Aerospace production: Sub-contractor benefits from long-term customer commitment and single-source machine supply

摘要

While Poole-based Walker AEC is one of many UK aerospace sub-contractors to be benefitting from a buoyant aerospace industry, the contracts on which the company's success is based are not handed to it 'on a plate'. Only those companies with the appropriate skills and equipment are considered, and even then the competition can be fierce, but Walker AEC's order level for last year was up by a third on the previous year's turnover. Order levels are continuing to grow, as are the company's investments in all areas of its operation. It recently installed seven new machines - four machining centres and three CNC lathes - as a package from a single supplier. Managing director Martyn Walker says that, while the company is achieving a high level of success, this would not have happened without a clear focus and sense of direction. Also essential are staff prepared to rise to challenges, a capable financial team, and having abilities that give customers the confidence to make long-term commitments.