An update from SPE

We have had a number of different changes within our organisation, some major and some you would have even noticed!

Employment

We were awarded some government funding (Regional Growth Fund) to support our relocation project we completed in early 2015. In return for the support, we committed to safeguarding 20 jobs and creating 15 new jobs in the next two years as we expand into our new premises.

At the moment, we have created 9 new skilled jobs and are on target with our growth plans.

Training/Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are key to the future success of our business and we have a successful apprenticeship program at SPE.

One of our apprentices, Ryan (he’s the good looking lad in the Inspection photo!), won Apprentice of the Year for Staffordshire in 2015 and, one of our other apprentices Dominic, is now studying for his foundation degree in engineering.

We will be setting on two more apprentices in 2016.

Phil & Gary Smith are trustees of our independent training organisation, North Staffs Group Training Association Ltd NSEGTA.

We are also Apprenticeship Ambassadors for Staffordshire Apprenticeship Ambassador Network – Groups – GOV.UK

We have seen a record increase of applications for new apprenticeships in the area which is great for our industry.

New Investment & Technology

We moved to our new site in January 2015 which was £850k plus a £300k refurbishment. Since the move, we have invested in another Star SR32J sliding head lathe (May 2015) to increase our capacity for higher volume small turned parts.

In December 2015, we invested in a Mazak Variaxis i500 5 axis twin pallet machining centre (our third 5 axis machine) and 2 Mazak Quick Turn 250M turning centres.

The Mazak Variaxis i500 has the brand new smooth control which is market leading and has proved to reduce cycle times by 21% compared to the previous control.

We are looking forward to having a professional working partnership with Yamazaki Mazak UK who will assist our company with the latest machine tool technologies and processes.

Quality

Our company is one of only a few in our area with the Aerospace accreditation AS9100 Rev C, which has been in place since 2010.

This was implemented in order to support our growth strategy within the aerospace sector, however all of our customers benefit from our processes being managed to the highest quality standards.

Our new temperature controlled inspection room with full CNC CMM capabilities allows us to provide accurate FAIRs and inspection data in accordance with AS9100 Rev C.

We had our latest 3-day audit from BSI in February 2016 which we passed with flying colours, if you pardon the pun!

Aqueous Cleaning

We have had some trial parts cleaned by a supplier of aqueous cleaning systems.

The parts are currently being analysed by an independent laboratory so that we can measure the effectiveness of the cleaning process and equipment that we will potentially order.

If the results are satisfactory then we will have our new system installed in June/July 2016.

Sales & Marketing

We are developing a sales and marketing plan with a local marketing company, Lawrence Davis.

They will be updating our website and will be assisting us with developing a marketing strategy to help us gain new business in our target markets.