26 AEROSPACEMANUFACTURING | NOvEMbER 2009
Aerospace Manufacturing and BCI Aerospace together profile world-class
aerospace industry suppliers of note.
This month Mike Richardson discovers how specialist engineering
manufacturing service subcontractor, Professional Welding Services
Ltd, (now trading as PWS LTD) has evolved in order to maintain its
competitive edge.
Box clever
T
he UK’s aerospace supply chain constantly flexes with of components. PWS claims its key strength lies in working
companies that battle to differentiate themselves with customers early in the product design stage to remove
from the rest of the pack. Pulled by the pressures waste and ensure that the blueprint of a ‘right first time’
of maintaining cost competitiveness whilst meeting ever philosophy is created throughout the company.
tightening deadlines, it’s sometimes all too easy to be boxed Established in 1984, the Wimborne, Dorset-based company
into a certain way of thinking what it is the customer wants. In has achieved a reputation for a high standard of service and has
today’s competitive manufacturing arena, those companies that grown to become one of the leading subcontract companies
can think imaginatively and use new ideas instead of traditional in the South of England. As part of the Nasmyth Group of
methods have nothing to lose – and everything to gain! companies, PWS holds full aerospace approvals, including ISO
With a commitment to maintaining high business standards and NADCAP, as well as memberships with the Farnborough
and customer satisfaction as well as implementing continuous Aerospace Consortium and A|D|S (formerly SBAC) to help
improvements and being recognised as a leading strategic increase its market presence.
supplier of quality components and assemblies, PWS aims to Partnering with these UK aerospace organisations has
provide a quality driven and customer focused subcontract enabled PWS to utilise the capabilities of industrial situational
manufacturing facility for clients requiring everything from awareness, productivity improvement technology, supply chain
niche market development parts through to scheduled volume information, access industry best practice methodologies, and
batches, including complete supply chain management. obtain a powerful voice in dealing with both the industry’s
The company’s philosophy is one of openness, honesty decision makers and Government. This allows PWS to tender
and integrity, which allows it to form long term partnerships for projects and contracts within the aerospace and defence
with customers, minimise costs and provide constant high sectors.
performances in both its level of service and the manufacture
Survival of the fittest
By 2004, PWS had realised that the major aerospace OEMs
had begun looking at rationalising their supply chains by
placing the responsibility of entire work packages on single
source suppliers, thus reducing their overheads and eliminating
the need to handle multiple contracts. PWS decided the
time was right to expand its offering by integrating the whole
company into a fully-fledged engineering manufacturing service
provider.
“The right way forward is in our ability to offer a complete
‘one stop shop’ manufacturing and support solution that
ensures our end customers can obtain their products through
a sole source provider – rather than relying on a multitude of
sources,” begins PWS’ director, Terry Moore. “This enables our
customers to reduce their overheads and as a result, become
much leaner. It also means that we become more efficient
in what we can offer our customers, because our customers
Engine shrouds: Engineered, manufactured and assembled by PWS to supply the receive a better product as a direct result of the changes we’ve
Lockheed Martin P-3 aircraft life extension programme.
made to our capabilities and our organisation too. In effect,
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