Aerospace

PROFILE
View from the boardroom
The right service offering
is the key element
MAA board member Simon Beech, divisional managing director of Nasmyth
Group and managing director of Bulwell Precision Engineers, shares his
thoughts on the industry and its challenges.
Q. WHERE DID YOU START YOUR CAREER?
A. I started with Lucas Industries as a
graduate trainee, straight out of university.
In common with most large companies,
they moved me around so I got a grounding
in automotive and aerospace. I started in
HR and worked my way through into sales
and marketing, business development and
project management. After 17 years with
Lucas, and at the point where its ownership
was changing, I was head-hunted by
Leonard Sedgwick, the founder and owner
of Bulwell Precision Engineers. It was
still a privately owned family business and
Leonard was 80, so about three years
after I joined, in 2003, we sold the
business. Bulwell became the initial
acquisition of the Nasmyth Group,
and remains the largest. I sit on the
Nasmyth board and take a lead role in our
machining, surface treatment and OEM
manufacturing business.
Q. COULD SOMEONE STARTING OUT
TODAY TAKE THE SAME PATH?
A. Yes, I think so. Working in a large plc is
a good grounding for anybody. You learn
all the management tools and techniques
and gain experience across the breadth
of those organisations. Lots of people get
trained in large businesses, then go to
smaller ones where they can apply their
experience. You probably couldn’t go the
other direction, small to large, because the
skill and knowledge base is different.
Q. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED IN
INDUSTRY THAT YOU COULDN’T LEARN
IN UNIVERSITY?
A. The mechanics of work and business.
It tends to be about relationships,
managing and interacting with people.
You can’t learn that through a degree
programme or anything else.
Q. WHO HAS INFLUENCED OR INSPIRED
YOU IN YOUR CAREER?
A. I had a couple of mentors who
encouraged me to explore more general
business options; people in senior HR
functions who’d made the transition
themselves. They supported me to do
my MBA to gain the knowledge needed
in that sort of role. I’ve done the same,
helping develop people from the shop
floor to populate management roles in
our business. It’s good to see people
developing, and it’s good for the business.
“Working in a large plc is a
good grounding. You learn
management techniques and
gain experience across the
breadth of the organisation.”
Q. WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE BIGGEST
THREAT TO THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY?
A. That depends on the level. From
the supply chain view, it’s ignoring
globalisation. There aren’t as many prime
customers in Europe as there were. You
have to look beyond, to those you’re not
familiar with. Globalisation is affecting
what we do and how we respond to it
is crucial. I see it as both a threat and
opportunity. If you have the right skills and
strategy in your business to go and explore,
it’s an opportunity. If you don’t, it’s a threat.
Q. IS THERE A SECRET TO GAINING
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?
A. Having the right service offering is
the key element. If you can make your
customer’s cost of acquisition better,
your UK-made goods will be affordable.
Exporting is a big part of our business.
Export volumes change; overall it is
close to 20%, however when you look
where our products ultimately go on
an aircraft or engine, and after our
customer exports their product, our export
percentage is closer to 70% of output.
That’s got to be good.
www.bulwell.com
14 MIDLANDS AEROSPACE