Testing and quality

INTERVIEW
John Allen: “Scope of work for Sulzer’s customers expanded”
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| Sulzer Technical Review 1/2011
When was Dowding & Mills founded
and how did the company develop
over the years?
Dowding & Mills was founded in 1911,
starting with one branch in Birmingham,
UK, in a terrace house in Camp Hill.
Over the years, this location has grown—
gradually acquiring properties around
it. It currently occupies a five-acre site
with 128000sq ft of buildings on the
premises.
Early in the 1960s, a second branch
was acquired in London, and the
number of branches doubled in 1965
with the acquisition of Southampton &
Nottingham. Branch network growth
was steady through late 60s and 70s with
the addition of around two branches per
year throughout the UK. In the 1980s
the company expanded significantly
with the acquisitions of electro-mechanical
repair facilities, Hamilton & Dickson
(Australia), EMS (USA), Geha (Netherlands),
AEW (Luxembourg), EMS
(Germany), Manning Marine (UK) and
the UK Calibration businesses.
Company growth continued into the
1990s with acquisitions of electronic and
servo repair companies, then Peebles
Field Services, and then the gear cutting
companies (R W Gear & Banner). At
its peak, Dowding & Mills had circa
With the acquisition of Dowding & Mills, Sulzer has
expanded its technical competencies, and it has
complemented the current activities of Sulzer Turbo
Services with repair and maintenance services for
generators and motors. John Allen—technical director
of Sulzer Dowding & Mills—spoke to us about the
opportunities our customers will experience through
our expanded service business.
40 branches in the UK, 5 in Europe, 5 in
USA, and 6 in Australia.
As a result of closures, consolidation,
and disposals the network shrank
between 2000–2010, but over the last
four years the branch network has
been reinforced with the acquisition
of two small businesses in the UK
(Middlesbrough and Daventry) and a
50% interest in a facility in Dubai.
Why is the service business of
Dowding & Mills attractive to the
customers of Sulzer?
Dowding & Mills’ core area of expertise
is in the rewinding of rotating electrical
machines. Therefore, Sulzer’s customers
can now have their turbine-driven generators
or their motor-driving pumps or
compressors repaired by Sulzer.
The scope of work available to
Sulzer’s customers when their plant fails
or needs maintaining has been expanded
by the acquisition of the electromechanical
capability of Dowding & Mills.
Sulzer will now have in-house capability,
whereas, in the past, it had to outsource
this work to subcontractors. As a result,
the quality and customer service culture
of Sulzer will extend from the mechanical
equipment itself to include motors and
generators.
Dowding & Mills has always been
a service-driven business delivering a
quality product with fast response and
a minimum of outage time. With our inhouse
copper-rolling mill and world-
class HV coil-manufacturing facility,
Dowding & Mills is able to manufacture
high-quality HV coils for rewinds faster
than almost any rewind competitor in
the world. These services are further
complemented by our in-house highspeed
balancing and overspeed facility.
How can the customers of Dowding
& Mills profit from the merger with
Sulzer?
Dowding & Mills customers will profit
through Sulzer’s capability to repair the
mechanical parts driving or being driven
by the motors and generators—which
have historically been repaired by
Dowding & Mills. In other words,
Dowding & Mills customers now have
a one-stop service shop for their turbines,
pumps, and compressors.
They will also profit from the culture
of continuous improvement in personnel
development, management systems, performance,
quality, safety, and environment
that is part of Sulzer’s culture and
that Sulzer will foster within Dowding
& Mills.
How many service centers does
Dowding & Mills have around the
world and what are their capabilities?
Currently, we have 27 branches in the
UK, 3 in USA, 5 in Australia, and 1 in
Dubai.
The capabilities of branches vary
greatly. Each is specialized in meeting
the needs of its customer base. Several
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