INDUSTRY TEAMINGS
Mar 08. Chemring Group PLC and Cranfield University signed a five-year partnership agreement to conduct research and development in energetic materials to advance the underpinning science base, develop new products, and enhance the UK skill-base in a field which is strategically important for UK security and defence. The partnership was announced at a signing ceremony attended by Lord Digby Jones, Minister for Trade & Investment who was on a regional visit to South East. The Minister commented: “This creative partnership between an internationally successful British company and a leading university is the type of innovative thinking which is critical to sustain and develop the competitiveness of UK business. I am particularly heartened that part of the agreement is the development of the UK skills base in chemistry, physics and advanced energetic materials, which will be vital for the long-term future of the industry.” Dr David Price, Chief Executive of Chemring Group PLC said, “This partnership is a key element in our strategy to become the world leader in countermeasures and energetic materials. We need to continuously develop new technologies and products to achieve our long-term objectives. Signing the research agreement with Cranfield is a cornerstone of our long-term strategy to maintain and develop our skills and competence over the next ten years.”
Under the partnership agreement, Chemring and Cranfield scientists will work together on a range of projects to improve product performance, enhance safety, reduce environmental impacts and facilitate full product life-cycle management from manufacture to disposal. In addition to meeting the objectives of Chemring and Cranfield University, this partnership is also fully aligned with the UK MoD’s Defence Technology Strategy, which identifies energetic materials as a field where it is critical for the UK to maintain a core technical capability to underpin operational sovereignty, and also identifies a risk that the country’s energetics expertise will fall below critical mass.
17 Mar 08. CHC Helicopter Corporation and Thales UK are pleased to announce that the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has joined their team bidding for the planned new UK Search and Rescue (SAR) service. CHC and Thales say the addition of the RBS as an equity partner adds significant new strength to the team, bringing as it does world-class experience of project finance and private finance initiative (PFI) programmes.