ROGER MEDWELL OF NP AEROSPACE NAMED BATTLESPACE BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR 2009
By Julian Nettlefold
Tucked away on a street in the centre of Coventry, is a world-beating advanced composite armour facility – NP Aerospace Ltd. The Company reached its 80th Birthday in 2006.
The NP team founded in 1926 is one of the oldest technical moulding operations in the world. NP currently manufacturers ultra lightweight, ballistic protective, x-ray transparent and stealth composite structures.
Roger Medwell joined this business as an apprentice in 1960, qualified as a Chartered Engineer in 1973 and took over as General Manager in 1978. He was appointed Director of the Courtaulds Advanced Materials Division of the Courtaulds Group in 1983. The Group comprised of some 20 plus sites worldwide including three sites in the USA. In 1999 he oversaw the restructuring of the business from a Courtaulds company to a private one. The restructuring included developing the business from the production of commodity products for textile, domestic appliances and the automotive industries to niche advanced composite mouldings for defence, medical and aerospace industries. The restructuring included moving the team from a hierarchical structure to a united single status, customer focussed, loyal committed team that delivered quality products quickly!
Roger is Deputy Chairman of Coventry and Warwickshire Business in the Community, past Chairman of the Warwickshire Institute of Engineering and Technology, is a Trustee of the Coventry Cathedral Development Trust and is a past Chairman and Life Member of the Coventry Godiva Harriers Athletics Club where he is currently involved in managing the coaching of young athletes.
The Company has undergone a number of iterations since that time from a subsidiary of Courtaulds through an MBO funded by Carlyle in 2005 with the management owning 10.2% to a subsidiary of Morgan Crucible in 2007 with the management still owning 40% of the Company. NP Aerospace is now an ISO 9001:2000 Approved Company. NP has a Main Board consisting of Roger Medwell (who joined in 1960) the Chairman, CEO and Managing Director, Baljit Shergill the Finance Director, Mike Linton Director and Company Secretary, Don Klas and Andrew Riley from Morgan Crucible and Robert Turner, (who joined in 1965) the Vehicle Integration Operations Director and Vaughan Collins the Operations Director Composite Manufacture. Uniquely NP does not have a Sales & Marketing or HR Director. Turnover tripled between 2004 and 2006 and has quadrupled over the last three years.
In January the FT reported that NP was sitting on a record order book. The company has seen business soar on the back of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has delivered more than 100 Mastiff armoured vehicles as well as Osprey body armour and helmets to Britain’s troops since 2006. The order book already stands at £160m – compared with last year’s total of £52m. Most of this increase is due to orders from the UK Ministry of Defence, the company’s largest single customer.
In January Morgan Crucible increased its stake in NP Aerospace by 11% to 60% for £12.2m. The purchase of the 11% tranche was accelerated from the initial timetable.
“I am delighted that we have accelerated the programme of purchasing the outstanding equity of NP Aerospace,” Morgan Crucible chief executive Mark Robertshaw said. “Since our initial investment in August 2007 the relationship between Morgan Crucible and NP Aerospace has strengthened and both parties have capitalised on the many benefits that we bring to each other.”
“The name over the door may have changed many times over the years but the technical excellence of our pioneering heritage remains the hallmark of our unique team today. Just as the innovative thinking that made the company a success at its roots, our dedication to the development of newer, better materials, products and production methods drives us to this very day.” R