Mims Davies Welcomes Lifeboats from Across Britain to Independent Lifeboats Reception in Parliament

The Member of Parliament for Eastleigh, Mims Davies, welcomed Independent Lifeboats including Hamble Lifeboat, from across the country to a first Independent Lifeboats event in the Attlee Suite in the House of Commons on Wednesday 16th October. This event was a real breakthrough in learning and sharing and raising awareness of their incredible lifesaving and community work.

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight were well represented with six Lifeboats attending from our local area including Hamble Lifeboat, including the Solent Sea-Rescue Organisation(SSRO), a charitable organisation who work to assist Independent Lifeboats in the preservation of life and prevention of injury at sea on the foreshore of the Solent and on the beaches of the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Other Lifeboat teams attending were from as far afield as South West Wales, Norfolk, Lancashire, and Yorkshire.

Commenting, Eastleigh MP, Mims Davies said:

“I was really pleased to welcome so many brilliant Independent Lifeboats from across the country to Parliament on Wednesday. This event started as a promise I made to Hamble Lifeboat to help them be better understood for the huge daily work they all do and to give them a chance to meet and network with their colleagues from all parts of the UK and I am grateful to our kind sponsors, as well as the RNLI, for their vital support in helping make this event happen. I know that there were many constructive conversations taking place throughout the event focusing on the best ways to make sure all our coastline and waterways are safe for everyone who wants to make the most of them.

 “This reception was a great opportunity for independent lifeboats to share ideas, network and relax after a long hot summer of work and enjoy Afternoon Tea courtesy of our generous sponsors: SC Group, SCISYS and Bosch Rexroth. It was also brilliant to be joined by our excellent Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani MP, who made time to show her appreciation to the sector and all they do in so many communities.”

Commenting, Maritime Minister, Nusrat Ghani MP said:

“I am proud of the long tradition of independent lifeboat charities we have in the UK. Our search and rescue volunteers show unrivalled bravery and dedication every single day – standing ready to respond and often risking their lives to save others.

 “That is why we continue to support them to carry out this work, including through our Rescue Boat Grant Fund, which enables the purchase of vital equipment to keep communities safe.”

Commenting Marie, a Crew Member from Hamble Lifeboat, said:

 “We (The representatives from Hamble Lifeboat) were delighted with the opportunity that Eastleigh MP Mims Davies provided to meet and interact with other Independent lifeboats from across the UK.  The reception provided an opportunity to engage on a variety of common issues faced by independent lifeboats and to raise much needed awareness amongst the many members of parliament that attended – this included highlighting the continuing importance of the Department for Transport grants and the Rescue Boat Grant Fund, for which Hamble are extremely grateful recipients.  We hope to be able to make this an annual event, and engage with the wider emergency services, Coastguard and RNLI with whom we work on a daily basis.  Our thanks go to the sponsors and organisers of this years’ event.”

Commenting Lizzie Jones, Operations Director at SC Group, said:

“We were thrilled to be able to sponsor an event for the Independent Lifeboat Stations and see some of their hard work being recognised by Parliament, I was humbled by their stories of saving lives on a volunteer basis whilst being self-funded.  The Independent Lifeboat Stations are a credit to the UK and we would be delighted to be able work with them in the future.”

Commenting Paul Bowden, Director of Sales and Operations at Bosch Rexroth, said:

“It was great talking to the Rescue Crews [on Wednesday] and hearing the fantastic work that they do day in and day out. At Bosch Rexroth we are proud to work supporting this sector in the UK, providing state of the art equipment. It was also great to support and help make the day a great occasion for these teams.”

Ovivo tasks SC Innovation with testing water filtration components for Hinkley Point ‘C’

SC Innovation, the design and engineering arm of Devon based SC Group, has completed structural tests on key water filtration components for Ovivo UK, which is supplying the cooling water intake screening system for Hinkley Point ‘C’.

The tests, which were conducted in January at SC Innovation’s Dunkeswell facility and witnessed by representatives from Ovivo UK, assessed the structural strength of the proposed mesh panels to be used for the Drum Screen. This is a key part of the cooling water intake screening system, which will be used to cool both the electricity generating steam-cycle and the nuclear reactor services of the new nuclear power plant.

The 1m x 1.5m mesh panels will be fitted to four 27m diameter drums, which complete a full rotation every 35 minutes. Water enters from the side and flows through the panels radially from the inside to the outside, filtering through the mesh. The debris collected in the mesh is then cleaned using jets of water and a hopper.

The tests examined potential deformation by applying pressure cycles to the mesh to determine whether the mesh would withstand service at its maximum design pressure. Three different meshes were successfully tested at various pressure increments to a maximum of 3.5 times the mesh design pressure, without a single failure. Linear Variable Displacement Transducers (LVDT’s) continuously captured displacement measurements at various positions on the mesh whilst also recording pressure and temperature measurements. The data captured was recorded and analysed using state of the art data acquisition software configured for this test by SC Innovation.

SC Innovation won the project from Ovivo UK based on the comprehensive engineering capabilities available across SC Group and its agility, original thinking and rigorous approach to planning, testing and reporting. Joe Wilcox, Head of SC Innovation, commented, “This project fits within one of our core competencies; delivering engineering projects demanding high levels of compliance with strict regulatory and technical standards. We worked closely with Ovivo UK to complete the project successfully, matching our capabilities to their requirements along the way and positioning ourselves to pursue further opportunities in the nuclear sector in new build, existing generation and decommissioning”.

Ovivo UK have been awarded the contract to supply Nuclear New Build (NNB) / Électricité de France S.A. (EDF; Electricity of France) with the water inlet system for the Hinkley Point ‘C’ (HPC) Nuclear Power Station, which will be one of the largest filtration systems in the world when installed.  As part of the Contract Ovivo are required to test the filtration mesh panel system to demonstrate that it can achieve the required performance parameters based on the various load conditions that the equipment will be expected to encounter during its working life.

Ovivo are currently working with the HPC Supply Chain Support Team at the Somerset Energy Innovation Centre in Bridgwater to identify and engage local fabrication companies and test houses. Having undertaken an extensive review of the local test houses Ovivo have engaged SC Innovation, who are based in Dunkeswell, Devon, to undertake the testing programme for the mesh panels.

SC Innovation’s experience coupled with their high standards and professional approach has resulted in the successful testing of the filtration mesh panels, which in turn has allowed Ovivo to complete a significant design milestone”, said Sid Jones, Supply Chain Manager, Ovivo UK.

SC Innovation is F4N (Fit for Nuclear) accredited and the project is its second for Hinkley Point C, following on from providing Engineering Design and Project Management Support to Blackhill Engineering, also part of SC Group, in delivering heavy steel structures for the temporary jetty at the Hinkley Point C site near Bridgwater.

SC Innovation’s engineering capabilities are in mechanical and electrical engineering, structural analysis, structural optimisation, fluid structural simulation and test and validation, including full system prototype build.  The business has an established production capability carrying out low rate, high quality builds. Together with the in-house project management team these capabilities have combined to deliver projects for energy and marine customers, often in partnership with academic and industrial partners.

Hinkley Point C is the first nuclear power plant to be built in the UK for decades and is one of Europe’s biggest construction sites. The project will create 25,000 job opportunities and aims to create 1,000 apprenticeships during construction.

 

Lord Lieutenant of Devon presents Queen’s Award to Supacat

Export success for world beating special forces vehicles – made in Devon

One of Britain’s few military vehicle designers and manufacturers, Supacat’s special forces vehicles have a reputation for being among the best in the world.  The company’s recent export success has earned it the UK’s most prestigious business award.  A large order from Australia followed by contracts from Norway and New Zealand for its Special Forces HMT Extenda vehicle grew the company’s overseas earnings from £2.5m to over £32m over the last three years.  The vehicle is one of Supacat’s family of military high mobility and protected vehicles, which include the acclaimed `Jackal` and `Coyote` operated by the UK Armed Forces.

“It’s a huge honour to celebrate this award with all our staff, distinguished guests from local government, our customers, supply chain and professional services providers.  The long cycle involved in developing our products means we’re here because of the hard work started 30 years ago by our founder, Nick Jones, and his team; and the dedication of our current staff will no doubt gain similar recognition in the future”, said Nick Ames.

Privately owned, Supacat, part of SC Group, has been trading for over 30 years in the heart of Devon.  Over the last decade has grown its core defence vehicle business and expanded its engineering services into the nuclear, energy and marine sectors.  With offices in the UK and Australia, Supacat and the wider SC Group employ over 200 people and have exported products and services all over the globe.

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