SAFETY WHEN IT MATTERS MOST
SAFETY WHEN IT MATTERS MOST
Saving lives since 1946, Martin-Baker has honed a unique set of ejection seat capabilities that are at the cutting-edge of aircraft safety. Mark Cooper, Vice President of Sourcing, delves into the company’s commitment to technological and operational excellence
Writer: Lucy Pilgrim | Project Manager: Cameron Lawrence
Due to ongoing geopolitical conflicts, nations around the world are increasingly turning their attention to defence equipment procurement and operational availability, making it both a fascinating and challenging time to operate in the aerospace manufacturing sector.
As a result, organisations across the industry are working hard to develop capabilities and processes that respond and deliver products with shorter lead times and increased rates. However, the innovation needed to achieve these capacities and stay ahead of global conflicts means that manufacturing development cycles are under considerable pressure.
On top of this, defence budgets continue to tighten following
successive international economic challenges, which is pushing the industry towards more cost-efficient solutions.
“All these are central to defence sector procurement, and we are constantly working to optimise the quality, cost, and delivery performance using technology and supply chain improvements,” introduces Mark Cooper, Vice President of Sourcing at MartinBaker, the world’s leading manufacturer and supplier of ejection seats.
“Our job is now significantly more complex and challenging than it was five years ago, but my team has shown multiple times that they can rise to ever higher levels and mitigate crises whilst also driving improvement,” he adds.
INNOVATIVE AND LONG-LASTING
Operating at the forefront of the seat ejection subsector, Martin-Baker is proud to support the global aerospace industry with cutting-edge products that have helped save over 7,700 lives and counting.
“A passion for the life-saving nature of the job that we do runs through the business, it’s what grounds you when you are having a bad day and boosts you when you see the reports of successful ejections,” Cooper reflects.
The company supports over 60 aircraft across 106 operators in 85 countries, offering a range of seats that are both innovative and long-lasting. Accompanied by a strong team of experts in the field, Martin-Baker retains the knowledge and skills required to develop complex integrated escape systems.
Furthermore, its status as a familyowned and operated company, which is rare for a business of its size, is a key driver of Martin-Baker’s strong position.
Its role as an ejection seat frontrunner is further upheld by the company’s significant investment in technology and processes, strategically making decisions that have an impact over decades.
“Our ultra-long-term thinking helps us keep focused on sustainable strategies and approaches rather than chasing short-term tactics,” Cooper affirms.
Case in point, Martin-Baker recently recorded an ejection from a product over 40 years old, demonstrating the longevity of a seat in service.
The company also aims to control the intellectual property (IP) and manufacturing expertise of its solutions by developing in-house capabilities that ensure it serves its
customers for as long as they are flying.
Additionally admirable is the strength of Martin-Baker’s supply chain and the part it has played over the last few decades. As such, the combination of a diverse network of suppliers and extensive internal capabilities is a key component of the company’s success and resilience.
AT THE FOREFRONT OF AIRCRAFT SAFETY
Martin-Baker has developed an enviable reputation for state-of-theart equipment and manufacturing capabilities, which call for significant investment and capital expenditure (CapEx).
“Our products can be extremely complex and are designed at the limits of technology, so our strategy is to control manufacturing know-how to ensure we support our customers long into the future,” Cooper assures.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent energy crisis highlighted a need for the company’s longterm strategy, as the increased obsolescence issues faced by customers in recent years reinforce the resilience of Martin-Baker’s products.
On account of this, the company’s factory is capable of manufacturing almost any part of the ejection seat, brought about by significant and thoughtful investments.
Martin-Baker also firmly believes in offering the highest quality product at the most competitive price point, which consequently drives its investment in the latest technology, most recently demonstrated by the acquisition of computer numerical control (CNC) machining cells and cartridge assembly lines.
“We have a factory deployed with the latest milling and turning centres and have also invested in automated
inspection and verification with vision systems and computed tomography (CT) scanning to aid equipment inspectors and eliminate defects,” Cooper expands.
The company’s latest technological investments go hand-in-hand with Martin-Baker’s commitment to safety.
“Product safety is our core focus and guiding principle. The ejection seat is the last line of defence in the event of aircraft failure. Although it sits dormant for many years, the seat must be operational when needed,” he asserts.
With this in mind, the company regularly conducts quality assurance (QA) and quality check (QC) processes for the business and its supply chain.
In the last two years, Martin-Baker has additionally been initiating and driving a zero-defects culture throughout its supply chain, in aid of its product safety goals.
“This seeks to create openness and transparency in terms of supplier defects so that we can collaborate on preventative solutions,” Cooper adds.
PASSIONATE AND SKILFUL
Alongside its operational safety targets, Martin-Baker is further committed to investing in its people.
“Personally speaking, I believe that the core asset of any business is a strong team, and we work very hard to create a company where people are engaged,” Cooper reflects.
Indeed, employee development and recognition are important for the retention of staff and therefore the business, whether that is developing competence within its roles to improve employee efficiency, or through promotions.
Martin-Baker’s strong companywide dedication to improvement is exemplified by the recent restructuring of Cooper’s team to create more specialised management roles, facilitate progression routes, and introduce early career pathways.
MARTIN-BAKER’S VALUES - AT A GLANCE
• Professionalism – The company strives to always achieve the highest possible standards in every task.
• Understanding – Martin-Baker is sympathetically aware of others’ viewpoints and works to comprehend why they might come into conflict with one another.
• Teamwork – The company works to eliminate functional silos, align all activity with strategic objectives, and be honest, open, and factual.
• Humility – Martin-Baker endeavours to understand when and why it is wrong and uses failure positively in everything it does.
• Accountability – The company accepts responsibility for any problems and works proactively to solve them.
• Integrity – Martin-Baker acts honestly, ethically, and without prejudice with everyone at all times.
Martin-Baker also strives to promote internally before reaching out to external applicants.
“We do this for two key reasons; firstly, it is a complex and unique business where the learning curve as an external hire is steep. Secondly, we want to reward our existing staff for high performance.
“I have been lucky enough to experience this and see various areas of the business, and this is a common theme through them all,” he reminisces.
“PRODUCT SAFETY IS OUR CORE FOCUS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLE. THE EJECTION SEAT IS THE LAST LINE OF DEFENCE IN THE EVENT OF AIRCRAFT FAILURE. ALTHOUGH IT SITS DORMANT FOR MANY YEARS, THE SEAT MUST BE OPERATIONAL WHEN NEEDED”
– MARK COOPER, VICE PRESIDENT OF SOURCING, MARTIN-BAKER
Indeed, Cooper has enjoyed a diverse array of roles at Martin-Baker, including positions in production engineering, procurement, factory management, and environmental testing, highlighting how the organisation encourages career development across its departments.
“Throughout my time with the company, I have been privileged to work with excellent people, and within my role of Vice President of Sourcing, I have inherited a fantastic team who are highly capable and engaged.”
Looking ahead, Martin-Baker is focused on continuously improving its product quality whilst ensuring its on-time delivery fully recovers following recent global and national events such as the pandemic and energy crisis.
As such, its priorities remain on operational resilience, safety, and staff engagement, which filter across the entire business.
“We have made really great progress over the last year through a lot of hard work and determination, and we will push for even better in the future.
“There are some risks on the horizon with tariffs and trade complications, so managing and mitigating these will become a growing part of our roles over this year,” Cooper concludes.
Tel: 01895 832214
information@martin-baker.co.uk www.martin-baker.com
www.rlc-group.com
SHAPING THE FUTURE OF AEROSPACE
For 70 years, RLC is proud to have worked with leading operators in the Civil and Defence Aerospace sectors including Martin-Baker. Our dedication to offering our valued customers a vertically integrated supply chain solution encompassing CNC machining, aircraft textiles, heat treatments, and ground support Equipment is the core of who we are as a company.
RLC is a trusted supply chain partner for engineered solutions to the Civil and Defence Aerospace sectors. We have an intimate understanding of our customers’ expectations, and manufacture detailed high specification components to their requirements. RLC’s capability offers the market an end-to end solution and is viewed by our customers as an extension of their overall production capability. RLC is shaping the future of the aerospace sectors; we deliver on our commitment to provide the highest standards of machined components for the civil and defence aerospace spares and aftermarkets.
CRITICAL CAPABILITIES
RLC offers a full range of services, including: Machining, aircraft textiles, heat treating, plating, painting, and extensive testing. We provide a complete supply chain solution from prototyping to full life cycle support. We have quality approvals including AS9100 and NADCAP certifications in areas like welding, heat treatment, and non-destructive testing.
Providing Electronics Manufacturing Services and Design Support for Over 30 Years
Martin-Baker’s recent product lines include its latest generation of ejection seats, the Mark 18, recently qualified for the F-16 and F-21 aircraft, complemented by several other programmes in the pipeline.
Elsewhere, the company is highly anticipating the exploration of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline processes and upskill staff.
“Almost all jobs come with the burden of administrative tasks that distract from high value-added activities, but now technology exists to automate and streamline these administrative processes so that people can spend more time doing the intellectually challenging, valuable, and interesting tasks,” Cooper imparts.
“Just imagine what you could do in the time saved by reducing administrative processes and answering emails. I want to see how we can harness AI to improve our supply chain management and, in turn, provide better service to our customers,” he impassions.
Axis Electronics is an established UK EMS partner within international supply chains for Prime, Tier 1 and Tier 2 market leading companies. In November 2021 it became part of the Cicor Group.
Axis has been proud to supply Martin Baker with manufacturing and design support services for over a decade. Producing lifesaving electronic sub-systems for use in the harshest environments means quality manufacturing comes first.
Focused on delivering life, mission and system critical hardware on time, and with zero defects drives our passion – to be our customers’ best supplier.
enquiries@cicor.com www.axis-electronics.com
