Bristol City Council - Invest in Bristol - Case studies
Case Studies for Bristol City Council - Invest in Bristol
Airbus
Since its first aircraft delivery in 1971 Airbus has grown to become one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, and today consistently captures approximately half of all orders for airliners with more than 100 seats. Airbus’ global presence encompasses 38 sites worldwide employing 57,000 people within training centres, design offices, spares centres, industrial facilities, and a headquarters in Toulouse, France. Airbus’ Wing and Pylon Centre of Excellence is led from the UK, with wing and fuel system design and landing gear integration undertaken at Filton, which as an integral part of the organisation employs over 6000 people. Direct, indirect and induced employment supports approximately 37,000 jobs within the South West, where Airbus sources 40 per cent of its supplies.
Links with neighbouring communities are integral. Airbus actively promotes skills development through collaboration with academia and Government bodies, and our award winning apprenticeship programme has trained over 6000 apprentices in three decades.
This year Airbus’ single-aisle A320 family celebrates 20 years since its first commercial flight, whilst the high-technology 525-seat A380 is driving standards for eco-efficiency with a 17 per cent reduction in fuel burn per seat compared to its closest competitor, and its recent participation in an alternative fuel research programme, making it the first commercial aircraft to fly with a synthetic liquid fuel processed from gas.
Airbus’ commitment to Filton and eco-efficiency has driven a £12 million research centre for the development of lightweight, high-strength composite materials, enhancing skills such as those used in the design and assembly of the metallic/composite hybrid wings used for the A400M, military transport aircraft. Such skills will undoubtedly continue to support Bristol’s vibrant economy and provide a strong foundation for future growth.
Environmental Lean Solutions
Environmental Lean Solutions is a unique consultancy committed to providing companies with the advice, training, support and tools necessary in today’s economic and environmental climate to become world leaders in their sector.
Specialising in lean business transformations, lean consultancy, environmental consultancy (including carbon profiling), people development, due diligence and risk management, Environmental Lean Solutions also expects to be announcing the alignment of its MSc course offering with a leading Bristol university very shortly.
Established in 2005, the company strategically relocated to Queen Square, Bristol, in 2008 to house its rapidly growing team of consultants and in-house specialists. This new, prestigious city centre location places Environmental Lean Solutions right at the heart of a city whose ethos echoes its own – A clean future, without limits.
As Alan Bailey, Director of Environmental Lean Solutions and Chairman of Bristol Environmental Technology & Services Sector (BETS), says, “Bristol is recognised as a hub for innovation and excellence in manufacturing and we expect to help the city position itself as the green collar capital of Europe, using unique people development programmes and driving world class business practice."
Alan and the Managing Director, Paul Albone, themselves educated in Bristol, were especially keen to draw on the strong talent pool Bristol attracts, both home grown and as a result of being such a desirable relocation destination. Going forward, the company is already planning to expand into additional city centre premises and is set to make a further considerable investment into the city through its sister project development company, ABS Renewables.
Marine Current Turbines Ltd
Marine Current Turbines Ltd (MCT) has a world lead in the field of tidal current turbine development.
The company’s former parent company built the world’s first tidal turbine in 1994 (a 10kW system which now sits on a plinth in the car park outside the company offices next to Bristol Parkway station) and MCT subsequently went on to install the world’s first “full size” tidal turbine, the 300kW Seaflow system installed off Lynmouth in 2003. Very recently, April 2008, MCT has completed and installed the world’s first commercial Scale tidal turbine – the 1200kW SeaGen system installed in Strangford Narrows, Northern Ireland, which is by far the largest and most sophisticated device of its kind world-wide.
MCT has a highly qualified team of twelve engineers working from the company head office in Stoke Gifford. Tidal turbines have much in common with wind turbines and small hydro systems other than that they need to be installed in the open sea and therefore there are major and complex engineering issues related to the aggressive environment. The company was originally based in Basingstoke after its formation in 2000, but one reason for the move to Bristol in 2004 was to facilitate recruitment of the highly experienced and well-qualified engineering team needed to succeed with such innovative technical developments.
Martin Wright, Managing Director of MCT, says “Bristol has proved to be exactly the right kind of location to start a new high tech industry, thanks to synergies with its thriving industrial base and the excellent transport infrastructure serving the city”.
www.marineturbines.com
Bristol Port Company
Bristol has one of the world’s most productive and technically advanced ports, and is preparing to build a massive new deep sea container terminal, so it is no surprise that ships from every corner of the globe call at Bristol Port with cargos ranging from cars to bulk goods.
Today’s Bristol Port Company was formed in 1991 when the Bristol Port Authority was privatised. The company remains a privately owned independent business, headquartered at the port, with an estate of over 2,600 acres providing employment for over 7,600 people.
The location is what makes Bristol special. It is the only major UK port with direct motorway and rail connections to the North, South, East and West. Bristol Port brings ships closer to the centre of the UK than any other deep-sea port which results in huge savings in cost and CO2 as the inland distributor’s leg is significantly reduced. The Port also has 1,000 acres of developable land adjacent to the terminal around Severnside Distribution giving a wide range of options for handling logistics.
Simon Bird, Chief Executive, said:
“Bristol has everything we need to be a thriving 21st Century port. We have invested over £500m here since privatisation and the new Deep Sea Container Terminal will inject a further £600m investment. We invest here not just because of the superb connectivity of the area but also because the people have the right skills and attitudes to ensure that we deliver the right results for our customers every time.”
Rolls-Royce
Engine production has flourished at the Rolls-Royce site in Patchway, north Bristol since 1915, and today the site employs around 3,500 highly-skilled people from the company’s Defence, Operations and Marine businesses.
Around half of the Bristol team is responsible for the design, development, manufacture and support of some of the world’s most sophisticated military aircraft engines, including the EJ200 for the Typhoon and the LiftSystem and F136 for the F-35 Lightning II (Joint Strike Fighter).
The Marine division provides power for navies around the world, including the Royal Navy’s Type 45 Destroyer and the US Navy’s multi mission destroyer and Littoral Combat Ship programmes.
Rolls-Royce is investing £75 million to transform the site, building environmentally-friendly manufacturing and assembly factories, new training facilities and updating existing offices.
A new Operations factory producing turbines and other civil and military engine components opened in September 2007 and the Defence Aerospace engine assembly facility was completed in December 2007.
This redevelopment has enabled the site to attract additional work including the development assembly and test for the Environmentally Friendly Engine programme, which includes the conversion of a new test bed with the assistance of the South West Regional Development Agency.
Commenting on the investment programme, Martin Fausset - Managing Director of Rolls-Royce in Bristol – said:
"Bristol has been responsible for some of the most innovative aircraft and engines ever produced, powering Concorde and the Harrier, and we are now investing to ensure that the teams here continue to play a key role in shaping the engine technologies of the future."
www.rolls-royce.com
Thring Townsend Lee & Pembertons
Thring Townsend Lee & Pembertons has enjoyed a long history of successful law practice over several hundred years. It was first established in the West of England and, as the firm continued to build its national reputation in local markets, it successfully completed a merger with the Bristol branch of Laytons Solicitors in September 2005. With offices already based in Bath and Swindon, the developing regional centre of Bristol was a natural choice to locate the Western end of the firm; counterbalancing the firm’s growth along the M4 corridor to London.
The Bristol office has continued to develop offering a wide range of legal services, including Pensions, Debt Collection, Insolvency, Banking, Intellectual Property, Employment, Family, Commercial Litigation and Construction. Recruitment has been buoyant in Bristol, which has become a natural magnet for qualified professionals in search of a better work / life balance based upon the City’s status as a major regional centre with excellent transport links, including an international airport.
As a result of further growth plans, Thring Townsend Lee & Pembertons has recently relocated the Bristol office to a larger space at the Paragon in Victoria Street, which is an exciting development by Bristol based company, Cubex Land. This new office is a further sign of the firm’s commitment to Bristol and to the future. Managing Partner, Thomas Sheppard, states that: “This new home in the heart of Bristol not only allows room for our continued expansion, but it also matches our aspirations for the future and meets our business needs.”
www.ttuk.com
Toshiba Research Europe Limited's Telecommunications Research Laboratory (TRL)
For 10 Years Toshiba Research Europe Limited's Telecommunications Research Laboratory (TRL) has been at the forefront of research into the next generation of wireless communications technology.
This technology enables access to the ever more complex and richer content on increasingly sophisticated mobile devices and networks. Multi-antenna technology is boosting data-rates, and Toshiba's cognitive radio innovations mean that devices can continuously adapt to their environment to optimise the communications experience. Wireless technology is entering the home, with high data-rate multi-media streaming between home entertainment equipment and personal area networking for wireless communications on the desktop. Computing, communication and content are converging and Toshiba TRL is one of the pioneering centres behind it.
TRL is one of Toshiba's Corporations main wireless research facilities. The lab works closely with the company's Corporate Research and Development Centre in Japan's high tech city of Kawasaki. So why set up a research facility in Bristol of all places?
The answer is relatively straightforward, according to Professor Joe McGeehan who heads up Toshiba's TRL facility.
"Toshiba chose Bristol because of the wealth of talented individuals and technological expertise in the area. TRL also enjoys a productive relationship with Bristol University's Centre for Communications Research, one of the UK's most prestigious centres of learning."
But that's not all, explains the Professor:
"Bristol also offers quality housing, lots of leisure opportunities and its location near the M4 and M5 makes it well-placed for the fast moving communications industry."
Many other leading companies in telecoms, multimedia and computing are already making it an attractive base for a legion of the world's top technologists. It's no wonder the city continues to expand rapidly and TRL is celebrating its 10th anniversary in this city.
www.toshiba-europe.com/research/trl/index.html
