Black Country training provider, In-Comm Training has been chosen to help deliver a suite of interactive online training resources for the UK aerospace sector. In-Comm Training, which operates two academies, is part of the £320,000 EU-funded Erasmus+ AEERO (Aerospace Engineering ECVET Resources Online) project that will develop a suite of interactive online training resources.
The University of Wolverhampton secured the money for the collaboration and the University’s Faculty of Arts is now working with the company, a number of local manufacturers and partner organisations in Portugal and Italy. It is anticipated that the project will provide bespoke training skills and personal development opportunities to meet future demand for what is expected to be unparalleled growth in the aerospace sector.
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Aerospace giant UTC has unveiled a multi-million pound programme of investment at its factory in Wolverhampton. The firm is gearing up for work on some of the world’s biggest aircraft contracts.
As production of the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter increases, the factory is making vital components for its weapons, bay doors and other control systems. The factory, which now employs 1,500 people, is also making flight control components for a fleet of passenger aircraft projects around the world, for Airbus, Boeing, and Japanese and Russian plane makers.
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Aerospace and defence specialists, Currock Engineering has announced plans to double its sales over the next five years after being selected to join Sharing in Growth (SiG), the Government-backed competitiveness Improvement programme. The family-owned, Chelmsford-based firm has increased sales by almost 40% over the last two years, and counts aerospace giants, MBDA Systems, Leonardo and BAE Systems among its customers.
The SiG programme, which attracts £1.1m from the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) for each participating company, will help develop the company’s capability, productivity and competitiveness to secure more business and jobs in the UK. SiG’s initial focus will be on supporting Currock to increase its lean and continuous improvement activities, drive supply chain improvement and develop a new product introduction process.
Established in 2013, the SiG programme is endorsed by Airbus, BAE Systems, Bombardier, GE, GKN, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, and Rolls-Royce. To date suppliers on the SiG programme have secured more than £1.6bn in contracts and around 2,600 jobs.
The intense four-year SiG training and development programme is focused on leadership, culture and operational excellence delivered by SiG’s own 120-strong team of lean coaches, as well as a bank of experts including The University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), Deloitte, Industry Forum and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). This fully integrated change programme makes normally unaffordable blue chip expertise accessible to smaller but ambitious suppliers because the RGF pays for the training and development.
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European defence and aerospace company Airbus Group has announced that it has finalized the sale of its Defense Electronics subsidiary. Defense Electronics produced high-tech systems and sensors for use in a number of military applications. Based in Germany, but with offices around the world, the subsidiary had a workforce of over 4000 people.
Airbus had announced its intent to sell the company several months ago, however only recently received approval from German regulators. Before all parts of the company can be sold, however, French regulatory approval will also be required.
Once the transfer is complete Defence Electronics will be formally renamed ‘Hensoldt’. Airbus. Airbus stated that its decision to sell off the company was part of efforts on their behalf to ‘streamline’ its defence business.
Airbus is currently in the process of re-focusing its efforts on aerospace, and aerospace-related defence systems, rather than maintaining a more eclectic mix of subsidiaries.