MDC Update December 08
Fri, 19 Dec 2008
DECEMBER UPDATE
Breaking News....
Marine Design Centre Wins Groundbreaking Funding to Address Industry Supply and Skills Issues
MDC is delighted to announce that it has won, with the support of its industry and educational partners, a competitive bid from ONE NorthEast aimed at increasing the supply of skilled design engineers in the marine and energy sectors.
This unique and exciting project will enhance the skills and competencies of current and potential design engineers in the marine, offshore, oil & gas and renewable sectors. The project will develop flexible, needs-based training courses to equip designers with the skills they need to work successfully in the chosen sectors. A pilot programme will be established to deliver these courses to a cohort of trainees recruited by our industrial partners who will train alongside current employees from regional companies.
David Hewitt, director of the Marine Design Centre, said: “It is crucial that marine and energy companies in the North East of England have access to well qualified, world-class engineering designers so we can compete globally against very strong competition.”
“This project provides a tremendous opportunity to establish greater integration of employers and training providers in the North East of England to develop a sustainable, flexible and highly accessible training programme.”
The Marine Design Centre will continue to inform members as to the progress of this initiative and how they can engage with it. For further information, or if you would like to participate, contact John Lockey on +44 (0)191 2551710 or john.lockey@marinedesigncentre.com
Further AVEVA Training....
We are pleased to announce 2 further PDMS courses in conjunction with AVEVA.
Not only is it great news that AVEVA are putting on the courses, but there is also the major advantage that those attending do not have the time and financial costs involved in traveling outside the region.
Equipment & Piping Design
16th - 20th February 2009
This excellent course covers a number of modules useful to equipment engineers & designers as well as instrument and electrical, architectural, piping, layout and structural engineers. The course will consist of basic functions, AVEVA Plant Design set-up, Equipment Design, Piping Design, Clash Detection, Reports and Isometric Production
Steelwork Design
23rd - 27th March 2009
This course includes basic functions, AVEVA Plant Design set-up, Basic Steelwork Design, Clash Detection, Reports and Advanced Steelwork Design.
For full details of either course please click here.
Places on each course cost £1300 (+ VAT). For further details please contact us on 0191 255 1710 or email info@marinedesigncentre.com
Please contact MDC if you have other training requirements, such as Structural Cats & Specs, Electrical Instrumentation or Drawing Production. If we have sufficient demand for particular courses we will endeavour to arrange the appropriate training!
New Member....Royston
We are very pleased to welcome Royston to MDC membership. Based on Tyneside for over 30 years, Royston is a diesel power generation company focused upon the creation of value added relationships for customers in the defence, marine, offshore, rail and utilities sectors.
It is a sales and repair operation employing over 100 staff, including 60 field engineers with strong electrical and mechanical expertise.
With a reputation as problem solvers, the business is involved in the supply, installation, maintenance and refurbishment of engines, to customers based not just in the UK but throughout the globe. It has a superb relationship with agents and distributors and as such is in a position to source parts at the shortest of notice. Royston is the exclusive UK distributor for GE medium-speed diesel engines, is a top-level Volvo Penta distributor and also represents engine manufacturers including Scania, Cummins, Yamaha and Niigata.
The company invests heavily in both its staff and in equipment and processes, with the overriding objective being to provide customers with a first class service, at the lowest possible financial outlay.
An example of how this is achieved is through the company’s investment in remote monitoring, which eliminates costly site visits.
Robin Shaw, Technical Manager of Royston, said: “With our Engine-I product our clients have the ability to remotely monitor any aspect of engine performance from vibration signatures to alarm panel indicators. We send instant alerts if alarm levels are reached and customers can see live data from their equipment on line, 24 hours per day, seven days a week.
“By regularly monitoring machine performance data we identify emerging problems and remedy them. The biggest cost associated with failures is usually the unplanned down-time.
"We are delighted to be members of MDC and look forward to building relationships with other members."
For further datails on Royston please visit www.royston.co.uk
Member news....
A new year and a new home for Imtech
Member-company Imtech has announced that from January its UK Marine and Offshore activities will be located at Monkton Court, Hebburn, Tyne and Wear.
The company, which specialises in electrical marine engineering and systems integration, is bringing together its 25 staff who were previously located at the old Swan Hunter offices in Wallsend and Billingham, Teesside.
The team - consisting of engineers, project managers, procurement and finance - will now be located in a two-storey office on the new office development site in Monkton.
Managing Director, Bob Carling, said: “We have been involved in a number of very strong projects during 2008 with both the MOD and commercial customers.
“Bringing the team together under one roof means that we will be even better prepared to take on new assignments in 2009 and beyond. We have a very strong team and our reputation in the marketplace is high, so we have every reason to believe that we can now move the business on to the next stage of its development from this new location.
“We look forward to welcoming fellow members of the marine Design Centre to our offices during the course of 2009.”
Graeme is not so green!
A North East company has received further investment to develop its Evopod tidal generator. The device, designed by Ocean Flow Energy Ltd, generates green electricity from free flowing tidal streams and deep ocean currents, drawing on technology used in the oil and gas sectors.
With investment from Scottish firm Aquamarine Power Ltd in place, Ocean Flow Energy’s Managing Director, Graeme Mackie, is looking to base the manufacture of Evopod here in the region and would be keen to enter into discussions with members who would like to look at the commercial potential of this opportunity.
With the scaled-down prototype already producing one kilowatt of energy, Ocean Flow Energy plan to develop a turbine that can produce 2.5MW when it goes to market, hopefully within three years.
The firm’s eventual aim is to have farms of about 50 Evopods moored around appropriate coastal regions in the UK, producing the same electrical output as large wind farms and enough power for between 2.5 million - 4 million homes in total.
MD Graeme Mackie is already in discussions with a range of communities and believes that it will create jobs in the North East where he plans to work with marine and oil and gas firms to manufacture it on a large scale.
The device is seen above, being inspected at NaREC's test facility recently by UK Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks and NaREC CEO Andrew Mill.
Graeme will talk about this development and the potential opportunities for North East companies at a Marine Design Centre lunch in the new year. More details to follow.
King Harald V holds court on Tyneside
The North East and Tyneside, in particular, has a long and successful trading relationship with Norway. Indeed, a Norwegian Consulate has been in operation in the City for many years. The Marine Design Centre is aware that it is also a key operating area for many of our members.
We were therefore pleased to be on hand when ONE North East welcomed King Harald V of Norway to the region last month when he was awarded Honorary Freedom of Newcaste upon Tyne and attended a business networking event for the region’s companies who do business in Norway, as well as a number of Norwegian companies.
As Norwegian Opportunities Open Up....
With Norway in mind, we would also like to bring to your attention the impressive Oil Info Weekend, an on-line newsletter that gives news on activity on the Norwegian continental shelf and is a valuable source of information for companies seeking to grow business there. It's been around for a few years in Norwegian and is now available in English. What's more, subscription is free!
For more details and to subscribe, click here.
Tall Ships 2010: Show your business is ship-shape
We have received good feedback from a number of partners keen to explore the business benefits of linking with Tall Ships 2010 to be hosted at Hartlepool. The event could present your business with a number of opportunites to create impact and raise your profile.
At this stage the Marine Design Centre is assessing the most cost-effective means to have a high profile presence at the event and to open this opportunity up to members and local companies. We have held outline discussions with the event sponsorship team and there are a number of opportunities to create a real impact, whether your intention would be to raise your profile with a presence at this prestigious event, entertain your key customers in some of the unique hospitality facilities available or highlight potential career opportunities to visitors of all ages.
The fact that the final leg of the race arrives in Hartlepool from Kristiansand also offers a valuable opportunity to build on our strong connections with Norwegian businesses, and this is something we will be exploring further with the Norwegian Collaboration Centre.
A number of opportunities exist and at this early stage there is room to tailor any presence to maximise the benefits to participating companies. In order to proceed the Marine Design Centre would like to guage interest in a collaborative presence at the event - if you would be interested in involvement or would like to know more about the event please contact Simon Ellis on 0191 2551710 or by emailing simon.ellis@marinedesigncentre.com
Further information about the event can also be found on www.hartlepooltallships2010.com
A date for the diary....
Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers Annual Dinner
6th March, Banqueting Hall, Civic Centre, Newcastle
Members of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and others from the North East shipping community are invited to the Newcastle upon Tyne branch Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers Annual Dinner.
For more details please email enquiries@amundsen-smith.co.uk
Christmas message from David Bowles, Chairman, Marine Design Centre
There is little doubt the outlook for many industry sectors in the months ahead looks poor compared to 12 months ago.
Thankfully, there is still some cheer in the marine design sector and we have reasons to be optimistic.
Despite the oil price dropping to around one-third of its level of 6 months ago, many of our members have told us that their projects in this sector are still going ahead. In the defence sector, the recent news that the region’s major players may participate in a sizeable chunk of aircraft carrier fabrication, is really good news. The knowledge that major ship fabrication will once again take place in the region is fantastic. I would encourage all those who supply these companies to help ensure they are truly cost-effective and so encourage repeat work.
While, in 2009, members will be prudent and keep their houses in order, there is every reason to believe that our sector will be in good shape to take advantage of the upturn. Indeed, there are a number of reasons why members should raise a glass during the festive period.
One piece of great news is that the Marine Design Centre has succeeded in our bid for ONE NorthEast Capacity & Capability Fund to increase the supply of design engineers and establish training programmes based on employers’ needs.
Our membership is growing all the time and the sector is getting the recognition that it deserves in the region. Member companies are already involved in a wide range of contracts both at home and abroad and it will be one of our main roles in 2009 to ensure that more and more potential customers are made aware of the special skills that the region has to offer.
One of my wishes for 2009 is that companies keep training and developing their staff. It is vital that as we move out of recession that our people are in a position to take up the new opportunities that will undoubtedly come our way.
Finally, with sterling being so weak this is a great time to be a UK exporter, so go for it!