Joint venture with the boys from Brazil

One of the UK’s fastest growing precision engineering companies, Express Engineering, has announced a joint venture with a Brazilian partner.

The deal with Brastec Ltda. will allow both companies to take advantage of the huge business opportunities in one of the world’s most active oil and gas extraction markets.

With two of the three largest sub-sea reserves discovered in recent years off the Brazilian coast, around half the global drilling and underwater equipment manufacturing capacity is expected to be focused on the region.

The 50:50 partnership, signed this week, creates Petrotec Components Ltda. which will begin operations in the first quarter of next year (2010).  The premises, a 1,000 square metre extension to Brastec’s existing Sao Paulo plant, is already in place and over £1 million worth of machinery has been ordered.

The two companies have much in common.  Both are recognised experts in different though complementary areas of engineering, each is privately owned with around 140 employees, annual turnovers of approximately £15 million are comparable and they even operate from similarly modern, mirrored premises.

As one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of precision engineering components and assemblies, Express Engineering has just completed the first phase of a £3.2 million expansion at its Tyneside headquarters.  This investment was designed to increase capacity by up to 50% as it seeks to win new business in the aerospace, defence and oil and gas sectors.

Brastec specialises in engineering solutions, developing and manufacturing high standard heavy equipment for oil and gas, wire and cables and pipe industries.  The company is currently expanding with up to 5,000 square metres of manufacturing space available for the production of precision components for the oil and gas sector.

Said Express Engineering Managing Director, Nigel Davison:  “We have been looking to establish a specialist manufacturing capacity in Brazil for some time but the challenges posed by language, culture and distance are considerable.  This arrangement with Brastec offers the perfect opportunity to overcome all these obstacles.

“The slightly different operational profiles of our companies mean we can both add to the others’ offer while the size and similarity of the way the companies work suggests they will fit well together.”

Fabio Romano, Director from Brastec, added:  “We are delighted to be able to partner such a well known and experienced company as Express Engineering.  This is a great opportunity to strengthen both firms’ positions in the Brazilian oil and gas market, creating specialised jobs.”

Over the coming months, staff from Express Engineering and Brastec will work in each others businesses to begin the knowledge transfer and training process ready for manufacture.

Engineering a greener future

Express Engineering has once again teamed up with the Carbon Trust to dramatically improve its green credentials – saving money in the process, which is being ploughed back into business development.

Since we began measuring our Energy and CO2 usage in 2007 we’ve reduced our Energy usage and CO2 emissions by around 12% - that’s 107 tonnes of CO2 – We reduced the compressor usage by 20% helping to reduce the total overall electricity usage by 6% and we reduced our gas usage by 42%. So even though we have installed new plant and equipment and also expanded into a third factory – we have still made these significant Energy savings.

The Carbon Trust is so impressed with our efforts that it is using us as a case study to increase awareness of the benefits of improving environmental performance. 

The green drive began in January 2007 with the appointment of an environmental geoscience graduate from Edinburgh University to work in partnership with our Environmental Team and the Carbon Trust to drive down waste, reduce energy usage and CO2 emissions and to save money. We also started work towards our ISO14001 accreditation which we received in 2008.

The initial results we achieved were through carrying out a series of energy awareness presentations with all of our employees and we realised an immediate reduction of almost 60% in land fill waste and 5% savings on electricity use for the compressor.  Subsequently Carbon Trust grants helped pay for new compressor equipment - which has delivered further savings of around 20% - and the installation of a new gas space heating control system to maintain a constant temperature has shown additional gas savings of over 30%.

We again sought advice from the Carbon Trust for the energy efficient lighting and heating in the additional 18,000 sq. ft. of space recently taken on for our expansion and we received interest free loans to help pay for their installation

The new energy efficient lights also have daylight saving and movement sensors which will save on lighting costs.  In addition, due to the longer life of the bulbs, significant savings will be made in replacement and fitting costs, The high efficiency gas space heaters with temperature controls should also minimize our gas usage and CO2 emissions

Said Production Manager, Dave Fullen, who leads on the energy initiative:  “Managing our energy use to become a more efficient and environmentally friendly operation is a key part of our improvement and expansion programme.  We owe our Energy graduate Carol Mahoney and the Carbon Trust a great deal for the advice, guidance and support they have given to help us improve performance.”

Since opening our new factory we have once again turned to the Carbon trust for guidance on further Carbon reduction opportunities which include improvements to our energy saving management practices, further improvements in the positioning and the use of the compressors and better leak detection by fitting independent metering on the compressors, installation of more high efficient lighting and the possible replacement of our central heating boiler

A clock to set your watch by

The countdown to the replacement of one of Gateshead’s most used clocks has begun.

With Father Time having finally caught up with the old timepiece outside Express Engineering’s Team Valley operation, the company has called in Newcastle based Autoclock Systems.

After over 20 years without slumbering the old alfresco timepiece, used by hundreds of passers by every day, began sticking.  And each time it froze the Express switchboard lit up with callers ringing to report the fault.

So the time honoured services of Paul Stuart, clock engineer at Autoclock Systems Limited who fitted the original back in 1988, were commissioned. He has installed a new state of the art clock outside the Kingsway premises, complete with GPS antenna which assures 100% accuracy 100% of the time.

And it’s out with the old roll over style and in with the new, red, LED lights, which automatically alters the brightness of the display to be visible when it’s bright and avoid glare when it’s darker.

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Managing director with Express Engineering, Nigel Davison, said:  “We didn’t realise the role our clock has played in so many people’s day to day routines on the Team Valley until it broke down.  Having established that the old clock cannot be fixed we’re returning with haste to our timely responsibilities.”

Jason Osborne, Sales Consultant with Autoclock Systems Limited, added: “Express Engineering is one of our longest standing clients and the clock has at times been a reference for our work, as most people who know the Team Valley are familiar with it.  The replacement has a lot to live up to but we’re confident it will stand the test of time.”

Express team get on their bikes!

The Express Engineering cycling team has successfully completed its latest Coast 2 Coast challenge.

Travelling from Whitehaven to Tynemouth, the team comprising thirteen employees plus two relatives, raised an exhausting £1,000 for the Chris Lucas Trust.  The North East charity raises money for and awareness of Leukaemia research.

Ted Foster, 56 and from Blyth headed up the team for the eighth consecutive year and estimates the total fundraising efforts over the years is an impressive £3,500.

Talking about their most recent endeavour, he said: “Over the years I haven’t found it any easier, in fact, the older I get the harder it seems to be.  My advice to anyone thinking of entering is to just do it and don’t think about it.  It is hard and takes a lot of determination but it’s a great personal achievement which raises money for a worthwhile cause.”

For more information about the Chris Lucas Trust visit www.chrislucastrust.com

Apprentices on track for success

Express Engineering’s apprenticeship programme is steaming ahead with four new recruits being taken on for the third consecutive year.

After beefing up the scheme last year by taking on weight lifter Kristofer Herring, the company is taking a different track this time round, appointing railway enthusiast Kristopher McDermott.

Kristopher, 16 and from Chester-le-Street became interested in trains after joining a railway club in Beamish.  Attending various workshops, he learned the fundamentals of train building and developed the engineering skills he now uses daily.

Thrilled to have been given the chance to get his career on track with Express, Kristopher said:  “I’m really enjoying my time here, having been interested in tools and machinery for years.  An apprenticeship is the best option for me to get qualified and get paid at the same time.”  

The other apprentices are Brendan Charlton, 17, from St. Robert’s School in Washington; Daniel Fullen, 16, from All Saints College, Newcastle and Liam Powell, 18 and from Kenton School, also in Newcastle.

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The young troupe began their training last month and are learning the nuts and bolts of precision engineering, including CNC milling, turning, quality assurance and spark erosion.

Bill Mole inspector team leader at Express Engineering said:  “The apprenticeships we run are a great opportunity for young people to become skilled in engineering and hopefully help in some way to fill the UK skills shortage in the trade.”

“They’re also ideal for us at Express as it means we can mould the apprentices into the engineers we want them to be and after they’ve completed the four year apprenticeship there is usually a job waiting for them.”

All four apprentices are working towards an Advanced Apprenticeship in Engineering through TDR Training, which specialises in training and placing young people in engineering and science.

Sky’s the limit after accreditation

Our drive to win aerospace business has been boosted by the award of a recognised industry accreditation.

Gaining 875 from a possible 880 points (99.4%) following a three day British Standards Institute audit of procedures at its Team Valley operation, the company is now AS9100 approved.

The accreditation covers the manufacture of components including kits and assemblies for the aerospace industry and comes just as we complete the first phase of an ambitious £3.2 million expansion designed to accommodate additional work – aerospace being a key target.

The accreditation compliments the already achieved ISO 9001 and environmental ISO 14001 marks and head of sales, William Barclay, said:  “We have always been confident in the quality of our products but this provides internationally recognised proof that we are a company which can be relied upon to supply the aerospace sector with high precision, reliable components.”

We have successfully supplied the aerospace industry for more than a decade.  Recent multi-million pound contracts with major companies included a $1 million deal to work on the system development and demonstration phase of the new F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter programme.

Complex fuselage components for both the short take-off and vertical landing and conventional take-off versions of the fighter jet were manufactured.  These had no flat surfaces which required the latest five axis machining techniques.  In addition, special titanium alloys and aluminium were used to produce components which were both strong and light.

The F-35 is the world’s most advanced combat aircraft and the first and only stealthy, supersonic, multi-role fighter.

Express Engineering expanding fast

Express Engineering is creating 40 new jobs as part of an ambitious £3.2 million expansion plan.

With its existing 40,000 square foot Team Valley site already operating to capacity, the company has taken on an additional 18,000 square feet of manufacturing floor space.

The new facility, together with a £550,000 Selective Finance for Investment (SFI) grant from regional development agency One North East, will allow the company to invest in latest technology machinery, including large vertical lathes, horizontal machining centres, five axis machines and automated welding machines.

This investment will increase the capacity of the company and enable Express to produce larger, more complex precision components, increasing turnover by 50% over the next three years. 

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Having already extended its apprenticeship programme with four new recruits added this year, this new investment is likely to create a further 40 jobs over the coming 18 - 24 months.

One of the UK’s leading contract manufacturing companies, providing high precision-machined components and assemblies to international clients in the aerospace, defence and oil and gas sectors, Express Engineering is confident it will secure more contracts in these areas, as well as develop opportunities in other markets, including the region’s renewable energy potential.

Managing Director, Nigel Davison, said: “This is a very exciting time for us which heralds a new age of growth for the company.  We have enjoyed an extremely successful couple of years and despite the recent downturn in some sectors we have a busy order book, stretching well into 2009.  Whilst we cannot be complacent, we are cautiously optimistic about the immediate to mid term future.

“The manufacturing sector is hugely important to the economy of the North East and thanks to the skill and dedication of our workforce, there is strong demand for the high integrity products we supply.  As a forward-thinking engineering firm we want to ensure that we’re in the best possible position to capitalise on this demand, creating new job opportunities and long term security for employees and shareholders alike.

“We are grateful to One North East and chartered accountants unw LLP for their advice.  Without their support and assistance, an expansion of this scale would not have been possible.”

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Ken Samson, Business Finance Manager at One North East, said: “It’s very encouraging that quality firms such as Express Engineering are investing in their future in the region.

“One North East is pleased to be able to support the company during this difficult economic time as it strives to take advantage of new opportunities in sectors such as new and renewable energy.”

Express Engineering recently celebrated two new contracts to supply high integrity components and assemblies to the offshore industry worth a combined £4 million plus over the next two years.  But it’s not just in the oil and gas sector that the company has been enjoying success.  Other key business industries include aerospace, defence and power generation.

Mark Simpson, Corporate Finance Manager at unw LLP, said:   “It is encouraging to see the success already achieved at Express Engineering and it was a pleasure to work with the management team to finalise this grant.   We’re always delighted to offer advice and support to North East businesses such as Express. 

“Securing funding from One North East means that the company will continue to go from strength to strength in its specialist fields and it is fantastic to have such a successful precision engineering company based here in the North East.”

Express Engineering have won The Journal Fastest 50 Award 2007

The award was presented on 11th October and goes to Express Engineernig for being one of the north east's 50 top growth companies for 2007.

Please follow the links below to see the award certificate and winning team:

http://www.express-engineering.co.uk/db/docs/cert2007.pdf

http://www.express-engineering.co.uk/db/docs/winners.pdf