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News Release from: Manufacturing Advisory Service - East Midlands | Subject: Environmental credentials - MAS East - UK
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 23 January 2007
Gaining environmental credentials -
support given
Support from a UK manufacturing advisory service is helping an aerospace subcontractor to gain enviromental credentials - regarded as soon to be compulsory in this sector.
A Nottinghamshire, UK aerospace firm, which supplies one of the world's biggest names in aerospace, is making great strides towards securing its long-term future and winning more orders Thanks to support it's received from the Manufacturing Advisory Service in the East Midlands (MAS EM), Midland Aerospace is well on its way to earning the environmental credentials, which could soon become mandatory for businesses supplying this demanding sector
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 1 Aug 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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The Sutton-in-Ashfield firm, which employs 75 workers, supplies aerospace giant Airbus, making machined and fabricated parts for aircraft wings, including the A400M military transporter which will replace ageing fleets of G130 Hercules and C-160 Transports currently in service with air forces across the globe.
Midland Aerospace's managing director Eamon Lyons said: "We operate in a vastly competitive market and Airbus is becoming increasingly keen that its suppliers reduce their impact on the environment.
It's only a matter of time before this environmental certification becomes mandatory and with expert help from MAS, we've made sure that we're in a very strong position to respond before this happens." Five days of funding and support to train the company about the environmentally friendly procedures it needs to adopt to win the ISO14001 certification came through MAS EM's LiftOff scheme, which helps aerospace businesses in disadvantaged parts of the East Midlands to boost their profits.
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The environmental management system standard is awarded when a company can systematically show its commitment to protecting the environment by, for example, working to restrict carbon emissions, reduce electricity consumption and recycle more waste products.
The certification will also help open up the global aerospace market to Midland Aerospace.
Mick Snell, quality manager at Midland Aerospace and responsible for putting together the company's environmental management system, said: "We were extremely impressed by practitioner Richard Hopkinson who was assigned to us by MAS.
He has an expert knowledge of what is a technical minefield, so was able to look at our systems and know exactly what we need to do to comply with the auditor's rigorous requirements and identify where there was room for improving our environmental performance.
"Tackling this area without outside help would have been extremely time consuming and while we were aware, for example that waste materials need to be disposed off by approved companies, it was helpful to gain a better understanding of the legal requirement to have specific documentary evidence of its correct disposal." The LiftOff programme, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is heavily subsidised and is available to manufacturing companies, which are connected to the aerospace industry and based in an Objective 2 area of the region.
It can provide help on a range of business areas including developing new workforce skills, introducing new business competencies and processes plus marketing support to look at new markets and diversification.
MAS is looking for companies to take advantage of this offer before March 2007.
MAS can also help small and medium-sized companies outside the aerospace sector to improve their competitiveness.
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