From Titanic to titanium

Today Northern Ireland is famous for many engineering feats from the modern agricultural tractor by Irish engineer and inventor, Harry Ferguson, to the building of the Titanic, one of the most iconic yet extraordinary engineering achievements, over a century ago.

The construction of the iconic Titanic took 15,000 men and 26 months of a detailed construction process. Steel welding was still in its infancy at the time, so the structure was held together with over three million iron and steel rivets which weighed by themselves over 1,200 tonnes - fitted using hydraulic machines that were all individually hammered by hand – and no doubt a daunting engineering task for anyone.

The manufacturing industry in Northern Ireland has changed immensely in this last century. Once renowned for fine linen and textile industries one of the largest manufacturing subsectors is now engineering, particularly in the field of aerospace.
The Northern Ireland aerospace industry is worth £1billion. It directly employs over 8,000 people and is Europe's ninth largest aerospace region in revenue terms. It boasts an enviable roster of firms that not only survived the recession but also managed to compete globally due to a concerted effort to invest in technology, skills and innovative R&D.

The size of the prize

One such firm, SJC Hutchinson Engineering delivered over 50% growth in turnover in three years and has its sights firmly set on the global aerospace market. The second generation, family-owned firm started out servicing the fabrication needs of the local agricultural community in Kilrea, but when the downturn began to bite in the rural community, they chose to adapt and thrive.

“We bought our first laser machine in 1998 and we haven't looked back,” begins managing director Mark Hutchinson. “Anyone operating in engineering and manufacturing knows all too well how challenging it can be.

“With rising input costs as well as increased competition it hasn't been an easy ride, but we quickly realised that if we wanted the business to grow we needed to invest in the best technology and skills to make us able to compete – not just in Northern Ireland, but across the UK and hopefully the world.”

The firm now offers laser cutting and fabrication services to operators in the construction, energy, medical and transport sectors working with elite companies like WrightBus, renowned for the new London Routemaster and with Leckey Design who designs posturally supportive products exported across the world.

Fast forward 10 years and the company faced similar difficulties as the 2008 recession hit. Hutchinson explains: “In 2008 we were faced with similar issues; increased competition, challenges from the Far East and various markets were becoming stagnant, we knew we couldn't become complacent. Over the next few years we consolidated before choosing to diversify into new markets and with a thriving aerospace industry in Northern Ireland it was an obvious sector to engage with.”

As a consequence the ambitious group formed Hutchinson AeroTech. Operational for the past two years it has seen the company machine and supply stainless steel, titanium and aluminium fabrications to the aerospace sector.

“With some 40 years' experience working with clients who demand precision and accuracy, we knew we could meet the stringent needs of the aerospace sector. We knew that to build on our past experience and diversify into the aerospace industry was a natural step.”

Hutchinson AeroTech created over 30 new jobs at a 15,000ft2 bespoke site in Antrim and the company has invested over £3.6 million in new technology and R&D.

The company clearly believes this significant investment is paying off: “We invested £3.6m in the latest cutting edge technologies and R&D to ensure that we can service the needs of this highly specialised sector. Our investment in researching the effects of laser cutting on aerospace materials with the universities is differentiating us from our competitors and allows us to offer customers higher quality components for precision applications.”

Links with academia

Hutchinson AeroTech works closely with the local Northern Regional College in a shared lecture scheme, the Northern Ireland Technology Centre, Queen's University through the Knowledge Transfer Partnership Programme and the Advance Forming Research Centre (AFRC) of the University of Strathclyde.

All of these academic institutions have formed strategic partnerships with Hutchinson AeroTech with both gaining much experience. Of note, one of their apprentices Jordan Hunter who participated in the Engineering Career Academy programme was the UK winner of the prestigious Sir Winfried Bischoff award. The award comes from Career Academies UK, a national education charity that helps young people prepare for the world of work through mentoring, workplace visits and promoting inspirational skills to 16-19 year olds across the UK.

“It was important that we worked with the right people whether in the academic world or the aerospace sector,” continues Hutchinson. “We also wanted to achieve the right accreditations right from the start. We attained the prestigious NADCAP accreditation for Nonconventional Machining and AS9100 as fast as was physically possible.”

Achieving NADCAP accreditation is not easy: it is one the ways in which the aerospace industry identifies those who excel at manufacturing quality product through superior special processes. It reflects their commitment to continual improvement in aerospace quality.

“In 2014, we also joined Bombardier's SC21 supply chain programme,” concludes Hutchinson. “SC21 is a change programme designed to accelerate the competitiveness of the aerospace and defence industry by raising the performance of its supply chains. It has helped us to develop skills and capacity, which will ensure a culture of continuous improvement within our organisation.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the last few years has been extremely interesting but I'm looking forward to growing the company, setting the bar even higher and becoming more resilient and adaptable all the while working with great people in great organisations.”

The Hutchinson firm was recently named the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce ‘Manufacturer of the Year' 2014, Investors in People Best Newcomer 2014 and Hutchinson was named 2013 Institute of Director Family Business Director of the Year, 2014 Belfast Telegraph Young Businessperson of the Year as well as a finalist in Ireland's EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 programme in recognition of its phenomenal growth, leadership and achievements over the last three years.

www.hutchinson-aerotech.com