New top team for NCC

The National Composites Centre (NCC) has announced two new members of its senior executive team. Tom Hitchings has been appointed as business development director, and Rob Ludford takes the role of operations director. Tom and Rob have a wealth of experience in high tech industries and bring invaluable experience of working in small and medium-sized enterprises. Tom's last role was as business director at Tods Aerospace in Crewkerne, Somerset, a well-respected design and build SME for structural and non-structural composite parts. Prior to this, he was involved in composites in the mass transit and marine defence sector. Rob was recently the managing director of Beagle Aerospace in Christchurch, Dorset, a private equity backed component manufacturing and repair business that was formerly part of Ti and Smiths Aerospace and is involved in both metallic and composite repairs. Prior to Beagle Aerospace Rob spent the majority of his career in a composite manufacturing business in Cambridgeshire that worked with a wide range of business sectors. NCC CEO, Peter Chivers (pictured) said: “I'm thrilled to have two such highly experienced, highly skilled professionals on my leadership team. They bring a wealth of expertise which will help the Centre achieve its aims, and position it at the forefront of this exciting industry. They bring a unique perspective of the challenges faced by small and medium sized organisations, which are very important to the NCC's future. This shows that we are well and truly open for business.” Tom Hitchings said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to be at the forefront of developments in an industry that is growing at 8% per year and that is so important to the UK manufacturing sector. There's a lot of hard work ahead and I am confident that we can maximise the potential of composites in the UK, working with partners around the country.” Rob Ludford said: “The NCC is at the cutting edge of an industry which itself is cutting edge. I am pleased that I will be able to work with a brilliant in-house team in developing the Centre's technical capacity, with state-of-the-art technology. This is a very exciting time for the NCC, and for me personally. I am delighted to be part of it.” www.nationalcompositescentre.co.uk