06 Dec 11. MacNeillie, now one of the UK’s largest bodybuilder and vehicle integrators serving the emergency services, defence and security sectors, is well towards breaking its own record for business throughput, having significantly increased its core business and begun to open up its composites capability to a wider international market. Most recently, it has also revealed plans for future long term succession at the firm with a number of senior management appointments.

Ahead of the London Olympics next year, the market-leading specialist vehicle converter has delivered an unprecedented range of assets, including units for gold, silver and bronze command applications across all three of Britain’s emergency services and other agencies. These include a number of advanced incident command, control and communications units, an array of soft-skin and protected support vehicles and carriers – and specialist vehicle platforms for applications such as horse transport and underwater search and rescue.

The majority of these also demonstrate MacNeillie’s recognised capability for design, adaptation and integration of standard volume production ‘commercial off the shelf’ (COTS) vehicles to meet bespoke and specialised operational roles. Importantly, the company also retains the ability to decommission units as part of scheduled fleet replacement, redeployment or end of operational life planning, returning the base vehicle to original specification for resale with good asset residual value.

MacNeillie is recognised as a leader in front line emergency ambulance design and lower priority patient transport units – both of which it has supplied in large numbers to health trusts across the UK. It is in these – and its range of tactical personnel carriers for riot control – that it has fast-tracked the use of advanced composite materials.

Applications require exceptional strength and durability without compromising payload capacity, due to the ever increasing inventory of specialist equipment required on board.

In the defence sector, the firm has developed lightweight composite components for both interior and exterior vehicle applications – again, to mitigate the payload penalties associated with heavier materials. Examples include wheel arch panels and wings for protected vehicles – which can be regarded as sacrificial in the event of a blast or IED incident – and where traditional construction arrangements might serve to contain an explosion rather than allow it to dissipate.

Up to now, the firm has retained virtually all its composites capacity for in-house supply – and for vehicle related applications. Now, with the planned expansion of its composites division, it has begun to expand the capability to serve a wider international market. It is already making some components for the aerospace, rail and performance car industries – and it expects some of its further growth to evolve through strategic alliances and joint ventures in other countries.

In other developments, the company has confirmed a number of Board level and senior management changes as part of its long term succession plan. Outgoing Managing Director, Keith Bradley has stepped up to become Chairman after forty years at the firm and former Commercial Director, Nigel Rowley has been appointed as the new Managing Director. Other key positions remain unchanged, with Sue Beatty as Systems Director, Dave Foster as Finance Director and Chris Taylor as Engineering Director – whilst David Beatty joins the Board as Procurement Director.