Queen's Award for Joseph Rhodes

Wakefield-based Joseph Rhodes has won the prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category in recognition of its continuous development in the area of super plastic forming (SPF) and diffusion bonding (DB) presses. These machines are specifically designed for the high temperature forming of titanium and aluminium alloys, primarily used in the aerospace and automotive industry.

Joseph Rhodes, who will exhibit at the Farnborough Airshow (hall 1, stand D11), claims to be the only UK company (and one of only a handful of operations in the world) capable of developing commercially available automatic SPF/DB presses. These skills have led the firm to be invited to join a number of supply chain partnerships and to secure major contracts both in the UK and overseas. Recent successes include a major order from BAE Systems to provide the facility to produce canard wings for the Eurofighter Typhoon, and a contract to supply nozzle bay doors to the Lockheed Martin F35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Sections of the F35 will be manufactured at BAE's new state of the art facility, which is being built at Samlesbury Aerodrome in Balderstone, Lancashire.

Group Rhodes supplies an extensive range of machinery for metalforming, clay preparation, waste management, sub sea oil and gas exploration and special purpose applications.

www.grouprhodes.co.uk/006_jrhodes.php