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THE DAILY TELEGRAPH


WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2012 ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION


RECRUITMENT EXHIBITION THE NATIONAL


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The design and manufacture of innovative household goods is a UK success story — and a growing one. Penelope Rance reports on developments


Whether cleaning the carpet, switching on the kettle or listening to digital radio while loading the dishwasher, we are all end users of engineering design – and many of our domestic appliances will have been engineered in the UK. Dyson, the manufacturer of bagless vacuum cleaners and bladeless fans, is based in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. Morphy Richards, the small-appliance specialist, is located in Mexborough, South Yorkshire. Siemens, which has a large white-goods division, employs around 700 people in Milton Keynes. All three companies are worldwide brands. The UK’s domestic-appliance


sector is a multibillion-pound business, and a growing one. In fact, according to the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Britain’s appliance- makers are keen to bring on board innovative thinkers to boost their development programmes and shape the way that people live now and in the future. Dyson, which employs 3,600 staff worldwide, will be recruiting at this weekend’s National


Engineering & Construction


Recruitment (NECR) exhibition. “At Dyson, we look for both highly skilled individuals and raw talent to help research, design and develop new technology,” says company founder James Dyson. “The best minds are often those


that are agile and unrestricted by established thinking. We have no formal training programme. Instead, you’re thrown in at the deep end on real-life projects. This year, we hope to recruit 200 new engineers, at least half of whom will be recent graduates.” Paul Beasley, head of strategic


development at Siemens, which will also be at the NECR, says the role dictates the qualities Siemens looks for. “We want very bright candidates who have the ability to move into different areas. We create a broad range of products so we need flexibility and a willingness to get involved. “Our work was originally about pure research but now it’s more focused. We will work on a product to find where it can be used, and even develop new sectors to employ materials we’ve developed. Non-stick materials for hobs and kettles, for example, have come out of more heavyweight research relating to extreme environments.” So what


is the appeal of designing vacuum


cleaners and kettles over


dry docks and skyscrapers?


For James Dyson, it’s the search for perfection. “Engineers should never be satisfied and should always seek to


Sum of its parts: the Dyson digital motor, used in products including its DC34 Animal vacuum cleaner, above right


improve their ideas,” he says. “Instinct tells you when something is not functioning correctly. Often, after weeks of frustration, you will come across a small breakthrough that can mean everything to the development of the machine. When that happens the sense of relief is extraordinary.” Variety is also key. “It’s a very fast-paced industry, taking in a great number of products in a small space of time,” says Dyson. “The benefits of working for us over a large automotive company, where you might be making one small


piece of a product, is that you work on the whole item.” According to Mike James, director of product development at Morphy Richards, the sector is entering an exciting era. “It’s an exhilarating time. Unlike consumer gadgets, small domestic appliances have lagged behind in terms of innovation. That creates opportunities for engineers to differentiate themselves. “New technology in the home has largely been led by the entertainment sector. Now, with internet fridges and induction hobs, it’s moving into the kitchen, where even smaller appliances are becoming more intelligent.” Within the Morphy Richards engineering and test team of 20, most of the staff are working in innovation. “We attract candidates who want to work on a variety of products,” says James. “What any design engineer wants to see is a product they have designed on a retail-outlet shelf. That’s a very real dream here.” Saving energy and reducing carbon emissions are central to domestic design these days. “In the future, to help minimise environmental impact and reduce consumer costs, we will build intelligence into devices so they can communicate with the national grid and receive signals indicating good times to switch on,” says David Evans, chair of the IET’s innovation panel. “For example, your fridge-freezer will be set to moderate itself, coming on at 2pm, cooling down, switching off, and then coming on again after 8pm. “That kind of distributed


intelligence between consumption and production has other kinds of applications,” he adds, “such as fuel cells replacing boilers due to their ability simultaneously to heat the water and generate electricity.” The development of low-power


chips, which means appliances don’t have to be charged regularly, is also driving innovation. “Every household device will be able to link to the internet,” says Beasley at Siemens. “You’ll switch on the oven as you make your way home from work and control household devices while you’re away using your mobile phone, helping to reduce your total power use.


“Opportunities for those with an engineering background and the desire to make a difference to how people live have rarely been better. There are prospects for growth to continue for the next 20 to 50 years,” says Beasley. “Over the next decade engineers can look forward to laying the foundations for the homes of the future.”


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