SPOTLIGHT ON HARWICH
AJ Woods are a company working hard to change that perception. The company was established in 1999 by director, Tony Woods, someone who Robert describes as an “innovative entrepreneur”. When the company first started its main focus was the construction industry, specifically the design, fabrication and installation of bespoke metal work.
DIVERSIFICATION
The company then went on to diversify into marine construction. This was mainly due to their proximity to the Essex coast and the port of Harwich, somewhere that Tony Woods is keen to promote. With demand for renewable energies increasing, Robert Day feels that Tony is as an effective spokesman for both the technology and the local area, “Tony has a key interest in new technology and materials and can see the advantages they can offer in the areas of turbine access and materials handling in difficult environments.”
SAFETY
One area that is often a concern with any form of construction work is safety, both in terms of the structures themselves and the safety of the people working on them, “health and safety, quality and excellent customer service are the big concerns for our company,” confirms Robert. “Our company is very health and safety conscious. We run a very tight regime, focusing on both safety and high quality of work.”
WELL QUALIFIED
A big part of this is the new training centre that the company has recently established, something that will not only benefit the employees of AJ Woods but also a lot of companies in the local area. Robert explains why this is necessary, “When working on these kinds of projects there are a lot of add-ons, such as training to work at heights, rescue from heights, working in confined spaces and sea survival. You can’t set foot on a boat before you’ve got some of these kinds of qualifications!”
IN-HOUSE TRAINING SCHOOL The reason that the company chose to set up their own training school was simple, “There were no local training facilities like it within reasonable travelling distance so we decided to establish our own,” he explains. “The good thing about this is that as well as training our own employees we help other organisations and people as well.”
EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES AJ Woods does its own fabrication and manufacture in Harwich as Robert confirms, “Our products are sometimes exported and we are currently in negotiations with a Chinese company for an import/export agreement. A lot of our products are bespoke and unique to offshore wind farms.”
COLLABORATION
The supply chain for these kinds of projects is often complex and often involves a lot of companies working together. Robert believes this is beneficial, “Some of our customers are big developers, who often need many suppliers. For example one company will supply an offshore vessel that will transport another suppliers maintenance crews. There is often a lot of collaboration.”
As stated before, the company often spends a lot of time promoting their business and are part of the drive to establish more sustainable development in local areas.
They have worked with various local authorities and EEEGR (East of England Energy Group), a non-profit organisation that helps unite a number of suppliers to help get more work in the energy industry.
“Further North in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft the Local and Harbour Authorities have actively encouraged and promoted renewable energy development,” states Robert. “The authorities in our local area have been slower to react however we are now seeing some encouraging signs of support from our District and County Councils. We have been working hard to create new facilities and promote employment in the area which has been economically depressed over recent years.”
SOLUTIONS
It seems only fair to ask if a renewable energy company has its own health and safety and environmental policies.
Robert believes this is something that is fundamental to them gaining contracts in the renewables industry, “We have gained ISO: 90001 and are working towards ISO: 14001and 18001 certification,” he confirms. “We need to be health and safety and environmentally conscious. For example if you are working on an off shore platform you need to make sure you use environmentally safe lubrication oil.”
When asked about research and development, Robert believes that the company is not an R and D company in the traditional sense of the word, “We are finding solutions all the time, although it is more on an ad-hoc basis. I would say our companies main USP is problem solving, our suppliers usually approach us with difficult problems that they cannot resolve themselves and look to us for speedy solutions.”
He illustrates with an example, “We were asked to help resolve a design problem with turbine blade racks on a ship and found and installed a solution that cured the problem and as a bonus actually speeded up the loading process. It’s not something we do in a lab, just something that is ongoing in the jobs we do.”
GROWTH
It is this approach that has seen their turnover double in recent years. “We are a rapidly growing business,” Robert states. The company has big plans for growth, although strangely enough, this is partially by going back to an earlier form of work that AJ Woods specialised in civil construction, “The wind industry will still be there in five years’ time and we are hoping to still be playing an active part in it. We are also looking to expand our construction activities. Whilst traditionally working with main contractors on construction sites, we are looking at tendering for government, local authority and other public sector work. We don’t want all our eggs in one basket!”
In simple terms, it seems that AJ Woods are going to be growing for quite some time.
AJ Woods Engineering
www.ajwoodsengineering.co.uk
e = See enhanced entry online = See video library online
www.windenergynetwork.co.uk 73
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