Technogroup eyes up post-COVID growth

AS9100 approved Technogroup is a long-established engineering business comprising two companies: Technoset, formed in 1978 based in Rugby, and Technoturn, located at St Leonards-on-sea in East Sussex which formed in 1995.

Fred Moser was the man behind the group’s formation and he remains the major shareholder today. Operationally however, the ship is steered by group managing director Kevan Kane, ably supported by two highly capable operations directors – Adam Land at the Rugby facility and Jonathan Hawkins at St Leonards.

In the past, both companies operated somewhat autonomously and dare I say it, even competitively. Now things are entirely different. Under Mr Kane’s leadership, the two sites work very closely together harmoniously and collaboratively, sharing knowledge, expertise and capacity. Having 50+ machines, 50+ people, literally centuries of expertise and knowledge at its disposal, and a productive blend of youth and experience within its ranks gives the group a real competitive advantage in the marketplace.

In the leader I mention that COVID has afforded some blue-sky thinking time to those organisations progressive enough to grasp it. Like many other UK manufacturing companies, Technogroup was heavily involved in making parts for ventilators and other vital medical equipment as part of the VentilatorChallengeUK effort.

For several weeks across both sites, it was all hands on deck with little time to think about anything else. When the workload eased, the focus was – and is – back on making the business more productive, more efficient and ultimately more profitable post-pandemic. A new website was the first priority.

Group mentality

“We’ve always been known as Technogroup, but in the past that was more of a holding company name than anything else,” explains Kevan Kane, a Technoset veteran of nearly 24 years. “As group managing director, my primary objective is to bring the group much closer together. It’s been a rebranding exercise as much as anything else. In Adam and Jonathan, I have two fantastic, very progressive operations directors to help me take the business to the next level.”

Adam Land’s pedigree in the development and application of advanced manufacturing methodologies and pushing technological boundaries to their limits is unquestionable. He began his working life as an apprentice at Warwick Manufacturing Group at Warwick University then progressed to positions at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and then cutting fluid specialist Jemtech where he was instrumental in developing and project managing a revolutionary coolant management system called Oracle.

He has now been at Technogroup for two years and it’s clear that his experience and knowledge will be vital ingredients in Technogroup’s future success.

“We have 21 employees here at the Rugby headquarters and three of those are apprentices,” Adam Land reveals. “They’re very bright, ambitious and have been a real breath of fresh air to the company. It’s so important to continuously bring new talent into the business to challenge the status quo – and we’re happy to let them run with new ideas.

“They’ve made many process improvements to legacy programs that have literally slashed cycle times. They get a real buzz doing it and its infectious. It’s all about constantly challenging the way you do things and not being afraid to embrace change.”

Adding value

Milling and turning expertise underpins the group operationally, but from a wider perspective things are very much focused on offering a true end-to-end-solution to the customer – whatever that may entail. A prime example is a safety critical assembly used in the engine control system of commercial and military aircraft.

“Production of this high precision assembly is multi-faceted and incorporates casting, machining, plating, painting, assembly and test processes which are managed seamlessly at the St Leonards site,” explains operations director, Jonathan Hawkins. “I always try to put myself in the position of the customer and ask myself ‘how can we make their life easier?’

Mr Kane concurs: “We enjoy close relationships with our customers and we see it as our job to add as much value – and take away as much pain – as we possibly can on their behalf. Sometimes we’re simply given a drawing and asked to make the parts; but often we work closely with the customer long before the first cut is made at the very front end to suggest improvements and more cost-effective ways of manufacturing.

“We’ll also take on elements of supply chain management – and sometimes we take this a stage further. For example we’ve been working closely with Solidcam recently, engineering a part for manufacturing on our sliding and fixed head machines.

“This is very much Adam’s forte – taking cost out of the process, adding value and effectively acting as a consultant, working with the customer every step of the way and really understanding the function of the part being manufactured. It’s a service they really appreciate and most importantly, it builds trust.”

Eggs and baskets

Traditionally, Technogroup has been heavily involved with aerospace work. Indeed, up until last year, the sector represented around 60% of the group’s overall business. Recent events however have literally turned everything on its head.

“It’s no secret that the aerospace industry has been hit hardest by the COVID pandemic and I think it’ll be quite some time before the sector bounces back to anything like the levels of previous years,” Mr Kane predicts.

“This has affected our business, but it’s never a good thing to have too many eggs in one basket and even before the pandemic struck, we were starting to diversify. Then the ventilator work in early 2020 took us into new areas and we’re making inroads into other high-tech sectors like defence, motorsport and telecommunications. We’ve recently secured an order to make parts for COVID lateral flow testing equipment.”

“It’s been pretty diverse – for example we’ve also been working with a local laser manufacturer making parts for very high-end laser assemblies,” Mr Land adds. “Our experience and expertise in aerospace work, coupled with our AS9100 registration, means we have the systems in place, and the equipment available to handle work of this complexity across a multitude of industries.

“Irrespective of complexity however, we approach every job the same. In terms of the service we offer, we can bring a lot to the table and there’s genuine pride in everything we do.”

Looking ahead

Technogroup is a company committed to continuous investment in its people and equipment, but as with many other businesses, capital spend has been temporarily put on ice as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.

I stress the word temporarily because Technogroup is an aspirational business with definite plans for the future. Pre-COVID investment was substantial, comprising a Citizen L20 sliding head turning centre, a Matsuura MX-330 5-axis VMC, 11 Cleanmist filtration units from Jemtech, a magnetic spin deburring machine and an EcoClean solvent-based wash plant.

“I think the Technogroup of the future will look decidedly different,” Mr Land asserts. “Sliding and fixed head machines will absolutely continue to play their part but we’ll be looking much more closely at machining cells, automation, robotics and integrated manufacturing. We’ve also been considering wire EDM, 3D printing and enhancing our inspection capabilities.

“The shopping list is long – but it’s important that we invest in the right technology so that it dovetails with our future plans. We’re weighing up our options and priorities at the moment.”

Good data in, good data out

Pivotal to Technogroup’s business as a whole across both sites is PSL Datatrack production control software. The business has been using the platform for some time but previously not really tapping into its full capabilities.

“We’ve been working closely with PSL’s MD Geoff Gartland on the way we optimise our use of the software,” Mr Land affirms. “In truth, we’ve only been using a fraction of what the system is capable of. Also, any system is only as good as the data being fed in and that’s something we’ve been working hard on.

“Quality of inputted data is paramount; my goal throughout the company is to use PSL’s status boards to provide live, accurate data at all times so we can plan, schedule and track work much more efficiently, with daily to-do lists and up-to-the-minute shop floor data collection.

“As well as in-house production, we also use it to manage our supply chain. Its reporting capabilities are excellent and an added bonus is that it’s a fantastic tool for our AS9100 audits. Undoubtedly, PSL Datatrack will be instrumental in our future plans,” he concludes.

Technogroup www.techno-group.co.uk