Members’ News
28 Oct 2019
Team from Bosch Rexroth Ltd raise money for RNLI with charity bike ride
On Thursday 17th October, 12 mad cyclists from Bosch and Bosch Rexroth left Rexroth’s Cirencester site at 7am for a mammoth ride to Rexroth’s St.Neots site via the Bosch HQ in Denham, all in aid of raising money and awareness for the RNLI. As a customer we had discovered recently that they were looking to have to make redundancies and cut back services due to dwindling donations and legacies. This seems to be a trend for all charities as financial austerity hits households in their wallets. We wanted to reverse this and raise awareness of the essential services they provide.
The first day was 88 miles, starting in the hilly Cotswolds and ending in the hilly Chilterns. After a cold sunny start, the rain set in mid-morning. The group had to dig deep and pedal on with cold rain dripping down the back of their necks. After a morning coffee stop at Faringdon after 20 miles and a lunch stop after 60 miles, the group finally reached Bosch’s Denham facility at 4pm with only one crash and no punctures. They then retired to a hotel for a well-earned rest, dinner and a couple of drinks.
An early Friday morning departure with aching limbs saw the first 20 miles of serious climbs until the Chilterns gave way to the Bedfordshire levels. Another crash and a couple of punctures slowed down proceedings a little but the group finally rode into the car park of Bosch Rexroth St.Neots before 3pm on Friday to a wonderful welcome from the staff, a glass of prosecco and a doughnut each.
Up to now we have raised more than £1750 towards our target of £2000 but we would like to raise more so please give generously – click here to donate. Thank you!
Beaumanor celebrates 45 years in Stratford– upon –Avon and receives an award from the BFPA
In 1974 Bala Krishnan , also known as ‘Kris’, settled in Leicester and began to manufacture brass turned parts to order. With only one machine, located in a garage in Thurmaston, he worked for half the day and then spent the rest of the day looking for work. Beaumanor steadily grew into a small thriving business, recruiting 4 more workers and moving to Highmeres Road in Thurmaston. Kris then opened a second facility in Loughborough, employing 10 machine operators. His next step was to develop a standard product range, and so produced a catalogue of commonly used pneumatic and hydraulic fittings. Some 45 years later Beaumanor employees 42 people and has gone from strength-to-strength; inherited by Kris’s nephew, Tim Thirumalai in 1995, who continued to grow the business, diversifying its product range from various metal turned parts to manufacturing and supplying major pneumatic and hydraulic brands all over the UK and Ireland via its website, catalogues and network of distributors.
Over its 45 year history Beaumanor has continued to evolve. 2019 saw its aquisition by Fluid Power Group UK Limited; the largest distributor of fluid power products in the U.K. and Ireland. However Beaumanor’s core values remain constant – the dedication to providing first-class customer service and support for its Distributors, with its experienced and qualified team, some of whom have worked with Beaumanor for nearly 20 years.
In September the company celebrated its 45th anniversary, which coincided with the launch of its 12th product catalogue. Over 200 customers, suppliers and staff gathered together at the Crowne Plaza in Stratford-upon-Avon for a weekend of very special but informal celebrations. Beaumanor not only wanted to celebrate its own longevity but in keeping with previous events, reward the success, hard work and support of its Distributors and Suppliers by presenting several awards. Context Pneumatics based in Bolton received ‘Highest Growing Distributor of the Year for 2018’.Among others, further awards went to MTN Fluid Power for ‘Highest Growing Distributor 2017’, VOSS for ‘Supplier of the Year 2017’ and ABX Fluid Fittings Ltd for ‘Distributor of the Year 2018’.
However one highlight was the award received by Beaumanor from the BFPA for its 45 Years in the Fluid Power Industry.
Mark Cropper, receiving the award on behalf of the business commented: “Thank you to the BFPA for presenting Beaumanor with this award. We are very proud to have reached this milestone, and to be recognised for this was a fantastic surprise! It is a joint venture though and there are many people over the last 45 years; staff, customers and suppliers who have contributed in many ways, and without their support and positive input Beaumanor would not be the company it has become today”.
Camozzi technical catalogue adopts new box set format
Camozzi Automation has re-launched its Technical Catalogue in a brand-new format; producing 8 individual, product specific publications which collectively form a boxed set. The new system replaces the company’s previous all-encompassing catalogue, where different product ranges and services were all covered within one large volume.
Says Camozzi’s UK marketing manager, Lee Hargrave: “Our customer base has expanded, and our product range has diversified significantly over the last few years, a fact that was reflected by our company name change to Camozzi Automation 12 months ago. As a result, we are now talking to customers in many different sectors and it makes more sense from both a practical and environmental perspective, to produce a series of individual publications relating to specific fields, rather than giving every customer a comprehensive catalogue, much of which might not be relevant to their particular market.”
He continues: “The new format means that whilst many of our long standing customers will still receive the complete box set containing a copy of every individual catalogue, others with more specialist and niche requirements will only need maybe one or two catalogues to obtain the information they need.”
Derek Lane celebrates 45th anniversary year in 2019
Derek Lane & Co was established in 1979 by the company’s namesake Derek Lane and has reached its 40th anniversary in 2019. With over 40 years’ experience in the fluid power industry the company which was originally set up to supply the local community with fluid power products, Derek Lane now services businesses in the South West of England and beyond.
In 2012, Derek Lane retired and the Company was acquired by directors Rob Woodley and Mark Venn, together with Beaumanor Engineering in Leicester. Through a contemporary business approach including investment in people, training and new technologies, Derek Lane expanded operations to service other areas of the UK.
In March 2018, Derek Lane & Co was acquired by the Flowtech Fluidpower Group. Since the acquisition the Company has been supported with back office functions, enabling them to improve their focus on commercial and operational activities, enhancing their service to customers.
Managing Director, Rob Woodley commented that “being a part of a much bigger Fluid Power Group has really opened up further opportunities for growth, by having one of the largest pools of Technical and design talent in the region is giving us some really interesting projects and solutions to customer requirements.”
“Derek Lane & Co is going from strength to strength, investment in people, skills and infrastructure is our focus to give our customers the best service possible”.
Rob Woodley has been a member of the BFPDA Council since 2013 and continues to play a part in the committee discussions which direct the work of the BFPDA.
BFPA congratulates Rob Woodley and the team at Derek Lane for reaching their impressive milestone and recently awarded the company a plaque to commemorate their achievement.
DMR Seals acquired by Diploma PLC
BFPA member DMR Seals has been acquired by Diploma PLC, a FTSE 250 international group of businesses supplying specialised technical products and services.DMR Seals, based in Sheffield, provides engineering sealing solutions to UK markets. In particular, the company has developed a strong reputation for manufacturing high quality and high-pressure sealing products for the most demanding applications in the oil & gas, chemical processing and general manufacturing industries.
DMR Seals will continue to operate independently and will be run on day to day basis by Co-founder and Managing Director Richard O’Connor and the existing team in Sheffield.
Richard said: “We are delighted to have joined Diploma PLC. Working as part of the Group, strengthens our position in the fluid sealing solution markets and brings advantages in terms of increased technical capability and manufacturing flexibility across multiple sites. This allows DMR Seals to operate as usual, continuing to provide our customers with the best sealing solution as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
In 2018 Diploma PLC, reported annual revenues of more than £485m, operating globally in the distinct sectors of Life Sciences, Seals and Controls. DMR Seals joins the Group’s Seals businesses, working alongside other Diploma-owned UK companies, FPE Seals and M Seals.
Do you have a company news story we could feature?
BFPA would like to help publicise our BFPA and BFPDA members’ company news (free of charge to members) in our newsletter and / or on our website news page and want to feature more news stories from our BFPA and BFPDA members. Each news item will be set alongside a photo / logo / image (which you would ideally supply) and archived by date. We may also be able to publish on our news pages or send out to a wider media list as well on your behalf.
We would love to hear from you if you have any suitable UK fluid power industry news stories such as:
- Senior staff appointments
- New buildings being opened
- Awards being won / presented
- New industry sales partners announced
- New acquisitions / alliances etc.
- Innovative or unusual projects or case studies
Please send any news items to Sarah Gardner sarah@bfpa.co.uk – we look forward to hearing from you soon!