KMF goes straight for Silver to reinforce aerospace capability

In a bold, but calculated move, the company opted to bypass the Bronze level award and go straight for Silver, confident that its existing systems and working practices were already in advance of that. "At the time that we decided to submit ourselves for the SC21programme there were fewer than ten businesses that had achieved Silver accreditation, out of a supplier base of 1000s," said Terry Kimberlin, KMF's UK sales manager. "This highlighted the difficulty of achieving this level of accreditation, but we were confident that given the systems that we already had in place would fit neatly into the SC21 programme and, with some minor adjustments to other areas of the business, it made sense to aim for the Silver Award from the outset. To be in such a small group of businesses, in what is a very competitive market sector, is a major boost to KMF and to all of the employees that have contributed to the success in gaining Silver SC21 status, and the ongoing growth in the business as a whole." KMF was helped through the process by TPT Consultancy & Training to gain the approval, which is overseen by A|D|S, the trade organisation tasked with advancing the UK aerospace, defence, and security industries. With the opening of its Advanced Solutions facility in March 2011, KMF (Precision Sheet Metal) has committed major investment to the aerospace, security and defence, in addition to the medical sector in which it already has long term partnerships. While not a mandatory requirement for working in the aerospace and defence sectors KMF recognised that to gain Silver SC21 accreditation would play a major part in assisting it to win new business. "The potential in these sectors more than justifies the hard work and commitment that everyone involved at KMF has invested into the project," says Terry Kimberlin "Even though we continue to see strong growth in our more traditional sheet processing business, we recognise that the aerospace and defence markets provide many opportunities. With the combination of our existing skills and processes, and the additional benefits of Silver SC21 accreditation, we are in a strong position to convert some of those opportunities into sustainable business." KMF's further advance into the aerospace, defence and medical sectors through its Advanced Solutions manufacturing facility, which is located in a separate building to its 80,000 ft2 manufacturing plant, will help the company take its annual turnover beyond the £30 million mark in the current financial year. It features the latest in sheet metal processing equipment, as well as a computer controlled tower inventory system and an electro static discharge (ESD) compliant integration suite with special flooring and benches designed to protect delicate/sensitive components from static build up during assembly. Image: Terry Kimberlin, KMF's UK sales manager (left) receives the Silver SC21 award from Peter Hogg of BAe Systems and SC21 chairman