During the early 1980's, Norman Kench and David Houghton worked for the Atomic Energy Authority in Oxford, but moved to Birmingham when promotional opportunities presented themselves. In 1985, the company for whom they both worked was forced by economic pressure to cease trading. Norman and Dave found themselves out of work. Rather than 'take the easy way out', they decided to start up on their own, and, two weeks later, Survirn Engineering Limited was born. Determination and perseverance opened doors to a brighter future, and in 1989 Survirn Engineering Limited moved to its present site, buying out the existing occupier in the process.
In its first year of operation, Survirn Engineering spent £35,000 on a second hand CNC Boko Universal Milling machine, which allowed it to develop its speciality in large three-dimensional tooling. Since then, three more 3 axis Boko CNC machining centres have been purchased, plus a 4 metre Butler CNC machine to increase capacity. Last year, Survirn made its largest single investment to date, spending £290,000 to aquire an extremely versatile Asquith-Butler 5 axis CNC machine, one of only three in the United Kingdom, to enhance further its reputation for CNC machining excellence. Another niche carved in the competitive world of aerospace engineering.
Aerospace industries form the principal customer base, although the move to Staniforth Street introduced machine tool manufacturing as another direction in which to develop. Complex form CNC aerospace tooling, however, remained their primary concern, and customer pressure from Boeing persuaded Survirn to invest in IBM CATIA workstations, to expand further their comprehensive CAD/CAM department.
Among Survirn's main customers are Short Brothers, Westland Aerospace, Aerospace Composite Technologies (Formerly Lucas Aerospace), BP Advanced Chemicals, Rover, Jaguar Cars, Giddings and Lewis Ltd and The Atomic Energy Authority.
Survirn Engineering's advanced CAD/CAM department houses DUCT 5 and IBM CATIA 4 workstations - the most powerful CAD system available today. This design equipment is fully integrated with the specialised CNC machines, enabling the company to produce complex, three-dimensional products up to 5 metres long and weighing up to 15 tonnes, without the need for conventional drawings. Typical products include the tooling for Rolls-Royce Trent engine cowlings, Land Rover roof panels and wing flaps for the Airbus.
The plans for the next five years are well established, and include the building of a new factory on the recently purchased plot of land adjacent to the existing factory. The planned purchase of multi-axis modelling machinery and autoclave equipment will allow Survirn to produce carbon fibre composite tooling. This facility will enable Survirn to meet the requirements of an increasing number of its customers, who specify that both metallic and non-metallic (composite) tools should be single-sourced via one major co-operation (supplier/customer) contract.
Already a key supplier to its clearly identified niche market, Survirn Engineering Limited intends to develop and expand the business by reputation, quality and price advantage. As new capacity becomes available, the company will be able to develop and respond more positively to European business.
For more information, contact:
Norman Kench (Managing Director) or David Houghton (Production Director) Survirn Engineering Limited Staniforth Street Birmingham B4 7DN UK Tel: +44 (0)121-359-7718 Fax: +44 (0)121-359-6922 Email: sales@survirn.demon.co.uk Web: http://www.survirn.demon.co.uk
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