to help make sure you are!

The new legislation, which will see all businesses in the UK automatically enrol staff between October 2012 and 2017, is theresult of an ageing population that is failing to make adequate provision for retirement. With the timescale to switch to auto-enrolment dependent on the size of the business, the clock is ticking, with deadlines looming for some of the country’sbiggest businesses. The Aerospace & Defence industry, the South West’s largest sub-sector and home to some of the UK’smajor employers, is being urged to address the amount of work that is required in order to comply with the new rules. Bob Brass-ington, director and pension transfer specialist within Smith & Williamson, Bristol said: “In order to mitigate costs and minimiseunnecessary disruption, businesses in the aerospace and defence sector should consider making necessary enquiries as soon aspossible in order to implement a process that can take up to one year to complete.” “Many employers think that because theyalready operate a pension scheme, they will automatically meet the new requirements. But this is not the case. We are encouraging all businesses in the aerospace and defence industry to make the necessary enquiries in time to ensure they donot fall foul of the regulations.”

To assist the aerospace and defence sector with this change, accountancy and investment management group, Smith &Williamson, has launched an online auto-enrolment tool, which uses basic information about an employer’s pension scheme.To check what is required of your business, please visit our auto-enrolment tool to assess what you need to do and by when inorder to comply with the new legislation:

http://www.smith.williamson.co.uk/auto-enrolment Alternatively contact

Bob Brassington directly on 0117 376 2150

Audit • Tax • Advisory • Investments

Auto-enrolment Clock Tick ing for Aerospace & Defence SectorThe government has recently introduced legislation that requires all employers to automatically enrol staff into a workplace pension scheme and make contributions on their behalf.

The 2012 WEAF Annual GalaDinner once again proved tobe a great success with a record high attendance of 270. The evening was buoyant with positive discussions and premium networking opportunities.

This year’s charity raffle was inaid of Help for Heroes. With arecord number of prizes donated from industry.

Sir Roger Bone – President ofBoeing UK opened theevening with an informativespeech on Boeing and thestate of the industry.

The evening was rounded off with comedian Ian Irvingproviding a lighter side to theentertainment. A cheque presentation was made to David Brown of Help for Heroes for £2700.

Gala Dinner

Audit • Tax • Advisory • Investments

A BIG thank you to all of these companies who donated prizes for this years’ raffle

Positively buzzin’!

2700.00Two thousand seven

hundred pounds only

Jonathan Lee Recruitment - Sponsorship of the Wine

Higher Apprenticeships - Sponsorship of Champagne Reception

09

10

Annual Conference

27 Feb 2013

08:45 Conference Delegate Registration & Trade Stands OpenTea & Coffee served in Trade Show

09:45 Conference Welcome - Graham Cole, WEAF Honorary President10:15 Jim French - CEO, Flybe 10:35 Marcus Bryson - CEO, GKN Aerospace10:55 Ray Edwards - Managing Director, AgustaWestland 11:15 WEAF Annual Awards for Excellence - sponsored by NatWest 11:30 Coffee Break 12:00 Robin Southwell - CEO, EADS12:20 Michael Fallon - Minister of State for Business and Enterprise12:40 Election Results - Frank Bamford, Chairman - WEAF12:55 Networking Lunch and Trade Show14:30 Safran Messier-Bugatti-Dowty 14:50 General Dynamics15:10 Deloitte Survey updated results15:45 Trade Show and Conference Close

“SUPPORTING YOU”

A CELEBRATION OF AEROSPACE & DEFENCE - THE AGENDA*

For full details of costs and to book your place visit www.weaf.co.uk/events

EARLY BOOKING RATE

available only until 14 Dec!

PRE-CONFERENCE DINNER

26 FEBRUARY 2013 Winter Gardens, WsM3 course dinner with

wine, networking £40 + VAT members

£70 + VAT non members

ANNUAL CONFERENCEFull Day Delegate Rate

including lunch from as little as

£120 + VAT

TRADE STANDfrom as little as

£475 + VATIncludes 2 delegate places

3m x 2m area with power,

table and chairs!

*agenda subject to change at any time

NEW

01

Connect

A part of Funded by Led by

Inside

ConnectPage 1

Introduction

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

for engineers and business leaders

Introduction

Bloodhound rocket firing

City Engineering

Vince Cable & Haley

Engineering

WEAF Upcoming Events

Page 6

Jelf Lampier Full Page Advert

The Composite Piano

The South West is blessed with having the strongest Aerospace sector

in the UK and many manufacturers are totally focused on supplying into

the sector, which offers stability and long term growth potential.

Aerospace undoubtedly makes a significant contribution to the prosperity

of the South West region but it isn’t the only game in town. Government

support for manufacturing as a means of boosting exports is stronger

now than it has been for decades and a lot of assistance is available for

entrepreneurial businesses looking for new markets.

The UK and European markets continue to pose many challenges and

this may continue for many years to come. Many South West

businesses, not reliant on Aerospace, are successfully achieving

impressive sales growth by focusing on exports to the high growth

regions of the world, such as the BRIC countries. British manufacturing

still has a lot of credibility abroad and we are conspicuous by our

absence in many markets.

If you offer products or services suitable for export or are considering

adopting such a strategy, the AAE iNet should be your first point of

contact to signpost you to the wide range of support on offer:

• Funding and support for Product Development

• Finance for Business Investment

• Business Coaching and Leadership Development

• Access to the Knowledge, Technology and Skills of the

regional universities

• Support for Exploring Export Markets, Regulations and

Processes

• Support for Product and Packaging Design and Company

Branding

• Support for Productivity and Supply Chain improvements

If we can’t help, we can point you in the direction of those who can.

Exporting your Entrepreneurial Spirit

02

BLOODHOUND’s successful

hybrid rocket firing

The Bloodhound SSC project successfully tested its hybrid rocket at

Aerohub @ Newquay Cornwall Airport on 3 October. The BLOODHOUND

project is in the process of developing a 1,000mph supersonic car to break

the World Land Speed Record. The firing of the hybrid rocket in

a hardened aircraft hangar at the airport has been the most significant

milestone to date and the largest rocket test in the UK in the last 20 years.

The rocket itself is a state of the art EJ200 jet engine, as used in a

Eurofighter Typhoon. Once built the supersonic car will be taken to South

Africa in 2014 where it will aim to beat the current record of 763mph, but

BLOODHOUND aims to hit 1000mph and reach Mach 1 in their attempt.

Al Titterington, Managing Director of Newquay Cornwall Airport said “The

airport’s extensive infrastructure has been used for this exciting

engineering project and we believe this success will generate significant

interest across the globe and we were glad to be a part of it. At Aerohub @

Newquay Cornwall Airport we are pleased to have supported this event

and we hope it helps to demonstrate the many business opportunities at

England’s only aerospace specific Enterprise Zone.” Cornwall’s Enterprise

Zone has commercial incentives such as European funding and business

rate relief for companies relocating to the airport, along with relaxed

planning restrictions and superfast broadband connectivity.

The BLOODHOUND Team also launched their new website and their book

‘The Science Behind The Speed’ and they will continue to inspire people

to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

This could help provide the skills required by businesses on the aerospace

focussed Enterprise Zone, led by the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Local

Enterprise Partnership. The test attracted the attention of national and

international media such as The Times, Top Gear Magazine, The Engineer, Discovery Channel, Russian TV and

Sky as well as BBC & ITV. Around 400 people watched the event on site whilst over 120,000 more watched it

broadcasted live online. European Regional Development Fund Convergence investment has 100% funded the

Enterprise Zone Team at Cornwall Development Company, along with other projects at Newquay Cornwall Airport

totalling £13,531,350.

Bill thanked Vince for the Government's continued support for the Building Schools for the Future Programme,

which has meant an increase in steelwork for school construction projects since 2008.

He also raised his concerns about the 43% drop over the last four years in demand for steelwork resulting from

the depressed state of the construction industry, highlighting the opportunities which might be presented by

borrowing to invest in large-scale infrastructure projects like the Severn Barrage. Vince explained he understood

how serious the lack of demand was for construction businesses, but warned that the Treasury would want to

weigh the benefits of infrastructure projects against the risk that markets would react negatively to increased

Government borrowing, even at historically low interest rates. Vince agreed that The Haley Group was well-placed

to benefit from the development at Hinkley Point, as Electricité de France had expressed a wish to engage local

companies in supply chain contracts for this project. Vince pointed out that the local MP, his colleague and PPS,

Tessa Munt, would be running a 'procurement conference' for local small and medium-sized business people

during the Autumn to help them gain a fuller understanding of how to apply for contracts from big business and

government services in the region.

Vince Cable prepares first steel beam for local

firm's 100th Government School building project

03

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills, Vince

Cable MP, accepted an invitation from William Haley

Engineering Limited to prepare the first steel beam for

fabrication, ready for the Company's 100th School building

project, during a visit to Somerset this week .

With guidance from Bill Haley, Director of The Haley Group,

Vince found the beam’s mark number and matched the

drawing and its plates to the beam on the production line. The

steelwork will be supplied to Skanska, Haley Engineering's

customer, ready for a total re-build of Woodlands School in

Basildon, Essex destined for completion in 2014.

City Engineering has provided sheet metal and fabrication services to local industry in the defence, aerospace,

semi-conductor, nuclear, and oil and gas sectors for over 65 years. Not content to sit on its laurels, City has been

carrying out policies of expansion and development to ensure commercial success over the long term.

These policies are reflected in the company’s investment as well as

its organisation and standards. For example, this year has seen the

installation of a second laser-profiling centre from Trumpf . For this

£600k investment, City opted for solid state fibre technology which, in

addition to being seriously fast and accurate, gives the ability to process

metals such as copper and brass which conventional lasers cannot do.

On the forming side, City has invested in another Amada CNC Brake

Press to bend materials up to 4 metres in length and 10mm in

thickness.

Many of City’s clients are based in the nuclear and pharmaceutical

industries where issues of cross contamination between ferrous and

non ferrous materials are critical. With this in mind, City has recently installed a “stainless only” enclosed facility

within its plant ensuring that high standards required by these sectors are met. These and other industries such

as Oil and Gas have a requirement for close control over various processes particularly welding, and for

high-level documentation. City has developed its ability to achieve and maintain the high

standards essential in these sectors. In the interests of further consolidating all aspects of quality management,

City is in the throes of assessment for approval under AS9100 which, if all goes to plan, will come to fruition in

January 2013.

City Engineering continuing to expand and develop

Retrac Composites Ltd was approached by Hurstwood Farm Piano Studios and Simpact Engineering Ltd in

June 2011 to discuss the possibility of manufacturing a revolutionary design carbon composite prototype piano.

The R&D project was to be a collaboration of five companies, who would individually contribute to knowledge,

design, material manufacture and composite component manufacture. The Companies would embark on a

journey not only to test the boundaries of composite design, but to work together and be a part of the first major

piano conceptual design change for well over a century, which would surely change the whole industry as

Theodore Steinway’s new piano did in 1886 and a century before with Christofore’s first instrument with

escapement operated percussion hammers in a world that only knew Harpsichords and Clavichords.

Carbon Fibre was chosen to construct a piano because of the following properties.

Weight

Performance and sound quality

Stability

The collaborating companies, Simpact Engineering Ltd, Creactive Design Ltd, Retrac and SAATI developed the

innovative design concept proposed by Hurstwood Farm Piano Studios with them into an engineered solution.

The project got underway in November 2011 with the manufacture of hand-crafted patterns. Split mould tools

were manufactured from the patterns to form the larger sections of the Piano’s design. With moulds

manufactured and materials delivered, Retrac Composites Ltd started the production of the prototype

components in March 2012.

Here is an extract from a letter from the

customer to Retrac;

“We are really delighted with the outcome. You have demonstrated the verybest that earns British engineering its reputation; you should be rightly proud of a great achievement. I and my colleaguesknow this standard is only achieved when those who do the work are truly dedicated to its success. There can be no questionthat the team at Retrac who worked on thepiano had that dedication to our project”

04

The Composite Piano

After weeks of manufacturing effort and well over 1000 man hours of labour in composite production of the

prototype, the Piano was finally ready to be unveiled to the musical world at the Cremona Mondamusica

festival in Italy, (the home of Christofore’s original piano), on 28th – 30th September 2012.

WEAF Upcoming Events

Areva Energy EventBridgwater

Full details of our events can be foundon our website www.weaf.co.uk/events

Jan29

IPECO - Factory Visit, Clevedon

Jan23

The US-UK Defence Trade Co-operation Treaty South West Seminar 2013

Jan15

National Composite Centre Visit, Bristol

Feb06

Pre- Conference DinnerWinter Gardens, WsM

Feb26

Annual Conference 2013Winter Gardens, WsM

Feb27

The WEAF Office will close for the festive

period at 4pm on Friday 21 December and

re-open on Wednesday 2 January 2013

WEAF would like to wish all its

members, associates and suppliers

a very Merry Christmas and a Happy

and Prosperous New Year

Helping the West to be a runway to success

Jelf Lampier is WEAF’s chosen insurance partner for members.If you trust our experts with your insurance programme, we will pay your WEAF membership fee.

Our experienced team would welcome the opportunity to review your commercial insurances so that you can be confi dent your business is secure.

To fi nd out about how we have helped other WEAF members, and how this expertise could benefi t you, please contact Adrian Deakins on 07788 423880 or email adrian.deakins@jelfgroup.com