Leading engineering design company, PES Performance is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the AMP Technology Centre; the company’s base at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).
The Technology Centre was officially opened on 2nd November 2006 by triple Formula 1 World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart.
The company have been based in the Centre since 2010 and since arriving have found the Technology Centre and the wider AMP to be the ideal location for their business.
Managing director Mike Maddock explains. “We were initially attracted to the AMP by the wide range of technical and support services we required that were able to complement our expertise, and which were available on the Park and in the surrounding Rotherham / Sheffield area.
“The Technology Centre provided the ideal first step to locating the company on the AMP, both for the benefits of location; expertise etc., but also that the look and feel of the place enhanced our brand aspirations, particularly in the early years of the business.”
The PES Performance team have been involved in a number of projects over recent months, ranging from reverse engineering a classic car and scanning a vintage aircraft, to developing a new automotive product and quality inspecting components for the water and energy industries. The projects have also taken them throughout the UK, to Europe and more recently to the US.
Another benefit of locating at the AMP has been the number of opportunities for PES Performance to collaborate on major research projects; collaborations that would not necessarily have been as easy to establish from another more remote base.
These have included a £100,000 research project evaluating the potential use of bio-composite materials in the production of future automotive vehicle bodywork panels, and a current project where PES design engineers are part of a research team developing a revolutionary system to cut transport emissions and costs while boosting reliability and durability.
The project with Tinsley Bridge and the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), will see the development of metal composite hybrid anti-roll bars for heavy-duty suspension technology used in trucks and trains.
Increased demand for its 3D scanning, quality inspection and reverse engineering services prompted PES Performance’s move into a larger unit within the AMP Technology Centre this year. The new scanning centre facilities enable client products to be more easily scanned, and direct access to the workshop scanning area allows vehicles, aerospace components and large industrial parts to be easily accommodated.
As Mike further comments; “Over the last year demand from clients for these services has increased significantly. Our clients utilise 3D scanning in a variety of ways; some for reverse engineering and design optimisation; whilst others use scanning to undertake quality assurance and inspection processes, identifying potential manufacturing defects in components and in reviewing critical tooling, jigs and fixtures.
“We wanted to improve our facilities so that clients can choose whether to use our bureau scanning service or for our scanning team to visit their facilities. Initially it took some time to find the perfect facility for our requirements, but we were determined to remain at the AMP. It is the ideal location for a high performance business like ours, working in an innovative and collaborative environment and we have many clients and partners located on the AMP.”
