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03 Dec 14. Jankel Armouring Ltd strengthens its UK engineering and manufacturing by becoming majority shareholder in Vtrade. Jankel Armouring Ltd has today announced that it has become the majority shareholder of Vtrade Engineering. Vtrade Worldwide (as it was previously known) is a multidisciplined provider of innovative engineering solutions to military, government, commercial and motor sport markets, offering a wealth of technical engineering expertise; demonstrated by a tangible track record of success supporting projects such as the UK Military’s Foxhound Vehicle. Vtrade’s experience and strategic partnerships enable them to provide a vertically integrated vehicle supply service from initial concept, design and testing, through to production and aftermarket parts and servicing. Vtrade will retain its own identity and be managed as a separate business, under the new name of Vtrade Engineering Limited, enabling continued delivery with the same speed and flexibility but with a central resource to improve economies of scale and provide a stronger proposition to the customer. This mutually agreed strategy between Jankel and Vtrade enables them to continue operating in their individual markets but with improved engineering and manufacturing capabilities. The companies will continue to operate from their existing facilities in Weybridge and Henfield respectively.
Mike Mullen, Managing Director of Jankel comments “This investment in Vtrade strengthens the position of both companies and opens up additional opportunities. Jankel has worked with Vtrade on a number of projects, building a strong relationship and respect for their team. This exciting venture will enhance and expand the capabilities and capacity of Jankel within the UK”.
Paul Tarry, Managing Director of Vtrade concludes “Having Jankel as a major shareholder will now allow us to continue with our growth plans, safe in the knowledge that we have the backing of a well-respected industry player. There are great synergies between the two organisations and I am confident that working as part of the
Jankel Group will be beneficial to both companies as well as our customers”.
The new company began trading on 1 October 2014 with a seamless transition. Jankel continue to grow their global operations with facilities in the UK, USA and Jordan specialising in protection and mobility in the military and commercial vehicle markets.
BATTLESPACE Comment: This is a smart move by Jankel as Vtrade was reported as struggling to replace the key Foxhound contract it lost when GDUK took the work back in-house after the end of the JV with Ricardo. Vtrade is reported as having carried out some sub-contract work for Jankel.
02 Dec 14. Ricardo joins key UK government-industry defence partnership. Ricardo has become an associate member of Niteworks, the government-industry partnership – including the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Defence Science & Technology Laboratory – that aims to provide decision support to enhance current and future UK defence capabilities. The role of the Niteworks partnership is to analyse problems, examine options and de-risk requirements, in order to helping the MoD to make better, faster and more informed procurement decisions across the spectrum of future UK defence capability. As an associate member of the partnership, Ricardo will be in a position to contribute its technical consulting expertise to the delivery of projects in support of future MoD decision making. Being an associate member of Niteworks will also enable Ricardo to contribute to the two way exchange of information between industry and the MoD to influence future thinking in defence capabilities. “Becoming an associate member of Niteworks is an important step forward for Ricardo’s defence business,” commented John Stre