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Marshall Aerospace Apprentices Win 'Prize for the Most Innovative Design' at Institution of ...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:14:55 +0100

A four-man team of apprentices from Marshall Aerospace was awarded the Prize for the Most Innovative Design at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Apprentice Challenge; held at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford on 4th November. Fifteen teams entered the challenge, which was to design and construct a self-propelled vehicle (from scrap) that would make a number of timed 2 metre runs carrying increasingly heavy loads.

All teams had just two hours (from initial sight of available materials) to complete their designs. However, the task also required the submission of two design concepts (each with an accompanying Bill of Materials) to presiding officials, who then selected which of its two designs each team should build. The challenge therefore included some traditional customer-supplier interaction.

The Marshall Aerospace team comprised Conor Rees (17, a first year apprentice with Marshall Specialist Vehicles), Sam Libby (18, a first year apprentice with Marshall Specialist Vehicles), David Firth (19, a first year apprentice with Marshall Aerospace) and Toby Duthie-Smith (17, a second year apprentice with Marshall Aerospace). Their selected design was for a three-wheeled vehicle, the front wheel of which provided drive.

Competition for the Marshall Aerospace team came from, amongst others, Lotus Engineering, MBDA and Cambridge Regional College (CRC). The Prize for the Most Innovative Design, which constituted a copy of Solidworks CAD software and an Amazon gift voucher for each apprentice, was presented by Andrew Lansley CBE, MP for South Cambridgeshire and Secretary of State for Health.

Sir Michael Marshall, Chairman and Group Chief Executive of the Marshall Group of Companies, commented: "My congratulations go to the four apprentices that represented Marshall Aerospace and Marshall Specialist Vehicles. Apprentice training schemes have been a fundamental aspect of the Marshall Group of Companies since the 1920s, and of our current workforce more than 300 employees - including a Member of the Board - joined as apprentices."

The Prize for the Most Innovative Design came just a matter of days after two Marshall Aerospace apprentices secured First Place and Runner-up prizes at this year’s EEF Future Manufacturing Awards, in the Outstanding Achievement by a First Year Apprentice category; South East region. In addition, two other apprentices made it into the final five nominees in the Outstanding Achievement by a Final Year Apprentice category; also for the South East region.

Steve Fitz-Gerald, CEO of Marshall Aerospace, noted: "I am delighted that our apprentices are scooping so many awards and prizes as it provides testimony to not only the quality of the apprenticeship schemes operated within the Marshall Group of Companies but also the calibre of young people joining us today and training to be our engineers of tomorrow."

Marshall Aerospace Apprentices Triumph at South East Region EEF Manufacturing Awards Ceremony

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:03:49 +0100

Marshall Aerospace apprentices Charles Beadle (20) and Katherine Morton (20) secured First Place and Runner-up prizes respectively at this year's EEF Future Manufacturing Awards, in the Outstanding Achievement by a First Year Apprentice category; South East region. In addition, Marshall Aerospace apprentices Richard Blunt (23) and Gregg Copp (23) made it into the final five nominees in the Outstanding Achievement by a Final Year Apprentice category; also for the South East region.

The prizes were awarded at the South East region's celebration lunch on 1st November at Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands. This year, more than 400 apprentices entered from the South East and as a regional winner Charles is a contender for Outstanding Achievement by a First Year Apprentice, National Award - which will be announced during January 2012.

Steve Fitz-Gerald, CEO, Marshall Aerospace, commented: "We are delighted that Marshall Aerospace apprentices did so well at the coveted EEF Future Manufacturing Awards. My personal congratulations go to Charles, Katherine, Richard and Gregg, and we wish Charles well for the next stage."

EEF, the manufacturers' organisation and formerly the Engineering Employers' Federation, is considered one of the most powerful forces backing UK manufacturing, and its awards scheme is highly respected within aerospace and other industries.

MARSHALL AEROSPACE WINS SUBSTANTIAL CONTRACT FROM AUSTRIAN AIR FORCE

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:15:27 +0100

Marshall Aerospace has secured a substantial contract with the Austrian Air Force for upgrade of the avionic systems within their fleet of three C-130 aircraft.

The upgrades will be extensive and include the replacement of the aircrafts' autopilot and radar altimeter systems, software updates to their transponders and flight management systems and the replacement of analogue instruments with multifunction LCD displays (as part of the colloquial "glass cockpit" upgrade) that will provide CNS/ATM compliant systems

Steve Fitz-Gerald, CEO, Marshall Aerospace, commented: "We have supported the Austrian Air Force's fleet of C-130s since they purchased these ex-RAF aircraft in 2002, and we therefore know the aircraft and the customer extremely well. Support to date has consisted of standard MRO work, but these critical upgrades will encompass a major avionic overhaul for each aircraft. We are therefore honoured that the Austrian Air Force has entrusted us with the important task ahead."

Marshall Aerospace will perform the upgrades (plus associated testing and certifications), at Cambridge, commencing with the first aircraft in August 2012, and with all three returned to service by early 2015.

MARSHALL AEROSPACE WINS A340-312 INTERIOR CABIN UPGRADE CONTRACT FROM TAP PORTUGAL

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:14:42 +0100

Marshall Aerospace has been awarded an Interior Cabin Upgrade contract by TAP, Portugal's flag-carrying airline. The upgrade is to be applied to four Airbus A340-312 aircraft and will include new seating with enhanced in-flight entertainment systems.

Under the contract Marshall Aerospace will be the Aircraft System Integrator, responsible for the installation of the upgrades and the provision of all adaptive modification data. The company will also certify the upgrades under its EASA Part 21J DOA privileges; thus enabling an early return to service (upon successful completion of the installation and ground-testing). Marshall Aerospace will then work through the regulators to provide EASA and FAA Supplementary Type Certificates (STCs).

Steve Fitz-Gerald, CEO, Marshall Aerospace, said: "We are delighted to have won this contract as it not only reflects our increasing activities in the commercial sector but it also exemplifies how we are fulfilling a much-needed 'hybrid role' within the industry, supplying airlines and other MROs with engineering services that in turn enable them to secure more business."

Preliminary design work for TAP has already commenced and the first installation is scheduled for February 2012. Following the first aircraft Release to Service, on completion of successful ground testing, the remaining three aircraft will be upgraded by November 2012.

Luís Monteiro, VP Marketing, TAP Portugal, commented: "With such an upgrade to be applied to its four A340 aircraft in operation on the long haul sector, TAP continues to ensure the quality and reliability of the in-flight entertainment systems equipping its fleet across the whole Network. Thereby, the company provides customers with a superior level of comfort and quality on board, living up to their expectations and aligning with the best practices within the Industry."

The installation will be performed at TAP's facilities in Lisbon, Portugal after completion of Marshall Aerospace's activities in Cambridge, UK.

The contract was awarded through a traditional competitive bid process. A contributing factor in Marshall Aerospace's success was the company's track record on similar upgrade programmes, which presented TAP with the lowest risk proposal.

MARSHALL BUSINESS AVIATION CONGRATULATES CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY ON THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF ...

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:18:09 +0100

PHOTO CAPTION: Sir Michael Marshall (left), Chairman of the Marshall Group, presents Tom Perry, Regional Sales Manager of Cessna Aircraft Company, with an engraving to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Clyde Cessna’s first flight. The presentation was made at this year’s Business & General Aviation Day (BGAD).

Marshall Business Aviation has presented Cessna Aircraft Company with an engraving to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Clyde Cessna’s first flight. The presentation took place at this year’s highly successful Business & General Aviation Day (BGAD), as hosted by Cambridge Airport on Tuesday 20th September 2011.

Marshall Aerospace, part of the Marshall Group (which celebrated its centenary in 2009), has close links with Cessna, having been an approved Cessna Citation service centre since 1974.

Sir Michael Marshall, Chairman of the Marshall Group, presented the engraving to Tom Perry, Regional Sales Manager, Cessna at BGAD, and commented: "We are proud to have been Cessna’s UK Service Centre for nearly 40 very happy years of co-operation and we have formed many friendships. We congratulate Cessna on having joined us as a centenarian, as both of our companies owe their success to the work of inspirational founders. We look forward to working with Cessna for many years to come."

Accepting the engraving on behalf of Cessna, Perry said: "That first flight, 100 years ago, must have made a huge impression on the young Clyde Cessna; so much so that he went on to found a company that built thousands of business jets and hundreds of thousands of single engine aircraft. He taught the world to fly. And it is fitting that Marshall, themselves a centenarian, should have offered this tribute. It is a testament to the quality of both organisations that we have stood the test of time, and we hope that our relationship of working together may continue for many years, perhaps even centuries, to come."