Aerotron
development, moreover, we plan to rebuild their locally significant stadium in the near future. As we continue to grow, we hope to develop more of these robust partnerships and deliver better value to the supply chain, build company resilience, and improve our overall sustainability. We feel the environment we’ve chosen to base ourselves in offers great work and life opportunities for our employees, and we look forward to becoming part of North Cambridgeshire’s industries.” For Andrew, that location – North Cambridgeshire – is significant. It marks a deliberate move out of what is often called ‘motorsport valley,’ that is to say, the swathe of land in the West Midlands and Oxfordshire that has since become the center of transport engineering expertise within the UK. “We wanted to separate ourselves from that rollercoaster ride,” he reveals. “It was a hard decision for us to make because it meant moving away from a well-established resource pool; however, in the long run, the relocation was certainly worthwhile. In terms of aerospace and composite manufacturing, we can now access the untapped potential of North Cambridgeshire, and we know that will serve us well as we continue to grow. To make the most of the new location and give something back, we will be employing many apprentices this (and every) year, putting them through a new, purpose-built training center in Chatteris.
“Our company is built around people, and apprenticeships such as these are a fantastic opportunity to show that to the local community,” Andrew elaborates. “We encourage diversity of thought and promote teamwork to enhance our collaborative future. On site, we have people with experience from a diverse range of industries – aerospace, defense, aviation, marine, motorsport, automotive, food processing, financial, renewable energy, and military. People also come to us with a range of educational experience, from university and apprenticeship graduates to those training onthe-job, and we make sure to utilize each unique skill set in order to achieve the best end results.” Taking on all it has learned over the last few years, Aerotron Composites has put a clear, scalable growth plan in place. The first phase – manufacture composite components and tooling within a purpose-built 80,000-square-foot facility – is already complete. However, as it progresses to phase two, the company will increase its MRO, machining and fabricating capabilities while adding non-destructive testing (NDT) to its growing collection of services. To facilitate this phase, an additional 60,000-square-foot facility will be built nearby, incorporating renewable energy systems to improve sustainability. The final phase is truly colossal. By this point, the company will have utilized the remaining footprint of its nine-acre site, building another 160,000-square-foot facility to enable further growth and add more storage space. “Coupled
with Aerotron’s expanding communal links, these builds will allow us to leverage our knowledge and experience to further solidify the company as a major player across the aerospace, defense, and aviation markets,” says Andrew. “Going forward, we will remain agile in our ability to react to what is happening in the world around us. Our formal plans are very simple: build stronger relationships with our current customers and make use of our three phase-plan to assist them in their growth, while also adding new organizations to the wider Aerotron family. “More recently, we’ve seen manufacturing come to the fore of the UK’s Build Back Better agenda, and therefore we need to ensure that we’re creating more high-value jobs in global industries,” he concludes. “The UK is a major player in the aerospace and defense sectors, and to keep it that way, more support is required in educating the next generation, encouraging them to take up careers in engineering and manufacturing. Though Cambridgeshire is not typically known as an aerospace area, our manufacturing campus aims to change that and reinforce the government’s Levelling Up initiative. It’s good to know we’re doing our bit for the future.” v
Aerotron www.aerotron.co.uk Services: Aviation parts www.manufacturing-today.com l 51