CREATION ADDING VALUE TO PENMAN’S GROWING CAPABILITY
19 Dec 11. Penman Group has begun to realise its plans and ambitions for Creation UK, the design engineering and development house it acquired earlier this year. In addition to ramping up its involvement on both external customer and in-house programmes, it has more than doubled the engineering and technical staff at the Hampshire-based facility. Latest senior appointments include the creation of a specialist electrical engineering team and additional design engineers. Workshop resources have been similarly strengthened and some trials programmes have been relocated south from the Group’s main plant in Scotland.
Penman Group Managing Director, Bryan Findlay says, “Investing in people is a cornerstone of our business model and an embedded part of Penman culture. That is reflected in the high calibre, specialist experience and, in many cases, the industry reputations of those who work with us. Creation’s advanced design engineering, development and analysis capability was one of the key attractions for us – as were a good number of the people who went with that. Our re-investment in those teams is now delivering benefits across our own production and manufacturing operations, as well as the escalating throughput for our external customers and partners. In addition, having a group facility in the south, strategically accessible for our main UK customer base – as well as the main international airports, is an important advantage for the Group’s future plans”.
The company has recently completed a concept-up all-terrain vehicle project for an undisclosed Middle East defence agency. The vehicle has proved highly successful in trials and will shortly enter in-country production. Creation’s engineering analysis unit is currently engaged on an advanced simulation, diagnostic and electronic signature study on protected platforms for EOD and IEDD applications. Other on-going projects include a range of mainstream automotive and componentry work.
The first production left-hand-drive Penman Creation Zephyr protected multi-role vehicle (MRV) is on schedule for the year end. In a further new development, intended to reduce the group’s requirement for out-sourcing, major structures including the main chassis, have been manufactured in-house at Penman’s Dumfries plant. The Z-MRV programme marks the start of the collaborative partnership between Penman Group and Saudi-Arabia based-ERAF Industries, part of Fahad International Company Limited.
ERAF Industries is Saudi Arabia’s leading armoured vehicle upgrade and remanufacturing specialist – and the development marks the inauguration of its expansion into full vehicle construction. The partnership involves a significant element of technology transfer and includes the establishment of a new in-country operation to develop and jointly manufacture the Zephyr MRV family of vehicles for tri-service applications in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Penman Group has fulfilled a significant string of successful UK and international defence and security programmes including explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and specialist vehicles, armoured patrol vehicles, mine clearing systems, protected construction equipment and cash in transit conversions. The group also owns Aardvark, which makes the world’s most effective operationally proven landmine clearance machine.
The company’s combined capability is now formidable – and has grown in recent years to include complete vehicle system design and integration solutions – from concept, through design, development, testing, manufacturing and through life logistical support worldwide. Penman also supports a broad range of UK military, diplomatic, police and blue-chip commercial clients, in addition to international projects in the Middle-East, Far-East and Africa.
Creation came to prominence as the design firm behind a series of successful, imaginative military vehi