Members’ News

09 Jun 2023

Armada Engineering launches new training centre in Cornwall

BFPA distributor member Armada Engineering, a marine engineering company based in Falmouth in Cornwall, has launched the first training centre for hydraulics in the South West of England. The company has been approved as an accredited training centre by the British Fluid Power Association (BFPA), the UK trade association for the fluid power industry.

The Armada Engineering Skills Academy has been developed in partnership with Cornwall Marine Network and is a CMN Centre of Excellence, part-funded by the European Social Fund.

Armada Engineering specialises in advanced engineering and hydraulics for the marine industry. In addition to its head office in Falmouth, it has an engineering centre in Barcelona in Spain to service superyachts in the Mediterranean.

Managing Director Joff Collins says: “There is a skills shortage in engineering across the UK and we want to help boost engineering skills in the South West. This will help enable the region to cement a position at the forefront of marine technology, an area where we already excel.”

Joff Collins continues: “Our new training centre in Falmouth is the only place in the South West to offer this accredited foundation course in hydraulics. Up until now, people would have needed to travel a significant distance for equivalent training. We are proud that it will be one of the first employer-led training centres as part of CMN’s Centres for Excellence Programme.”

Paul Wickes, Chief Executive of Cornwall Marine Network says: “Hydraulics is a vital skill for marine engineering and wider engineering applications such as wind turbines. We are delighted to see Armada launching this new BFPA training centre in Cornwall. This makes hydraulics training more accessible for people and companies wanting to develop. Unlike most other industries, the hydraulic industry has no minimum qualification requirements. So, the purpose of the course and BFPA qualification is to establish an industry standard for training. This will ultimately increase knowledge and safety, enabling the full potential of this vital technology to be realised.”

Joff Collins adds: “Hydraulics has an incredibly exciting future as new applications are found at the cutting edge of innovation. At Armada Engineering, we constantly pioneer innovative designs which expand the boundaries of what can be achieved with hydraulic engineering.”

Joff Collins concludes: “In Cornwall and the South West, we are entering a new era of innovation in marine technology and hydraulics. At Armada, we are planning to continue to expand our training centre in partnership with CMN, with a range of new courses, including a follow on level in hydraulics and a new apprenticeship programme. We are committed to building engineering skills in the region, so that the South West of England can continue to build its reputation as a world leader in marine technology.”

To apply for the course, email enquiries@armadaglobal.co.uk

 

 

SMC Changes its name

BFPA member SMC has changed its company name to SMC Corporation (U.K.) Limited.

Previously, the company was called: SMC Pneumatics (U.K.) Ltd.

An SMC statement received by BFPA on 6^th June 2023 states:

“As the company has grown in the UK and around the world so has our product range and despite pneumatics still being a major part of our business, we manufacture and distribute so much more; electric actuators, temperature control equipment, gas and fluid control.

We have taken the opportunity to express this under the banner of ‘Corporation’. This aligns our name format with our parent company, SMC Corporation of Japan, and other SMC subsidiaries around the world.

We may have a different company name, but in terms of day-to-day business there will be no major changes. Our company registration and VAT number stay the same, we are not moving location or changing our registered office. Our email and web addresses will also stay the same.”

www.smc.uk

 

Rotec Hydraulics Ltd have been officially revealed as ‘Manufacturer and Producer of the Year’ at the 2023 Somerset Business Awards

Based across the South West of the UK, Rotec Hydraulics are a well-respected provider of hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical engineering services and components. Celebrating 45 years of trading next year, Rotec design, manufacture and produce a huge number of custom engineered solutions for a large variety of industry sectors.

Recent bespoke manufactured projects have included a capstan winch system for the Utilities market, hydraulic ring main for the Aerospace sector and mobile swaging trolleys for the Marine industry.

The company’s ability to develop and produce innovative, bespoke engineered solutions, together with Rotec’s outstanding customer survey results and impressive client portfolio impressed the judging panel, who also named the company runner-up in the ‘Large Business of the Year’ award category.

Nearly 400 business people from across Somerset attended the Grand Final, which was organised by Somerset Chamber of Commerce and hosted by BBC broadcaster and journalist Claire Carter.

This year was the 18th anniversary of the hotly contested awards and Michael Cahill of Albert Goodman, main sponsor of the awards, said:

“The awards are an opportunity to celebrate Somerset’s vibrant business community and to recognise the achievements of those who go above and beyond to deliver exceptional service, results and products.

“We have a huge range of businesses and charities in Somerset and while the economic situation is challenging, I am constantly impressed by the resilience, innovation and adaptability I see from the businesses we work with.”

Paul Prouse, Managing Director of Rotec Hydraulics Ltd, commented:

“Winning ‘Manufacturer and Producer of the Year’ is a truly fantastic achievement and a great testament to our team’s exceptional expertise and capabilities.”

For more information visit www.rotec.net

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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 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!