Manufacturing and Engineering Magazine Volume 420 - September 2015 | Page 9

sharing in growth.qxp_feature 2 04/08/2015 08:57 Page 7

AEROSPACE
CONTRACT WINS
HIT £350 MILLION

4

UK aerospace supply chain companies are being offered the opportunity to benefit from £1.2 million
worth of professional business
transformation support.
The offer comes from Sharing in Growth
(SiG), a government-backed team of experts,
who are helping 40 companies to drive productivity and become globally competitive. The first
15 companies on the programme have to date
won more than £350 million worth of contracts
Companies who meet the qualifying criteria are being invited to a briefing on 29th
September at RAF Cosford to hear from
companies on the programme about the
business benefits.
Business minister Anna Soubry was
impressed on her visit to Leicestershire to see
how SiG is helping high tech manufacturer
Winbro win multi-million pound contracts and
expand its UK operations.
Coalville-based Winbro Group Technologies
Ltd, which supplies blue chip companies like
Rolls-Royce, GE, Pratt and Whitney, Snecma
and Siemens, has won contracts estimated
to be worth £88 million since starting on
the Region Growth Fund supported
SiG programme nine months ago.
The company, which designs
and produces high technology
machining systems and manufactures components for high
pressure turbine blades,
joined SiG because it wanted
to grow its order book,
improve operational efficiencies and develop its skilled
workforce.

Since then SiG engineers and business gurus
AugustaWestland, GE, GM Aerospace
have used their expertise to train staff and drive Bombardier, GKN, Rolls-Royce and aerospace,
productivity improvements. This has
defence and security trade body ADS.
enabled Winbro to win new
Each intensive SiG programme
contracts, maintain 170
starts with an extensive diagjobs and create a dozen
nostic assessment to conmore.
firm readiness for the proSaid
Anna
gramme which is then
Soubry: “Our longtailored to a company’s
term economic
growth enablers.
plan
for
the
SiG’s cross-funcMidlands is to
tional experts tackle
make it the engine
areas such as lean operfor growth in the
ations, manufacturing
Winbro Director
UK.
Growth
in
processes, purchasing,
Andy Lawson
advanced manufacturcost modelling and leadering and the skilled jobs it
ship. To ensure a sustainable
provides is a key part of that
and fully integrated transformaplan which is why I’m delighted our
tion programme, they also work with
partnership with Winbro is producing such delivery partners such as Deloitte, the National
great results.”
Physical Laboratory, the Institute for
Winbro Director Andy Lawson said: “SiG Manufacturing and Industry Forum to provide
has allowed us to breakthrough to the next world-class training in leadership, strategy,
level. While we have invested in new equip- business planning and performance improvement and facilities, we did not have the ment. Each programme is therefore worth over
wherewithal or know-how to invest in our £1 million.
people development at the same pace. The
Said SiG CEO Andy Page: “The programme is
SiG programme is underpinning our growth, truly intensive in line with the scale of the comupskilling our people and making this growth petitive challenge. It is industry designed and
sustainable over the long term.”
led and so we are already seeing significant
UK aerospace suppliers with a turnover of returns on investment with the first tranche of
between £10 and £20 million are expected to beneficiaries and are keen to share the benefits
benefit most from a four year SiG programme with other UK aerospace suppliers who want to
and are being encourage to apply for invitations move from being good to being great.”
to the one day briefing. Attendees can discuss
Companies seeking an invitation need to
with SiG engineers and business gurus how the apply as soon as possible because places are
scheme works and why it is being endorsed by limited. Details of the event and SiG are availor