The programme includes two of the original Powered Carriage variants and five of the new Non-Powered Carriage variants and is valued at over £7.5 million. SC Innovation will build the vehicles to meet the RNLI’s schedule requirements at a rate of one to two per year at its facility at Dunkeswell, Devon.  The first is due for delivery in November 2017 and final vehicle completion in 2021.

SC Innovation has already built eight of the twelve SL&RVs delivered to date. The engineering and design services company jointly designed and developed the vehicle with the RNLI Engineering Project Team and was also responsible for the design of the Non-Powered variant, which is currently undergoing prototype trials.

The original variant’s carriage is powered by a four-track-drive system to deliver the exceptional traction needed to negotiate steep gradients and rough shingle. Joe Wilcox, Head of SC Innovation, said, “The new two-track-drive variant has been designed specifically for the RNLI’s less demanding locations to assist the RNLI in delivering optimised capability for the greatest value at lifeboat stations with more benign conditions.”

Prior to joining SC Group, Alison was the Operations Director at QinetiQ and her earlier career spans roles with Marconi, Westland Helicopters and Aviation Training International. From over 25 years’ experience in the Defence and Aerospace industry Alison brings expertise in Procurement, Supply Chain Management, Commercial, Programme Management and Operations.

On her appointment Alison commented, “I’m excited to join SC Group which has great people, exceptional products and a proud heritage, to which I hope to contribute and build on as the company moves towards the next stage in its growth plans. With SC Group’s reputation for agility and innovation I will be using my experience to help it deliver on the UK MoD’s policy to increase procurement with SMEs, in recognition of their role as innovation drivers within the supply chain”.

Nick Ames, Chief Executive of SC Group, said, “I’m delighted to welcome Alison to our team. She brings a wealth of senior level expertise in competencies that are fundamental to fulfilling our future vision.  Her passion for collaboration, which is a core to our growth strategy, will be a huge asset to the Group”.

Under the teaming agreement and upon contract award, the Supacat-designed vehicles will be built by RMMV NL and the production line will be supported by their existing supply chain in the Netherlands. The proposed solution includes substantial local industrial content for a fleet of more than 500x 12kN AASLT and 900x 12kN light-weight protected vehicles.

“The teaming agreement is based on a strong collaborative platform and the allocation of responsibilities will be based on ‘Best for Customer’ criteria,” said Phil Applegarth, Head of Supacat. “Both companies have demonstrated their agility in forming a solution that delivers an outstanding in-country product, which supports Dutch jobs for a Dutch requirement.”

“Cooperation between Supacat and RMMV meets the requirements of this programme for the Dutch Army,” stated Coen van Leeuwen, Managing Director of RMMV NL, adding that, “a proven concept built in the Netherlands and supported by people who know how the Dutch Army operates is bound to succeed.”

Supacat, a high-mobility vehicle specialist, stands on an established and successful track record of developing high-quality vehicles for the global defence market. RMMV NL is currently in the process of producing Boxer 8×8 wheeled armoured vehicles for the Dutch Army at the local facility in Ede.

Building on a strong relationship, Supacat and Rheinmetall continue to work together on a number of programmes, including the UK’s Challenger 2 Life Extension Programme and Australia’s Land 400 Phase 2 programme.

The project is the vision of Stephen Ball, former CEO of Lockheed Martin UK and a Plymouth University alumnus, who recommended SC Group CEO, Nick Ames, be invited to become one of the project’s mentors. Devon headquartered SC Group is one of the world’s leading engineering companies specialising in the design and development of high mobility vehicles and bespoke equipment for harsh environments.

The pilot year has four of the highest achieving disadvantaged students across 29 engineering courses at the University taking part in the project. Nick is now mentoring a second year Mechanical Engineering student, Benjamin Bush, and as an employer with extensive industry experience, Nick is available to advise Ben on professional practice, improving his CV and interview techniques and crucially, providing him with a network to tap into, which can widen his horizons and raise his aspirations regarding the opportunities available to him.

Nick Ames, CEO of SC Group said: “The Tamar Engineering Project benefits both sides and I’ve found mentoring a very rewarding and refreshing experience.   Encouraging and helping the next generation of engineers has to be a good thing. The country needs them.  Working with Plymouth University also builds on our existing activity with local schools which includes hosting an annual open day for schools at our off-road Test Track”.

Professor Kevin Jones, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, said: “The Tamar Engineering Project very much responds to the latest recommendations from HEFCE about underprivileged groups accessing higher education. But more than that, our hope is that it will help with retention of students, and through the mentoring side, provide a springboard to personal and career development. It is very rare that students have an opportunity to gain such advice and guidance from senior figures in industry.”

More information about the project can be found at www.plymouth.ac.uk/campaign/tamar

HMT 400 Desert has been adapted to enhance performance in the desert’s harsh environment and climatic conditions. It has no armour and the lighter gross vehicle mass improves the power-to-weight ratio and increases mobility over deep desert sand.  Further desert features include cooling, a central tyre inflation system and lightweight bead locks to enable the vehicle to be operated at the lowest tyre pressures.

The vehicle has been configured to fully comply with the UAE Presidential Guard’s requirements for a new special operations vehicle, including tactical CH-47 internal loading, and has undergone successful tactical trials and testing by UAE forces over the summer. The HMT series, widely known as `Jackal`, has been battle proven in service with numerous elite special forces worldwide.

“Supacat is committed to supporting the region and in the event that HMT 400 Desert is selected by the UAE Presidential Guard a large element of the production and subsequent support programmes will be conducted in UAE”, said Phil Applegarth, Head of Supacat.

The flexibility of the HMT series has been recently demonstrated by Supacat in developing additional variants and conversions to meet wider and emerging requirements. These include HMT in the Recovery, Logistic Support and Gun Towing roles as well as a unique 4×4 to 6×6 convertible feature, which were announced in September at DVD in the UK.

The M33.2 has been designed specifically for the marine environment and extends Baudouin’s portfolio into the 650HP -1500HP range, offering the flexibility of two specifications, the 12M33.2 V12 39.2 litres and 6M33.2 straight 6 19.6 litres.  Its high engine capacity, relative to the horsepower, is designed to conserve engine life in high strain, load bearing applications such as fishing trawlers, offshore support, workboats and ferries.

Operational and through life costs are low in accordance with Baudouin’s reputation for designing low fuel consumption engines. A proven and simple design eases maintenance to minimise downtime.

Customers benefit from the world-wide technical expertise and service support from authorised Baudouin distributors, such as Proteum, the marine products specialist, which is part of the SC Group engineering business.  It operates from Hamble, UK, offering complete powertrain solutions, providing sales, commissioning, technical support, spares and servicing as well as service maintenance agreements and training.

Jeremy Paul, General Manager of Proteum, said, “The M33.2 is an exciting new engine delivering significant operational savings to commercial and fishing operators and Proteum is looking forward to talking to customers and supporting them through its introduction and service life ”.

Moteurs Baudouin has built a reputation for an unparalleled range of marine diesel engines, marine generators and auxiliary engines for the demanding commercial marine, fishing and shipping sectors.  The company is now part of the Weichai Power Company and continues to develop new products that offer exceptional reliability and low through life costs.

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The judges were impressed by SC Group’s success in winning a £75m plus contract for its military vehicle business, Supacat, from the Australian Government and more recent wins for Norway and New Zealand. SC Group has also developed new business streams, such as its SC Innovation business, in different market sectors including marine and energy.  The privately owned family business employs over 200 people.

SC Group Operations Director, Lizzie Jones, who accepted the award, said, “We are delighted to receive this award which rewards the whole company’s hard work and success producing world beating products”.

 

The carriage is powered by a Four-Track-Drive system from Bosch Rextroth to deliver the exceptional traction for negotiating steep gradients and rough shingle. The new concept is for a `non-powered carriage` variant and the project is being driven by the opportunity to make considerable savings for lifeboat stations with more benign conditions. Subject to successful trials, the implementation of the new variant will substantially reduce the costs of components, production processes and in-service costs.

SC Innovation will perform the detailed design to modify the carriage to non-powered with the work and drawing package due for completion in January 2017. SC Innovation engineers will support the RNLI who will conduct trials of the new variant as well as Bosch  Rexroth on the software trials. All tractors must be compatible for operation with both powered and non-powered carriages and future builds will be for both variants according to the RNLI’s assessment of the station’s ground conditions.

Under the contract SC Innovation will also upgrade the tractor unit of the first pre-production SL&RS, SC-T01, which it delivered to the RNLI in 2011, to production standard for use in-service as a relief vehicle.

Joe Wilcox, Head of SC Innovation said, “We are proud to be collaborating again with the RNLI on the further development of the SL&RS, which we have been supporting throughout the project since we started designing a pre-prototype 14 years ago. It is an essential piece of equipment that has proved itself in service and has also become a showcase for our engineering capabilities in developing bespoke equipment for hostile environments”.

SC Innovation’s engineering capabilities are in mechanical and electrical engineering, structural analysis, structural optimisation, fluid structural simulation and test and validation, including full system prototype build.  The business has an established production capability carrying out low rate, high quality builds. Together with the in-house project management team these capabilities have combined to deliver projects for energy and marine customers, often in partnership with academic and industrial partners.

SC Innovation is exhibiting at Advanced Engineering UK, 2-3 November at the NEC, Birmingham (Stand K32).

The order, from an undisclosed customer, has a total value of £1.2 Million and will see Blackhill fabricating components throughout 2017. Workshop preparations are well under way including significant investment in new weld booths, extraction systems and welding plant. Each booth has been kitted out with all the equipment required to manufacture the complex assemblies, including bespoke specialist jig frames.

Paul Fishwick, General Manager of Blackhill Engineering said: “This order is significant for Blackhill Engineering and it has allowed us to invest further and create jobs. We’re delighted to be placing Blackhill in a higher volume and more production biased position that will open up wider opportunities for us in the future”.

Nick Ames, Chief Executive of SC Group said: “I’m particularly pleased to see Blackhill making this key step towards higher volume, production fabrication. Having recently been granted Fit for Nuclear status and with the recent announcements regarding Hinkley Point, I see Blackhill as being ideally placed, both in terms of capability and geography, to provide the South West based fabrication services required by elements of that major project’s supply chain”.