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Research involiving the Tinsley Bridge Group, of Sheffield, has made Warrior armoured vehicles being used in Afghanistan.
THEY helped to stop the worst oil spill in history, and now they’re saving the lives of British servicemen and women who are tracking down the Taliban.
The Tinsley Bridge Group’s headquarters in Sheffield is a long way from the frontline in Afghanistan, but research carried out there has ensured the new British Army Warrior Fighting vehicle is tough enough to withstand a bomb blast, and has the versatility to cope with the rockiest terrain.
Earlier this month, troops in Helmand province using the new, improved Warrior vehicle survived a blast from an improvised explosive device (IED).
Mark Webber, the Tinsley Bridge Group’s managing director, said he was “very proud” to be involved in a critical project.
Work carried out by Tinsley Bridge Group also helped to cap off the oil well in the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster.
In 2010, a BP well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and causing an environmental crisis. The Tinsley group’s Tyzack Machine knives company’s shear blades were used to cut through piping one mile underwater, which enabled the capping off process to start.
Tinsley Bridge Group has been working with the Ministry of Defence’s prime contractor BAE Systems over 18 months to upgrade the Warrior vehicles for use in Afghanistan.
BAE Systems approached Tinsley Bridge to see if there was a way of raising the height of the vehicle to protect troops from mine blasts.
In a project involving Tinsley Bridge and BAE Systems, a high strength steel, Extralite, was used to replace the standard steel suspension torsion bar.
The development and testing of the torsion bars, which included extensive army field trials, was completed in less than five months.
A Tinsley Group spokesman said: “The timescale was dictated by the urgent requirement to improve the mobility of the Warrior vehicles being operated in Afghanistan.
“These parts are now installed on vehicles operating in Afghanistan where the benefits of the extra ride height are allowing significantly increased cross country mobility, resulting in greater security for the troops in the vehicles.”
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Peter Luff, said: “This vehicle is extremely versatile, packing a punch with firepower, offering good mobility and high levels of protection for its crew.
“It also allows troops to get out into communities safely, maintain areas and provide reassurance to the local population.”
Mr Webber said the company had learned valuable lessons from the work with the Warrior vehicle.
He said: “Don’t chase volume, look at where you can make profits and particularly where you can use innovation to create margin.” Automotive trucks, the company’s core market, suffered a massive slump in 2009, which is why Tinsley Bridge had to diversify.
Mr Webber said: “Unless you take risks, and invest in technology and innovation, and back the ideas that some of the employees have, life will be very difficult.We’ve proved over the years that we do have the ability to innovate in quite difficult markets.”
Three arms with a wide reach
The family-owned Tinsley Bridge Group was established in the 1850s as a vehicle suspension spring maker.
It used to be part of British Steel, until it was the subject of a management buyout in 1987. Today it is made up of three businesses: Tinsley Bridge which has a turnover of £10m and 85 staff, Tyzack Machine Knives, which employs 45 staff and has turnover of £4m and Tinsley Bridge Services, which has 30 employees and £1.5m turnover. Tinsley Bridge designs and manufactures suspension stabiliser and torsion bars for the European truck, railway and defence markets. Exports account for 80 per cent of its business.
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