Last month’s announcement of a 0.5 percent increase in Britain’s third quarter GDP was tempered by a drop in the manufacturing purchasing index to below 50 – the level which divides expansion from contraction.
Terry Scuoler, CEO of the UK manufacturer’s association EEF commented: “Despite manufacturing’s positive contribution to GDP, the uncertainty from the Euro
zone crisis is clearly now spilling over into weakening demand in the main European markets with confidence slowing markedly. So long as the crisis remains unresolved this is likely to hold back growth in the next few months.”
Scuoler added that the quarter’s figures were “better than expected” but suggested the government should “inject more energy into its growth agenda and send a clear signal to industry that it is doing everything in its power to sweep away the barriers to growth.”
Stuart McOnie, head of custom-built airside support equipment manufacturer Semmco, is doing his bit. As soon as he can get a visa, he’s off to Libya to deploy assorted ground equipment that’s been sitting in a sealed container since March.
As Semmco has been paid 90 percent of the order, Stuart wants to ensure his customer can now use the equipment after a six-month hiatus. “The people we’ve been dealing with couldn’t be nicer,” he explains. “We’d heard nothing for quite a while and suddenly I got a call saying the airport was back in business and when could I visit.”
Despite Gadaffi’s death, tribal rivalries suggest not everyone in the country is quite ready for normality. Nonetheless, Stuart thinks he’ll get a visa before the end of the year: “We showed the Libyans our work for British Airways, Virgin and bmi and they’re keen we do more for them,” he adds.
Semmco began about 11 years ago in response to British Airways asking the company to improve existing ground equipment. Once the company proved it could do this in a timely and professional manner – which meant a lot more than just getting out some welding equipment – BA asked it to redesign oxygen and then nitrogen panels. The result was a life cycle improvement from one to three years.
Since then, the company has expanded to re-designing fuelling steps, wheel and brake-changers, nitrogen trolleys and a raft of other items that are normally seen but not heard in airside operations. For example, topping up aircraft door systems and tires in a fast turnaround environment is no longer prone to delay and possible injury thanks to Semmco’s new take on an old problem. Engineers can now avoid hauling large tanks up steep stairs to replenish nitrogen tanks. Instead, they now nip aboard the aircraft with a small zip bag and top-up tank complete with regulator and pressure gauge. Takes minutes off the turnaround time instead of days off from possible injury says the company.
“We were the first in the UK to make products to an international standard,” explains Stuart. “It may be more expensive but it is the right thing to do.
Stuart says that what drives his team of engineers, craftsmen and designers is to come up with smart solutions for customers: “If you can make products that are safer and easier to use, and people want to use them as a result, then it is a good reason to get up in the morning.”
Demonstrating the ease in which one man can manoeuvre a mobile engine access extension ladder, he explains that a “smart” solution is one where a ground engineer is not going to complain about the equipment because it is either too heavy or too awkward to use: “If we have a failing, it is because we try and make the product look nice because we think people will respect it more. That means it will be used properly and is likely to last longer. After all,” he adds, “if you make a product somebody wants to use, you’re more likely to overcome any initial resistance.”
Pulling out a huge product folder, Stuart notes it is hard to predict what a customer will want six months from now so the company builds equipment on a modular basis and then trials them with existing or potential customers for feedback. One current example is Singapore Airlines (SIA) which is about to trial some Semmco steps for its A320 fleet.
“It has been very difficult to break in – they’re not going to give you the business just because you’re from England. The customer wants to know will you come back for training and deployment; whether the product will have aftercare and whether you are really committed to supporting the client long term.”
Stuart’s been dropping by Singapore for the past three or four years on the way to his customer Qantas. Apparently the latest visit to SIA proved to be a breakthrough and although the airline doesn’t have the budget for a trial, it does have the money to place an order. So Semmco will ship the equipment in an ocean container and send an engineer to support the six to eight week test period.
“There’s a good chance they’ll like it and give us an order. Qantas did this originally, as did the Belgian Air Force,” he adds.
Semmco is currently spread over four industrial units in Woking, south of London. While his employees keep fit walking between the buildings every day, Stuart doesn’t think it’s particularly productive for them to commute between the design office, fabrication facility and the assembly area.
Given the state of the global economy, Stuart expects 2012 to be a year of consolidation as the company moves to a new 11,000 sq.ft. facility nearby that will allow for a complete overhaul of the design and manufacturing process. The opportunity to introduce Lean Manufacturing will improve productivity as well as margins, he adds.
“It’s tough out there, no question. Everybody wants a best price. What we’re considering is offering leasing packages rather than buying equipment because the money comes out of revenue, not a capital budget,” he explains.
With aviation 65 percent of his business, rail services 25 percent and breathing protection equipment making up the remainder, Semmco has been able to spread its production risk in the event of an uncertain 2012 for the air transport industry.
But the founder of the company is also its chief salesman, so Stuart admits Semmco would be affected if he got hit by bus: “My wife would be extremely rich,” and adds: “But I’ve spent the past two years recruiting a really good sales team. I think I’m getting to the stage now that I’ve gone from driver to back-seat passenger; actually it is quite a scary feeling but I have to trust in their collective judgement and experience.
“The next generation are all of the same mindset; everybody wants to work – they enjoy being here.”
Although Stuart thinks the UK’s Trade & Investment department could be a little more “proactive”, he’s hoping Britain’s role in Libya’s liberation will be remembered as the air transport infrastructure is restored. With Turkish Airlines joining Alitalia in re-establishing air services, commercial expansion on the back of increased oil revenues can’t be far behind.
How do you change a wheel on an A380? Carefully would seem to be the answer. Semmco took a look at the problem and realized that workplace injuries are not uncommon when trying to lever off an aircraft tire or brake unit. The answer is the “Wheel and Brake Changer” which can be used by one person to replace any wheel on any aircraft from a B737 to an A380. It’s proving particularly popular with Virgin, Qantas and bmi engineers says the company.
