FINAL ALERT – Workshop

 The date for the Ansys workshop is now rapidly approaching – Wednesday 6 February.

As our globalised market place becomes ever more competitive, find out how you and your business can become more innovative, accelerate time to market, reduce design costs and optimise designs earlier in the product development cycle. Whether you’re a regional SME or an international organisation, if you’re involved in design, production or process development then effectively applied digital simulation technology will help you to develop a crucial competitive advantage.

ANSYS, Europe’s number 1 provider of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tools and technologies, will show you how to integrate accurate and realistic simulations of components, systems and subsystems, providing an engineering simulation system for fast, efficient and cost-conscious information-based product development.

This workshop covers Finite Element Analysis (FEA), transient dynamics for simulating blast and impact events, hydrodynamics and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). These tools all drive product development from concept to reality, reducing the need for expensive and time-consuming hardware prototyping and testing. You are welcome to attend the whole workshop or specific sessions. To see a full agenda click here.

Places are limited so reserve yours now by calling us on 0191 255 1710 or emailing info@marinedesigncentre.com. Attendance is free for Marine Design Centre members and £10 (excl. VAT) for non-members.

For a location map of the Marine Design Centre, click here.

 

Alan Johnston - CEO of BVT - visit confirmed for Wednesday March 5

This is a member only event.

 We are delighted to confirm that Alan Johnston CEO of BVT - the joint venture between Vosper Thorneycroft and BAE Systems - is to speak at the Marine Design Centre on Wednesday March 5.  BVT is set to be the biggest shipbuilder in the UK and will have a key role to play in the detail design and construction of the CVF.

Alan will outline BVT’s plans for the future and how best the Marine Design Centre and its individual members can engage with it.

Demand for places will be high and we would advise members to contact us on 0191 255 1710 or email info@marinedesigncentre.com.  For details on membership visit www.marinedesigncentre.com or contact us by phone or email.

Naval Design Partnership – Member feedback

In December we were delighted to host a presentation from Adrian Cudmore, Ship Design Authority, FIPT, a key member of the Naval Design Partnership. Adrian explained how partners can get involved in future warship and submarine projects. Over 30 companies attended the briefing and feedback confirmed it was a very worthwhile session.

Bob Carling, Managing Director, Imtech Marine and Offshore Ltd, said:  “I found Adrian’s presentation very useful to understand how the design process is developing within his department. Imtech is a manufacturer of marine electrical equipment and it is important to understand how we interface to ensure we are on the suppliers list. I also found the networking before and after the event equally important as there was a good cross section of attendees.”

Mike Pettigrew, Managing Director, Babcock Design & Technology. "The presentation helped clarify the process by which future military vessels would be designed. This information will prove invaluable to all companies who wish to get involved in the Naval industry in the future."

Rodney Towers, Director of Safinah, said: “This was a very timely seminar, always useful for keeping abreast of changes in industry and government policy and we were pleased to learn about the structure and purpose of the SDA”

Simon Ellis, Business Development Manager with the Marine Design Centre, said: “We were delighted to welcome Adrian to the region and the fact that so many companies attended the briefing reflects just how keen the marine design sector in the region is to engage with the Naval Design Partnership.

“There will be opportunities for regional companies to get involved and we will be liaising with Adrian early next year to follow this up. We will keep all our members informed as to any new developments that take place.”

Seminars and Workshops – We want Your Thoughts!

Continuing the theme of seminars and workshops, we are very keen to hear your views on topics you think would be valuable for the marine design sector in the region.  Perhaps it might be a workshop or seminar that addresses a particular area of technology or skills issues. Perhaps there is a key personality within the sector that you think we should attract to the region to speak?  We welcome all comments, so please contact john.lockey@marinedesigncentre.com
 

Getting your news on www.marinedesigncentre.com

We would be pleased to consider any press releases your company has produced for inclusion within our website www.marinedesigncentre.com where we have a Member News section. So, please include us on your press release distribution list and send it to simon.ellis@marinedesigncentre.com

Congratulations to David Bowles OBE 

We are delighted to announce that David Bowles, Chair of our sister organisation NDI, and a major inspiration behind the Marine Design Centre, received an OBE in the New Year's Honours List, in recognition of his services to the defence industry. 

He is a Director of the Marine Design Centre and former Managing Director of NDI, a very successful trade body established to represent the interests of manufacturers in the north of England who are part of the supply chain to the defence sector.

David Joined NDI in April 2001 from One NorthEast where he had been an executive director. NDI is now a £1 million business with a brand that has global impact with some of the world’s biggest companies.

David is also Chair of Argonautics, which comprises North East-based marine design companies, and from within which the concept for the Marine Design Centre first emerged.

May we also take this opportunity to congratulate Murray Easton, Managing Director of Submarine Solutions, BAE Systems, who has gained a CBE for services to the maritime industry and Vic Emery, Managing Director of Surface Fleet Solutions, BAE Systems, who was awarded an OBE for services to the shipbuilding industry.

 

 

New Member: Seawell Gears Up For Major Expansion In 2008

Recruiting new staff, and developing the skills and expertise of those already on board, is the big challenge for member company Seawell during the next year.

Seawell had looked at alternative locations in Singapore, Teesside and Glasgow before choosing to open a North East-based operation in 2006.

Operations Manager, Pat Rutherford, said: “We have had tremendous support since we located to Blyth, not least from One NorthEast, whose financial assistance has been invaluable. We have also found the quality of the potential job candidates to be high, with our current headcount of 37 set to double very soon. The availability of a strong workforce was a major factor in our opening a North East office.

“It is also very important that we continually assess the skills levels of our staff and to this end we have put in place a programme that includes in-house training and ITQ user level 2 via Newcastle College.”

“As we continue to expand through acquisitions such as Noble Drilling UK Limited, it is important we create powerful links with the wider marine supply chain and to this end we are delighted to become members of the Marine Design Centre.  We see it as supporting the training and skills issues that the sector as a whole faces and will also provide valuable networking opportunities.”

New Member:  Derek Tunnah Design

Boldon-based Derek Tunnah Design is one of our most recent members.

Derek Tunnah Design is an independent support engineering company and, since incorporation in 1978, has regularly performed in-house engineering as well as supplying technical personnel to clients’ premises.

Since February 1998, they have had  a Joint Venture agreement with Houlder Ltd to undertake ‘in-house’ design and detail engineering projects for the marine & offshore sectors. ..

The JV brings together the Houlder offices in London & Aberdeen and the Derek Tunnah Design offices on Tyneside. 

Managing Director, David Butler said “Within the JV we can provide a complete design, technical support and project management solution to meet clients’ needs. Our reputation has been earned through our consistent ability to analyse technical problems and develop innovative and practical design solutions - on time and on budget. Our services range from feasibility studies to expert witness, ship design to shipyard supervision, analysis to plan approval.”

Your Marine Design Centre

By David Hewitt, Director, Marine Design Centre

While the six months since the launch of the Marine Design Centre has been action packed, it is perhaps timely that we remind ourselves as to our overall objective. 

Our primary role is to assist and support the region’s marine design sector to win those major contracts that companies operating individually might not otherwise get a chance to compete for.

We will be the conduit between our members and those major contractors operating in the defence, shipping, oil and gas and renewables sectors.

David Hewitt

We have begun this process in many ways already. One example is through engagement with key executives such as Adrian Cudmore at the Naval Design Partnership, who recently gave an in-depth presentation to members as to what they have to do to win future contracts with this organisation.

This is only one small - albeit very important - example as to how we will promote the sector to the market. In the months ahead we will identify and make contact with potential customers and make sure they know that we represent a dynamic, internationally respected marine design sector.

They will see that from the quality of the membership, the unique Common User Facility, the seminars and workshops we hold, the guest speakers we invite, our commitment to training, how we embrace new technologies and our links with universities and other trade bodies that the region is at the cutting edge of marine design.

The Marine Design Centre will send a clear  and unequivocal message to the global markets that from one contact point they can access a world-class supplier base. 
Watch this space!

Jobs Fair

The Marine Design Centre attended a ‘Jobs Fair’ at the Atmel semi conductor plant on 22 January where the workforce is being made redundant.

 Business development manager John Lockey, said: “I was very impressed by the quality of people and their clear desire to move forward. We already know of members interested in taking potential employees and would like to hear from others who may consider recruiting from Atmel’s pool of skilled workers, many of whom have transferable skills that would make them of value to the marine sector.”  For further information contact John on 0191 255 1710. john.lockey@marinedesigncentre.com
 

Looking to recruit?

We are pleased to confirm that a recruitment page is now live on our website. We would encourage all members to take advantage of this special service. Email your job vacancy details to john.lockey@marinedesigncentre.com