Two big air wins add jobs for Tods

TWO BIG AIR WINS ADD JOBS FOR TODS

Specialist West engineer W & J Tod has sealed a lucrative £10 million deal with AugustaWestland as its sole supplier of composite aerospace components.

Tods’ fast-growing aerospace division has also won orders worth £9 million from five international airlines for 8,000 aircraft floor seating plinths to be fitted in Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft.

The Westland deal will last five years and the airliner contract for three years.

As a result the company, based in Crewkerne, Somerset is planning to boost its 80-strong engineering workforce by 40 per cent over the next 12 months.

It specialises in advanced materials technology for use in the air, at sea and on land ranging from kitchen galleys for trains to sonar domes and parts for helicopters.

Work landed by its fast-growing aerospace business has now outstripped the value of contracts won by it marine division, already world renowned for its expertise in sonar domes.

Tods, which earlier this year was named the most competitively improved company in the West of England Aerospace Forum, has invested heavily in lean manufacturing techniques.

It has a virtually 100 per cent record for on-time delivery of components to Yeovil-based AgustaWestland.

Development engineers from both Somerset companies worked closely on integrated design, development and communication protocols over the past two years to guarantee the components could be made within budget and delivered on time.

The helicopter marker had made it known that it was looking to rationalise its composites supply chain from six companies. AgustaWestland procurement vice president Richard Frost said: “Seventy per cent of the components for a helicopter are outsourced and it is critical for suppliers to sustain high quality and agreed delivery schedules.

“The international aerospace industry is highly competitive and for us to maintain our own order book we need total support and expertise of companies such as Tods.”

“We believe this newly-formed preferred supplier partnership should realise £2 million-plus worth of ongoing business each year for Tods.”

Tods also supplies Airbus, BAE Systems, Contour and B/E Aerospace in the US.

Tods aerospace business director Tom Hitchings said: “We could not have achieved this new business without the people on the shop floor.”

“We explained that we wanted to introduce lean manufacturing to win more business and employ more people and they are fully behind us.”