A change for the better

In this Q&A session, Middlesex Aerospace’s managing director, Laurie Foulds looks back over the company’s 75 years in the business and reveals that the secret to success means following your customers closely and always be open to change.

When Middlesex Aerospace was established 75 years ago, the company had no idea where it would be today. However, there are several aspects of the Middlesex story that are as true today as they were then: its core values of delivering excellence, doing business with integrity and working to bring out the best in people.

Q) Please begin by explaining how Middlesex Aerospace arrived at this point in time and where to next?

We have been through many challenges over the last 75 years and have experienced tougher times than this. The secret to long-term success is to follow your customers closely and to be constantly open to change. I don't share the common pessimism about flying resuming only slowly - I think many people are desperate to get out and if you look at the data, the long-term growth trend is still healthy.

Q) How has the agility, knowledge and experience gained over the last 75 years helped the company get through the pandemic?

People, technology, commitment. The whole company has really pulled together and stepped up to the challenge. I think all of us have been surprised just how effective some of these new methods of working can be.

Q) What are your thoughts on Industry 4.0 and the factory of the future?

Our factory of the future is about changing flow so that workflow is entirely streamlined. We are using data in a way that I haven't seen anywhere else in the industry to inform decisions and to run operations. As an example: our Business Management System is an entirely online product that means that our quality structure is not in a filing cabinet, it's in the way that everybody does their jobs. That is improving every aspect of our operations.

Q) Has Middlesex Aerospace’s long-standing partnerships brought any benefits, particularly as trusted relationships can lead to a better way forward for all?

Crises bring out the best and worst in people. We have worked with our supply chain and customers for decades and we are staying closer to them than ever before to ensure an ever-closer relationship and all of our partners have stepped up well. It is disappointing to hear of some companies that have not.

Q) What financial assistance - if any - have you received from Government in order to help your members through these troubled times?

We are very grateful to the Government for the furlough scheme, but apart from that we continue to rely on our own strong resources and our 75-year-long partnership with HSBC.

Q) What kind of feedback, if any, have you received from customers most affected by the pandemic?

After the initial shock, there was a great deal of confusion as to what the future might hold. We aren't entirely there yet, but like a figure emerging from the mist, a picture is beginning to form. This is still a new world, but I'm confident we have a place in it.

Q) Do you think companies should be using this downtime to effectively ‘reset’ and look at how effectively they are running their businesses?

Absolutely. Never waste a crisis. It is a golden opportunity to take a hard look at everything you do and throw complacency out of the window.

Q) And do you have any positive ‘good news’ stories that Middlesex Aerospace has undertaken for the greater good of society?

We continue to engage with local schools, sports organisations and other local groups to sponsor various projects and will continue to plan for the future by engaging apprentices in our scheme that we have run since 1950. I once asked my father how many apprentices he'd taken on and he told me that he stopped counting after we reached 1,000, and that was back in the sixties.

Q) The ability for manufacturers to communicate to the outside world is what makes organisations like Middlesex Aerospace so successful. Have you been using video conferencing software apps like Zoom to maintain contact?

We are ahead of the curve here. Our BSI audit was conducted entirely remotely last month and that would have been unthinkable even as recently as January. We recently had a customer review with one of our key partners. In the pre-Covid-19 world, they would have left their facility at 8am and returned to it at 5pm, whereas we had a Zoom meeting that lasted 90 minutes and all of us were able to do other things in the day that we would not otherwise have done.

We’ve been able to shift to large scale home working pretty quickly and I don't think I'm alone in being surprised at just how effective it has been. It’s meant more efficient working, but I think the challenge for post-lockdown is how to work from home with a structure.

Q) What kind of aviation landscape will we be faced with when everything gets back to normal – if indeed we ever do get back to ‘normal’?

Normal no, but flying is simply too important to too many people. A way will be found to make mass usage of aircraft possible again. Whether that is through a combination of temperature and other tests I cannot say, but I am sure that human ingenuity will prevail.

Q) In conclusion, what are the positives the industry can take from of all this?

It has put people and relationships to the ultimate test which has provided a real insight.

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