Engineering firm secures funds to streamline aerospace manufacturing and help industry bounce back post covid
Midlands-based firm TextureJet has recently been awarded nearly £150k funding from the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP), which aims to help SMEs innovate in aerospace. The funding will further develop TextureJet’s own innovative surface processing technology STAT, to help streamline production lines within the aerospace industry.
Research indicates that the project, known as STREAM: ‘Surface Texture Re-tooling for Efficient Aerospace Manufacturing’ could lead to an 80% reduction of non-value process steps when preparing surfaces for bonding; key process areas in both propulsion and aerostructures within aerospace manufacturing. These efficiency gains will represent significant financial savings for the industry.
Creation of advanced manufacturing technologies such as STAT are critical to ensuring UK manufacturing is globally competitive. With the effects of Covid-19, now more than ever, streamlining production in the UK aerospace industry is critical for survival and regrowth.
“By further developing our patented STAT technology, we’re confident that STREAM can play a key role in reducing production costs in the aerospace industry and help it to bounce back from the effects of COVID-19”. Jonathon Mitchell – Smith, Managing Director, TextureJet Ltd.
In this difficult economic environment, securing STREAM funding allows TextureJet to enhance regional employment within manufacturing, which has been hard hit by the coronavirus, helping to safeguard 6 existing positions as well as the creation of 7 further positions by 2022. It has already led to the recruitment of a new graduate design engineer at the end of 2020.
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