TMD moves to second SIG phase
Above: Charlotte Gumbs and Jeff Boyle from the SiG team discuss a value stream map (VSM) for a travelling wave tube (TWT) production line with (centre) TMD’s Tube Manufacturing Manager Luke Wetherell. The VSM describes the entire journey of the TWT from customer order to despatch – helping to highlight key areas for efficiency improvement.
SiG is a mainly Regional Growth Funded initiative, with £50 million of funding allocated to approximately 40 carefully appraised and selected UK aerospace civil and defence manufacturing suppliers. This funding releases about £1.2 million of top industry consultant-based expertise for analysis, assessment and business improvement per company, for up to four years – tailored to each beneficiary to help achieve or further enhance world class performance standards.
TMD’s Managing Director Dave Brown said: “As an established world leader in the supply of specialised microwave and RF products to the aerospace sector, TMD was pleased and proud to be accepted into the SiG initiative when the first diagnostic phase began in September last year. We are delighted with the results of the SiG programme so far and look forward to the next phase. I am confident that the final outcome will enable us to become more competitive and further expand our business worldwide – as well as providing an even better service to our existing and new customers in the future.”
Since the start of the first diagnostic phase last year, a team of SiG consultants has been engaging with TMD staff and carrying out an in-depth analysis of all aspects of the company’s business, with key areas of focus wide-ranging from better efficiency of working processes right through to increased ability of attracting new customers and markets.
Helen Anderson, TMD’s Head of Business Improvement and Manager of the SiG Programme said: “The diagnostic report for Phase 1 has now been presented to the SiG Board. The TMD team and SiG pulled together exceptional work in the first phase, and SiG has described the presentation as one of the best they have seen.”
A worthy participant in the SiG programme, TMD is recognised as a world class designer and manufacturer of specialised transmitters, microwave power modules, high voltage power supplies and microwave tubes for radar, electronic warfare and communications applications. The company also produces a range of advanced instrumentation microwave amplifiers for EMC testing, scientific and medical applications. More than 70% of its products are exported - mainly to the USA.
To provide commercial and technical support for its customers in the USA, TMD has recently set up a US subsidiary, namely TMD Technologies, LLC. This new company is actively engaged in new business development in the States, for the entire range of TMD’s products.
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Above: Part of TMD’s busy travelling wave tube (TWT) production line.
TMD is a multiple Queen’s Award winner, and has also received an official visit with factory tour from HRH The Duke of York, KG to acknowledge its contribution to UK manufacturing and exports.
Why SiG?
The UK aerospace sector is the European leader and holds second position globally. Manufacturing some of the most sophisticated and advanced components and parts for today’s aircraft, it has created a high-tech, high-skill industry of some 3,000 companies employing in the region of 230,000 staff – with massive benefits to the UK economy. Furthermore, the industry is expected to double over the next 10 years.
To fully capitalise on the enormous growth potential offered by this market it was recognised that manufacturing suppliers needed to invest in their ability to deliver a competitive performance on an international scale. In order to implement and support this strategy, non-profit company Sharing in Growth UK Ltd (SiG) was set up to take eligible suppliers through rigorous development and quality training to achieve a worldwide competitive advantage and thus share in the future growth of the UK aerospace civil and defence sector.
