Engineering a bright future in Scarborough

Scarborough-based Unison, which is a world leader in the specialist field of tube-bending machinery, hopes to become a supplier to the nuclear industry and Ford.

The company already supplies tube-bending machines which are used to make parts for Wal-Mart shopping trolleys and Chinook helicopters. It hopes to build a critical mass of engineering talent on the Yorkshire coast.

Alan Pickering, Unison's managing director, said he expected full-year turnover this year to increase from 2.1m to 3m.

Recent contracts have included providing machinery to BAE Systems in Govan, Scotland, which will be used for pipeworks in aircraft carriers.

The company's staff numbers have risen by 10, to 36, over the last year. Mr Pickering hopes to employ 45 staff by the end of 2011.

Peter Wilkinson, Unison's non-executive marketing director, said: "We would like to see companies migrate to Scarborough so it becomes an engineering centre."

Mr Pickering added: "We have got 83 acres of business park and would love to see it surrounded by other engineering businesses. There are around 40 engineering companies in Scarborough and we would like to see it increase to 80."

Mr Pickering said Unison hoped to become a supplier to the nuclear industry. In July, Energy Secretary Chris Huhne outlined a series of measures to make Britain "greener", which included removing obstacles to private investment in new nuclear power plants.

Mr Pickering added: "Our biggest concern is the defence spending review and where that's going to lead. You can't just turn off a programme for nuclear submarines and then turn it back on again in years to come.

"The apprentice programmes stop, the skills vanish and then you end up trying to bring people out of retirement because the knowledge has gone.

"Just look at what has happened in the nuclear power industry. All the big players are foreign.

"We are holding meetings with Ford in Valencia in November and hope to become a tier-one supplier to them. Tier one is the first line of connection – normally we supply people that supply parts to Ford."

With support from Scarborough Council and Yorkshire Coast College, Unison is encouraging more students to take up engineering, including the possibility of internships.

The next Scarborough Engineering Week will be held in the week beginning October 10, 2011. Mr Wilkinson said it aimed to build on the success of the first engineering week which was held in May.

The week was organised by a group of Scarborough businesses in partnership with Yorkshire Coast College and the council.

Mr Pickering added: "We plan to spend more time with schools and colleges. We are telling kids that engineering is cool and nothing happens without it.

"Engineering is not promoted as a sexy, ambitious career path. Engineers are not respected the way they are in places like Germany. We want topromote engineering to children as young as eight to provide that little spark of excitement

"The latest advancements in the aerospace, medical, and IT sectors all happened because of engineers.

"The doctor might come up with the problem but the engineer comes up with the solution. It's about time engineers were respected for being inventors and innovators and not just people who get their hands dirty."

Mr Wilkinson said product innovation was a key part of Unison's business plan. The company wanted its customers to become advocates for the business.

He added: "In November, we are getting a user group of key customers to meet for two days off-site. We plan to hold user group meetings every quarter."

Further expansion is on the cards.

Mr Wilkinson said: "Within the next two years we will have to move to a purpose-built site in Scarborough because we will have outgrown this site."

SPECIALIST FIELD

Scarborough, a place best known for its links with tourism and sailing, is also doing its bit to develop "greener" aircraft.

Engineering firm Unison has grown to become one of the best-known players in the specialist field of tube-bending.

One of Unison's customers, Airbus in Filton, near Bristol, has used the company's machines to produce bent tubes in the wings of aircraft, including the super jumbo A380.

Unison was established in 1973 to design and build computerised control systems for industry. Unison designed the first computer controls for several tube-bending machine manufacturers in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1989, Unison started to design and develop its own range of tube-bending machines.