KG Washford, a Redditch, UK, based precision engineering company, has won a series of substantial new orders to design and manufacture production test rigs for its aerospace clients.
The company is one of only a few in the UK to specialise in the design and manufacture of hydro-mechanical rigs to test fuel flow systems for civil and military aircraft engines.
The test rigs act as flight simulators for engine components, testing them under real-life and extreme situations. The test rigs ensure that fuel systems components, such as fuel meters, high pressure pumps and solenoid valves, will operate safely under all conditions.
This pipeline of new order wins has brought forward plans for significant investment into expanding KGW’s existing workshop capacity. As a result, the company has now completed a move into a new 6,000ft² facility located almost next door to its existing premises which will be dedicated to the manufacture and assembly of test rigs and fixtures.
The move has also enabled the company to bolster the strength of its existing rig teams by recruiting additional highly skilled engineers and opening up opportunities for young graduates and apprentices to gain valuable, hands on experience to kick start their careers.
“We intend to create a centre of excellence for test rig manufacturing,” explains operations director, Gerard Tilley. “The larger premises mean that we can design and prefabricate the larger rigs on site, rather than building them on the customers’ own premises. We can also respond more swiftly to our clients’ needs because we now have the capacity to build several rigs simultaneously.”
The company is also investing in the machine tooling side of the business, which makes high quality precision machined components for both its own test and control rigs and for the customised tooling it supplies to the aerospace, automotive and general engineering industries.
The aim is to expand the machine tooling services that the company can deliver by upgrading existing machinery and purchasing new specialist tools to sharpen its competitive edge and ensure that the growing needs of its customers can be more readily accommodated.
“Through our investment in staff, equipment and premises we offer our clients the agility of service and the depth of expertise that they need to meet the highest industry standards,” says Tilley.
“We are also investing in the future of the West Midlands engineering industry by not only recruiting skilled and experienced engineers from across the region but also creating new openings for young graduates and apprentices to join our team.”
KG Washford designs, manufactures and assembles high quality precision engineered tooling and equipment. Its principal clients are in the aerospace, automotive and machine tooling sectors.
