Hayward Tyler, a specialist manufacturer of high-integrity pumps which this year celebrates its 200th anniversary, is growing its global footprint with the support of the Nuclear AMRC.
Based in Luton, with facilities in Scotland, China, India and the US, Hayward Tyler is a leading supplier of electric motors and pumps for the most demanding applications.
“Nuclear is absolutely a sweet spot for Hayward Tyler,” says Ewan Lloyd-Baker, chief executive officer. “We provided the first pumps to Calder Hall in 1956, and recently won civil nuclear contracts in South Korea and Sweden, so we have a long pedigree of installed equipment. However, we should be developing our presence more in the sector.”
The company has undergone a major turnaround over the past three years, and is now targeting global opportunities in new nuclear with the support of the Nuclear AMRC’s Civil Nuclear Sharing in Growth (CNSIG) programme. The group currently generates around 15 per cent of revenues from nuclear, but sees significant scope for growth.
“The opportunity is to leverage the improvements we’ve made here to our processes and people, and say we are fit for nuclear. We’re looking at investment now, supported by CNSIG and Fit For Nuclear, not just for the UK supply chain but for us globally,” Lloyd-Baker says.
The CNSIG programme, led by the Nuclear AMRC with funding from the government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF), is an intensive business development programme for key members of the UK’s manufacturing supply chain.
To help prepare for CNSIG, Hayward Tyler first entered the Fit For Nuclear (F4N) programme to identify gaps in the business’s performance.
“We did F4N so we could benchmark ourselves,” says special projects director Larry Redmond. “It made us ask the questions that we had tended to avoid, and gave us a checklist for everything we need to do – we keep coming back to it and saying what is the gold standard?”
Hayward Tyler’s Luton factory is now undergoing a major expansion and upgrade, supported by a separate £3.5 million RGF grant. The redevelopment, which will complete in July 2016, will extend the workshop by over 40 per cent and create five focused zones based on lean manufacturing methods.
“We’ve done a lot with methods like 5S to make things good, but it hasn’t yet taken it world-class,” says Redmond. “What we’re doing now is combining the support we’re getting from RGF with what we’re learning through CNSIG – that’s started to give us world-class facilities, world-class processes, world-class people and world-class products.”
The factory development is led by manufacturing systems director Martin Clocherty. “The biggest value I’m getting from CNSIG is how to design and implement a nuclear-compliant facility,” Clocherty says. “There was a knowledge gap there, but the guys have absolutely filled that for me. If I have any doubt about anything, I can go to them and get an answer.”
CNSIG is also helping Hayward Tyler train its workforce to nuclear standards. “Historically, there had been legislative and compliance training, with limited opportunities for additional people development activities,” says Sue Henshaw, learning and development manager. “Funding was part of that problem, which is where CNSIG has massively supported us. The CNSIG team is also supporting with specific development interventions where their expertise is invaluable in preparing ourselves for nuclear bids.”
Working with the Nuclear AMRC has brought the team other benefits, such as the opportunity to meet EDF Energy’s top-tier suppliers for Hinkley Point C. “One thing that we couldn’t get from outside is the access to the market,” says Redmond. “The networking is a bit of an intangible, but being able to get into a room with Areva and EDF is not something you can do easily.”
“The great thing about CNSIG is it’s enabled us to look at what’s happening in the wider world and feel we’re part of something that is big and very exciting,” Lloyd-Baker concludes. “When you work hard on a day-to-day basis to be part of the development of the next generation of civil nuclear new build, there’s a real sense of pride in being able to do that.”
To read the full case study on Hayward Tyler, and other examples of how the Nuclear AMRC is helping UK manufacturers expand their capabilities for nuclear, download our Q1 2015 newsletter.- Hayward Tyler
