View our recent interviews about the Supacat LRV 600 and HMT conversions by clicking on the link below.

To watch the interview about the latest additions to Supacat’s HMT family of vehicles click here

To watch the Supacat LRV 600 prototype debut click here

Supacat is part of SC Group. To learn more about Supacat and their products click here

The program will commence vehicle deliveries in the final quarter of 2017.

SC Group CEO, Nick Ames, said “We are delighted that New Zealand has chosen to join the HMT family.  Interoperability is an important element for the Special Forces community and commonality of spares and support, is a key driver in maintaining relatively small fleets.”

Designed for, and used by, the world’s elite Special Forces, the HMT Extenda is unique in being convertible to either a 4×4 or 6×6 configuration to meet different operational requirements.  Its open architecture provides for various levels of protection and great variety in the roles and missions for which it can be configured.  New Zealand is a new customer for Supacat and the latest defence
force to join the HMT family.

Michael Halloran, Managing Director Asia Pacific said, “We are very pleased to have reached this milestone with our friends in New Zealand and we are dedicated to providing the New Zealand Defence Force with the best cross country wheeled mobility in the world.  This is a very exciting time for the Supacat team in Australia as it is the first time that we have entered into a product export
contract.”

The SOV-MH vehicles will be manufactured at Supacat’s existing assembly facilities in Australia using Supacat Team Australia members to manufacture and assemble the vehicle.  This represents the first time that Supacat Team Australia members will be exporting completed vehicles and complements the opportunities already emerging for Australian suppliers to enter Supacat’s global
supply chains.

The new variants include HMT in the Recovery, Logistic Support and Gun Towing roles as well as a unique 4×4 to 6×6 convertible feature for `Jackal`.   At DVD Supacat is unveiling the Logistic Support and Recovery variants, the former will be exhibited on the Supacat stand and the latter as a static display on the off-road area.

Supacat is also highlighting how the 4×4 `Jackal` can be re-rolled into a 6×6 `Coyote` using the unique convertible concept of its HMT Extenda special operations variant to increase payload, capacity and range.  By inserting or removing a self-contained third axle HMT Extenda is convertible to a 4×4 or 6×6 configuration within a day to meet different operational requirements.

“The new variants demonstrate the flexibility of the HMT platform and the different roles it can perform now and in future programmes where it could be offered”, said Phil Applegarth, Head of Supacat.  “For UK MoD programmes where we do not have a direct product to offer we are looking for teaming opportunities with international primes, similar to our partnership with Rheinmetall on its bid for the Challenger 2 Life Extension Programme”.

Supacat is also displaying at DVD its all-new LRV400 Mk2 light reconnaissance vehicle, a high performance off-road vehicle for rapid intervention operations.  It offers a highly versatile tactical capability for special forces; it has the unique 4×4 to 6×6 convertible feature  and can be transported inside a CH-47 Chinook fully equipped and loaded, making it immediately deployable. At DVD, Supacat will be displaying a concept demonstrator 6×6 version of the LRV.

DVD, Millbrook, UK

Stand: OR-18

Work experience is acknowledged as a real benefit not only to the students, but also to the manufacturing industry. Raising awareness and engaging students at an early age provides engineering insight and also increases options for future career opportunities.

Sadly, very few students will ever have the opportunity to see or experience a large fabrication workshop with heavy manufacturing equipment. At Blackhill Engineering, the students are initially encouraged to look around the workshops, talk to the staff and ask questions that will help them to decide if engineering is the career path for them.  We are pleased to report back that most return to the office with a big grin and cannot wait to get started.

All the team at Blackhill would like to pass on a huge well done and many thanks to Erin Fisher and Alfred Downs for your time, and also for the positive influence you have had on our business in such a short time.

We wish you both the very best for the future.

Paul Fishwick

General Manager

The 7½ meter dish is the first of two destined for a secret location. The photograph shows the satellite dish in mid-assembly ready for the top dish plates to be attached.

Paul Fishwick, General Manager of Blackhill Engineering said “We are incredibly proud not only to be involved in such an exciting project but also that that the item is designed and manufactured in Devon, and wherever possible supported by local engineering and manufacturing  companies.”

Goodridge Ltd, a world-leading manufacturing company based in Devon, recently tasked Blackhill Engineering to vertically mount a sports car on a wall.

The super lightweight sports car will be the main centrepiece display of their new Reception area.

Paul Fishwick, General Manager of Blackill Engineering said “We at Blackhill Engineering were really pleased with the end result of this project, and successfully manufactured a six-metre tubular frame in order to support the sports car vertically on the wall.”

Please click on the photograph below for a larger image.

SC Innovation is Fit for Nuclear (F4N) accredited by The Nuclear Advance Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC) and is also the first South West England based engineering business to open an office in the Somerset Energy Innovation Centre (SEIC).  The centre has been established to create collaborative opportunities for prospective Hinkley Point C contractors to engage with local and regional companies.

“SC Innovation can offer a flexible range of attractive opportunities to potential partners.  We can offer workshop facilities and capabilities including subassembly, testing, verification and validation acceptance testing as well as documentation management.  We can also project manage the local supply chain where they can benefit from our access to over 2000 suppliers in the south west region”, said Joe Wilcox, Head of SC Innovation.  “One of our core competencies is delivering engineering projects in sectors which demand a high level of compliance with strict regulatory and technical standards, as evidenced by our F4N status”, said Joe Wilcox, Head of SC Innovation.

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 main business is in developing customised solutions to operational problems or applying its comprehensive engineering capability to turn a customer’s concept into a fully engineered product, optimised for both value and performance.  It specialises in mobile or static handling and support equipment for operation in hostile environments.

Previous projects include developing the first ATEX 2 compliant Protected Transit Vehicle (PTV) for the Oil & Gas sector to protect workers in hazardous explosive and toxic environments; joint development and build of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute’s Lifeboat Launch & Recovery System for the Shannon Class; a 6×6 Specialist Utility Vehicle (SUV600) for emergency services and utilities, customised from a production standard 4×4 Land Rover Discovery; and designing and building the BOLT 2 `Lifesaver` wave energy converter for Fred Olsen.

SC Innovation is the brand for delivering engineering solutions to the energy, marine and specialist vehicles sectors of SC Group.  In September 2015 the company rebranded under a new SC identity to take it forward in its expansion into new markets and provide a clear customer focus for its products.