In the beginning there was an altimeter - Meggitt PLC

A MAGAZINE
FOR EMPLOYEES
WINTER 2010
185
In the beginning
there was
an altimeter
See our homage to
Meggitt’s history inside
• Factory focus Our tribute to the men and women of our Rockmart facility
• New boss Simpkins sets out his stall • Greaves on group technology
• Young on why our value statement matters • Embedding Transformation:
practice makes perfect, says Chris Allen

4
1 A new chapter
Terry Twigger on Transformation and
turning another page in Meggitt’s history
2 Critical cogs
Chris Allen on the processes that will put
Meggitt in the right gear for success in 21st
century engineering.
4 Swarmex
Spence Fraser messes around in
remote-controlled target boats
7 Playing his cards right
Jim Simpkins on his vision and strategy
10 Monitoring the world’s mega machines
Meggitt Sensing Systems’ conditioning
monitoring equipment is now on three of the
world’s largest turbines
13 Young on why our value statement matters
Robin Young explains how he overcame his
distrust of value statements
17 Standing by for sales
Meggitt Avionics’ next generation flight display
gets certification
18 Factory focus
Our tribute to the men and women of
Meggitt Polymers & Composites,
Rockmart, Georgia, USA
10
13 34
ADDING VALUES
THE THREADS
THAT BIND US
41 It’s an aircraft Jim, but not as we know it
Meggitt Polymers & Composites spots a
gap in the composites market
20
49 Chemistry lesson
Ian Joesbury explains the thinking behind new
division, Meggitt Polymers & Composites
MEGA MACHINES
TONY’S
TOUR
51 Plevin’s eastern promise
Marketing Meggitt’s Singapore facility
to the home team
53 Heatric win is show of confidence
Meggitt’s specialist heat exchanger business
wins its biggest order for 18 months
54 Meggitt opens in Shanghai
The opening of Meggitt’s second Chinese
facility could not be more timely
55 Business recovery plans are tools, not documents
Teresa Hussey on the business continuity plan
she prepared earlier
56 What’s in Meggitt’s DNA?
Take a look at our History of Meggitt in [about]
One and a Half Centuries and the poster that
goes with it
60 Meggitt leads with no—or low—crew solutions
Our extreme environment technology is first
choice for UAVs and next generation destroyers
62 All pumped up
Sensing Systems and Aircraft Braking Systems
expand into landing gear
64 Science and technology tsar looks
to the future
Richard Greaves on his new role
BLADE
RUNNERS
67 Dirty money
Meggitt’s revised ethics and business conduct
policies now cover corruption

A new
chapter
Chief Executive Terry Twigger reflects on the past
year—and the last 150.
About 150 years ago, a forerunner of Meggitt’s current technology—the world’s first altimeter—went
up in a hot air balloon. Since then, the companies that make up the Meggitt group have continued
to provide smart engineering for extreme environments. They performed with distinction in two
World Wars and while they were excelling in civil and military aviation in every decade that followed, they
pioneered technologies for land-based transportation and the oil and gas, nuclear, power generation and
renewable energy sectors. I am intensely proud of this heritage. It is the foundation of everything we do
today, which is why we have dedicated part of this Review to celebrating it.
As we pause to reflect on the extraordinary achievements of Meggitt’s businesses since the latter half of
the nineteenth century, we can feel extremely optimistic about the group’s future. Through the extensive
efforts of thousands of employees across all functions in the current period of great economic uncertainty,
we ushered in a new Meggitt era, founded on the most significant modernisation programme undertaken
in our corporate history. All the distinguished companies that make up Meggitt have been reorganised
into a brand new structure. Each one is becoming a dedicated manufacturing facility, managed by five
new divisions under the Meggitt banner. We embarked on a journey of transformation from a set of
strong, individual businesses into one high performance engineering group, which runs on degrees of
responsiveness to customers unattainable under the old structure. This is critical if we are to fight our
corner in fiercely competitive and increasingly dynamic global markets.
Having created the new leadership and divisional management structure needed for global teams
to focus on common technologies and key markets, we launched a radical overhaul of our business
processes. Once standardised, improved and fully integrated, they will drive Meggitt forward for decades
to come. Mastering these powerful tools will be essential if we are to realise the huge potential of this
transformational year. You can read our status report on some of them over the page.
Transformation is a journey—very much in line with the philosophy of continuous improvement that
characterises our factory operations. We must do the same across all functions, constantly looking for
ways to deliver more and waste less. Above all, we must use our new organisation as a springboard from
which to review and renew our approach to our markets and actively grow our businesses. That’s the key
to job creation and professional development—and many more chapters in Meggitt’s history of continuing
engineering excellence.
Building Looking to
on the past the future
185
A history of Meggitt in (about)
One and a Half Centuries
1850: when a forerunner of Meggitt’s current technology—
the world’s first altimeter—went up in a hot air balloon.
See the pull-out poster outlining Meggitt’s history
between pages 56 and 57.
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 1

Critical
cogs
Chris Allen, Programme Director,
Transformation reflects on the processes
that will put Meggitt in the right gear for
success in 21st century engineering.
In 2010, Meggitt launched a new organisation in which the
management of 34 operating companies was centralised
within five new divisions—scaleable businesses centred on key
technologies. We have also started strengthening our processes.
Covering all functions—and functions within them—special
Transformation teams have embarked on a journey that will
continue to see dozens reviewed, improved and standardised
group-wide. As such, they will define the One Meggitt way of doing
things—robust, quick and economic—and above all, integrated.
Chris Allen oversees the Transformation team’s programme office
(PMO) following his involvement in the highly successful integration
of the group’s wheels and brakes businesses into today’s Meggitt
Aircraft Braking Systems. He explains: “We are building a very
powerful engine that will drive Meggitt forward for decades to
come. Processes like this are critical. They are the cogs that will
put the Meggitt group as a whole in the right gear for success in
21st century engineering. Slip a cog and we’ll have a less effective
machine—but if they all interlock, their force will grow. That’s why
getting these processes right—from the complex to the apparently
simple—and then sticking to them, really matters.”
Meggitt’s transformation is based, in part, on the assumption
that very few functions stand alone, hence the holistic approach
to process improvement. Critical business processes such as
bid and pricing, programme lifecycle management and project
engineering exemplify this cross-functional reach: all involve
sales and marketing, programme management, engineering,
finance and operations. The PMO’s role has been to help such
functions play their part in coalescing them. The programme
management office closes at the end of 2010. However, the journey
of transformation will continue as project workstreams hand
their processes over to the divisions where they will be embedded
firmly into the thinking and practice of every function. ●
Read our Transformation status report opposite.
Read more about Meggitt’s group engineering excellence
model and processes in the engage newsletter and
programme lifecycle management in LIFE on
mymeggitt.com/The Conversation/EXTRA.
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REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Engineering
LIFE
Programme Lifecycle Management Newsletter
Issue 01 November 2010
Trade compliance
Operations
Organisation development/HR
Procurement
Information systems
Strategy, Sales & Marketing
Finance

i) We have reduced the cost of running Meggitt by over £30 million per year, making
us more competitive in our efforts to grow.
ii) We have achieved critical mass in core areas, attracting invitations to partnership
discussions and tenders for substantial programmes former independent business units
could not have hoped to entertain.
iii) A new sales, inventory and operations planning process (SIOP) has improved inventory
control, on track to achieve year-end targets.
iv) Three large SAP implementations have gone live based on Meggitt’s new global template.
v) Procurement is delivering a solid analytical approach to our supply chain, supporting
significant savings, sharpening processes and strengthening our teams.
vi) Our new programme management process will enable us to perform cross-functionally and
deliver our contracts on time and to budget.
vii) We are improving our ability to win important, long-term business with a new bid and proposal
process that ensures a rigorous approach across all key disciplines, underpinned by contracts
guidelines that are helping us optimise our market positions across the group.
viii) We are rolling out the engineering project management processes needed to standardise
and improve the way we engineer our products and address the fundamentals of
‘smart’ engineering.
ix) We have streamlined all engineering outsourcing activity and created a formidable off-shore
development centre for the group of over 100 engineers.
x) We are ensuring Meggitt thinking meets customer thinking. We have renewed our focus on
customers by strengthening our approach to managing key relationships and have appointed
a group level director of engineering and technology to boost our technology road mapping
and inform group R&D investment.
x) We have started sharing services.
• Shared HR is up and running in the UK and the Americas with new tools to improve service
levels. Following a successful pilot in the US, management training will be rolled out
by HR across the group in 2011.
• Shared IT, which started off in Southern California, is expanding into the UK.
• Finance is working to establish centres in the UK and US and will follow the
implementation of SAP.
xi) Trade compliance processes are being integrated with SAP, improving our ability to conform
to fast-changing regulation.
xii) We have swallowed up significant organisational change, while delivering against the
commitments we made to customers. We should all feel proud of the part we played in this
aspect of Meggitt’s transformation.
Chris Allen/16.11.10
Transformation status report from the PMO
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 3
Transformation status report from the PMO

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REVIEW | WINTER 2010

Modern naval frigates and destroyers
are immensely sophisticated and
powerful vessels. They can destroy
aircraft 100 miles away, deploy helicopters
to hunt nuclear submarines 300 metres
under the waves and intercept approaching
transonic anti-ship missiles.
Yet all this sophistication can count for
nothing in the face of simple speedboats,
packed with explosives and driven straight
at them by fanatical crewmen.
Western navies are having to rethink
their inshore tactics in the face of several
potentially hostile nations and terrorist
groups that have fielded hundreds of these
fast, tiny vessels that could be used as
suicide weapons.
They would be ‘swarm’ attacks—
overwhelming the missiles and guns
carried by major warships by sheer weight
of numbers. And only one speedboat needs
to get through the defensive screen to
cripple or sink a £250 million frigate carrying
almost 200 crew.
Meggitt Training Systems Canada (MTSC)
aims to help navies develop tactics to counter
these attacks. In a world-leading development,
it has just carried out the first large-scale
demonstration of swarming fast inshore
attack craft (FIACs). The ‘swarmex’ exercise,
which involved 16 of Meggitt’s Hammerhead
unmanned surface vehicle targets, took
place in May off the Canadian Forces Base at
Esquimalt, on Canada’s Pacific coast.
Observers ashore and on board the
frigate HMCS Winnipeg watched as the
Hammerheads—which can reach speeds of
more than 45 knots in calm conditions or 35
knots in waves of up to 1.25 metres—were
operated over a period of seven hours.
“The aim was not to conduct a
simulated swarm attack on the frigate but
Since the attack on the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile
destroyer USS Cole in 2000 (below), many navies have invested
heavily in sensors and weapon systems to defend their vessels
from fast inshore attack boats. But the tools did not exist to
conduct live fire exercises to prepare for and counter them
until last May that is, when Meggitt Training Systems Canada
successfully conducted the world’s first large-scale ‘swarmex’
demonstration.
to demonstrate to the observers that the
radio-controlled vessels could be operated
safely and effectively at high speed close
to a manned vessel,” says Spencer Fraser,
MTSC president and general manager.
The five-metre vessels were controlled
from a Meggitt universal target control
station (UTCS) located at the Black >
Only one speedboat
needs to get through
the defensive screen to
cripple or sink a £250
million frigate carrying
almost 200 crew
Above: Meggitt Defence Systems Canada’s
Hammerhead unmanned surface vehicle
targets will help navies develop tactics
to counter attacks from swarming
speedboats.
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 5

SWARM
Up to now, the limiting factor
precluding remote-controlled
swarming boat targets was
the requisite communications
backbone to support such a
large group of vehicles
> Rock Gunnery School within the
Esquimalt base. Four operators each
controlled four Hammerheads, with a
‘mission commander’ co-ordinating the
entire flotilla. Relays of four Hammerheads
were brought into a formation and all
followed pre-programmed waypoint
navigation tracks.
“Up to now, the limiting factor
precluding such exercises has been
the inability of establishing the requisite
communications backbone that can
support such a large group of vehicles,”
says Fraser.
“What used to happen was that in
traditional command and control systems
you would have an up link and each vehicle
would transmit back on a separate down
link. One can immediately see why an
old format system will not work for this
type of exercise because you would need
17 frequencies and a 53-foot trailer full
of radio equipment.” That, he adds, is
assuming frequency approvals could even
be obtained from national authorities for
that many frequencies and providing there
would be no electro-magnetic interference
in what are increasingly crowded
wavebands.
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REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Above & right:
Hammerhead is
Meggitt’s advanced
unmanned surface
vehicle target
(USV-T) with an
award-winning
surface-effect
hull that is highly
efficient in high
seas at high
speeds.
The secret to being able to control so
many vessels on a single half-duplex UHF
frequency, says Fraser, is sophisticated
multiplexing of the signal, using ultrarapid
switching times between individual
vessels—a world first from Meggitt, which
has been working on the project for four
years with support from the Canadian Navy.
A second unique feature of MTSC’s
technical solution is building its system
around an open standard—of increasing
interest to customers. Meggitt’s UTCS is
compliant with NATO standard STANAG
4586, a basic interoperability standard
originally intended only for unmanned air
vehicles (UAVs) but which Meggitt has now
expanded to handle unmanned surface
vehicles.
As a result, says Fraser, “We’re now
able to replicate with a high degree of
fidelity one of the major asymmetric threats
facing western navies today. We’ve already
received several enquiries from several
international customers asking how we
managed to achieve this.” He adds that the
system is now deployed with the Canadian
Forces and that several navies want MTSC
to put together a full-scale swarm attack
exercise for them.
The close engagement of the swarmex
was likened by a Canadian naval observer
to “a punch-up in a phone booth”. A
complicating factor during the swarmex
was the presence in the operating area of
local fishermen’s crab pots, which forced
the Hammerhead operators to continually
The close engagement of the swarmex was
likened by a Canadian naval observer to a
punch-up in a phone booth
alter their vehicles’ formation. “I’m happy
to report we did not snag a single pot and
that it actually had us test the full versatility
of the various control modes of the UTCS
system,” reports Fraser.
The next major milestone, he says,
will be a live firing exercise with the
Hammerheads “early next year” off
Canada’s west coast. Canadian, US and
Australian vessels are due to participate. ●

Playing
his cards
right
When Jim Simpkins worked for Crane Corporation,
he fought Terry Twigger for Whittaker Controls, a
transformational acquisition. He lost but Meggitt’s
then group finance director liked him so much
he offered him a job—to help build what became
the hugely successful division, Meggitt Aerospace
Equipment. A decade later, he’s taken on the
presidency of one of its descendants, Meggitt Control
Systems. We explore his business philosophy, why
he favours factories that run like clockwork rather
than rumour mills and his obsession with “services
wrapped around products”.
iT’S 1971 AND THE INFAMOUS BILLBOARD READING
“Will the last person leaving SEATTLE—Turn
out the lights.” is posted near the city’s
international airport. But the funny side of
the ‘Boeing Bust’ eludes Simpkins’ father.
He’s an aerospace engineer who has seen
the region’s largest employer peak at 100,800
employees in 1967, diving to a low of 38,700
that year. “Whatever you do, don’t go into
aerospace,” he says, as he loses his job
and uproots his family to California to find
work. As it turns out, Simpkins Jr’s first real
job is at Rockwell International, a massive
conglomerate with a strong aerospace
business, local to California State University,
Northridge from which he graduates in 1979.
Rockwell’s management programme left
Simpkins dissatisfied. The whole picture—how
to run a business—eluded him. “I wanted to
see how people really made money, not just
report how much money they were making.”
He found a ‘small’ business in which
to work his way up—a $10 million-a-year
maker of film editing machines and logging
recorders for air traffic control. It was the
only time Simpkins worked in an industry
where cost was not an issue. It was always
schedule. “At that time, the film industry
didn’t plan well, shooting films but rarely
thinking about the editing machines they
needed post-production. So, naturally,
we would plan for them. And that’s why
customers came to us as opposed to us
seeking them out. That was my first lesson in
the importance of understanding what your
customer really needs and wrapping service
around product.”
At Data Products, a computer printer
manufacturer, Simpkins absorbed
lessons in Lean manufacturing
and managing business during economic
downturn. At what later became a Meggitt
business, the Whittaker Corporation, he
honed his mergers and disposals skills. At
management consultants A T Kearney, he
took on a brief to run Crane Corporation’s
Pacific Valves. There, he refined his
understanding of operations excellence and
shopped for businesses, acquiring valves
companies around the world. He also put
into practice the principles that guide his
business thinking today. The company was
being challenged by a competitor. Colleagues
wanted to look at repricing but Simpkins
didn’t believe it was about volume. It was
about those ‘services wrapped around
products’. “When companies buy from you,
especially engineered products, they want
to leave the transaction feeling they have
received total value. They are not just buying
a heat exchanger or a valve, they are paying
for development schedules aligned with
theirs, quicker lead times for manufacturing
and world-class first-pass yields which
prove quality. If you provide all those things,
price becomes less of an issue.” Simpkins
Customers want total value. They are not
just buying a heat exchanger, they are paying
for shorter lead-times on development and
manufacturing and higher quality
held a kaizen (a multidisciplinary, multi-level
problem-solving event) to set up a singlepiece
flow cell that could deliver a range of
valve sizes. “The customer only paid for what
they pulled,” he explains. “They came to us
several times when the cheaper supplier
failed. Eventually the service won over price
and we put that flow cell into their factory.” >
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 7

WAS
Meggitt Aerospace
Equipment (MAE)
NOW
Meggitt Control Systems
Minus MAE’s fire detection and
aerospace seals businesses, five
product lines that customers
understand, from eight facilities
reporting to one management team.
FIVE PRODUCT LINES
Aerospace valves
North Hollywood (formerly
Whittaker Controls) and Coventry
(formerly Dunlop Equipment)
Thermal management
Heat exchangers from Birmingham
(formerly Serck Aviation) and Troy
(Stewart Warner South Wind)
Environment control systems
Addison (formerly Keith Products),
Dunstable and Simi Valley (Meggitt
Thermal Systems and before that,
the Avicas)
Electronic controls
Corona (formerly Meggitt Airdynamics)
Energy
North Hollywood (formerly
Whittaker Controls)
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REVIEW | WINTER 2010
> In today’s uncertain climate, does he still
believe it is not all about price? His response is
unequivocal: “I KNOW it is not all about price.”
Crane eventually came head to head with
Meggitt on a transformational acquisition—
Whittaker Controls. Despite Simpkins leading
the valuation team on the company he knew
intimately from his Whittaker Corporation
days, Crane lost to one Terry Twigger, then
Meggitt’s Finance Director. He put in a new
management team and offered Simpkins a
job that led to his last role as finance director
of the Meggitt Aerospace Equipment division.
‘MAE’ was $130 million a year in
1999, growing to $800 million before it was
absorbed into Meggitt’s new structure in
2010. Simpkins believes all successful
businesses must reinvent themselves
periodically. “Markets, customers and
business problems change. And you have
to change with them.” MAE had become
too diverse and management overhead
across multiple facilities too high. The new
Meggitt Control Systems is organised around
product lines that are easier for customers
to understand. Divisional management is
lean, yet strong and, with clearer lines of
communication, more focused.
That focus is about following agreed
strategy. “When you head up a business,
it is not about you. It is about the people
around you—giving them interesting work
to accomplish and setting priorities.” He
paraphrases corporate financial strategist,
Dr Ruth Bender. “Investors invest in
companies and companies invest in projects
to take returns back to investors.” That’s
how Simpkins defines strategy with his
management team, distilling its execution
into discrete projects. “Businesses fail when
there are too many projects or too many
people starting projects that are ill-timed or
misaligned with strategy. That’s why we go
through a process that says how and when
we are going to invest in them for the greater
good.”
To win new business, he wants MCS to
get closer to its customers, with engineers
playing a direct role. “There’s no point in just
showing up and introducing the new sales guy
on the block. We need to have relationships
with them on a much deeper level, engineers
solving problems with engineers and
participating in technology demonstration
projects.”
He wants to develop an aftermarket
based not on raising prices but on wrapping
those services around products again.
”Saying yes to the customer on a task that is
All successful businesses
must reinvent themselves
periodically
impossible to perform is not service. Having
an open relationship with the customer about
what can be done realistically, is. Over all,
customers want improved on-time delivery,
better quality and more transparency on cost,
which is why we are creating projects under
each of these headings to deliver and remain
customer -focused.”
A poorly-used test facility at the
division’s Indianapolis plant has been sold
(it buys what it needs from the vendor).
Addison’s cost base has been reduced by
consolidating sites. More favourable lease
terms have been negotiated for the division’s
electronic controls base. Customer focus
has been renewed with new development
programmes and milestones met on a
range of programmes renegotiated when
Saying yes to the customer on a task that is impossible
to perform is not service. Having an open relationship
with the customer about what can be done is
the division restructured 18 months ago.
Locations for the most effective economies
in which to manufacture some commodity
product lines are being investigated.
The research needed for projects
inevitably powers the rumour mill,
one of Simpkins’ pet hates. “I set up
projects and we go out into the facilities to
gather as many facts as we can to make
decisions and suddenly it goes round that a
decision has been made when nothing of the
kind has happened.” Simpkins’ promise to
employees is that he will tell them when a
decision has been made at the appropriate
time and lay out its logic for all to see. “A new
product introduction process, a new bid and
proposals process, becoming a Gold supplier
makes us better. Gossip and speculation adds
nothing to our business.”
Simpkins reads from a list of
questions sent to him by employees before
a forthcoming ‘Town Hall’ meeting, twiceyearly
events he has committed to holding in
which he will address the entire workforce
at every Meggitt Control Systems facility.
He will answer every question. “I guarantee
transparency and a fair hearing for anyone
who takes the trouble to voice an opinion or
a concern. We have a lot of resources in the
division and across the group and if there is a
problem, I can find someone to help solve it.”
Meggitt Control Systems, like all Meggitt
divisions, is developing a business that will
run on reliable systems and processes. “We

want to free people up to build on customer
relationships and use their creative energy
to actively move us and customer’s business
forward, not fight fires.” The management
team has been strengthened, with a new
director of pricing and estimating (Visu Ar)
to marshal proposals and professionalise
the bid process. A new vice president of
programmes (Toni Malek) will implement the
group’s new lifecycle management process. A
new director of SBU materials (Steve Maglior)
is improving low-cost global sourcing
opportunities with the help of regional supply
chain managers for the UK and US.
Most employees understand the need
for change, according to Simpkins.
“The airline engine manufacturers
are stretching out the development of new
engines and airframes because of the
recession and, because customers are more
conservative about their investments, there is
less money for product development. That’s
why our focus now, more than ever, should
be on performance.“ He cannot emphasise
the point enough: “The best marketing in the
world is: say what you do and do what you say.
If we do a really good job, more opportunities
will open up. “
Simpkins is pleased with progress.
Order arrears are down and on-time delivery
up. Product lines are expanding. Ground fuel
metering is moving from analogue to digital
technology. New surface coolers—heat
exchangers that cool oil and conserve engine
power by sweeping the cowl for ‘free’ cold
air—will fill the only gap in the division’s
thermal management solutions. The military
market will benefit from a game-changing
motor and controller technology.
Jim’s reading list: Lean Thinking by
James Womack and Daniel Jones
left its mark on Simpkins as did
The Goal by Dr Eliyahu Goldratt,
a piece of fiction whose main
character manages a production
plant that is always behind
schedule. Simpkins follows
corporate financial strategist,
Ruth Bender. He grew up with
The Beautiful Game—Seattle is
America’s soccer city.
There’s no point in just showing up and introducing
the new sales guy on the block. We need to connect
with customers on a much deeper level
SIMPKINS IS NOT A GUY WHO SPENDS MUCH TIME
TALKING ABOUT HIMSELF but we know what’s
important to him—speaking up when there
is a problem, making hard-headed decisions
based on facts, adhering to strategy, keeping
promises to customers so that price isn’t
everything. He tells everyone: “I have made
a lot of mistakes in my career but I just don’t
make the same ones twice.” In the game of
business, it’s clear we are in the presence
of a quiet but highly experienced player who
strives to make the most of the hand he has
been dealt. And that, he says, is all you can
ask of anyone. ●
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 9

Monitoring the world’s
machines
Pelton turbine
A Pelton turbine is—to hugely oversimplify—like
a modern version of a
watermill. The heart of the turbine is
a huge metal wheel, around whose
circumference is a closely-spaced
series of cup-shaped protrusions. Water
strikes these protrusions, causing them
to revolve and turn alternators, which
generate electricity.
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REVIEW | WINTER 2010

Above: Standing at 285m high, Switzerland’s Grande Dixence dam boasts the title of being the world’s highest gravity dam.
Meggitt Sensing Systems’
Vibro-Meter range of
conditioning monitoring
equipment is now on three of
the world’s largest turbines—
hydro-, nuclear- and gaspowered—and
it is pressing
ahead with efforts to get its kit on
to more class-leading turbines
In the Bieudron hydro-electric power
station, deep in the mountains of the
Swiss canton of Valais, the world’s three
largest Pelton turbines (see box, left) sit
silently, waiting, as dusk falls in the towns
and villages above them.
As Swiss burghers start preparing
their meals, power company technicians
respond to the rapidly-rising demand for
electricity by operating a series of controls
to bring the huge turbines to life.
In a 400 million m³ reservoir held
back by the Grande Dixence dam several
kilometres away from Bieudron, valves
open. Tonnes of water—75m³ a second—
roar through an underground duct, plunging
down 1883 metres towards each turbine.
Split into five jets moving at almost 200
metres a second, the flow—now effectively
solid bars of water—strikes the turbines’
paddles, making them revolve. Within a
few minutes, each turbine has powered
up to its maximum rated power of 423MW,
equivalent to the output of 4,000 family cars.
Helping keep these huge machines
working at peak performance is Meggitt’s
VM600 condition monitoring equipment.
And it’s not the only record-breaking
turbine on which Meggitt Sensing Systems’
Vibro-Meter equipment keeps a watchful
electronic eye.
A newly-signed contract with Alstom
France will see it installed on the huge
steam turbine of the new Flamanville
3 nuclear power station on the Atlantic
coast of Normandy. The machine will use
heat from the nuclear core to turn water
to steam as its power source. Rated at
1800MW, the turbine generates power
equivalent to 36 of the largest aeroengines,
with the biggest blades on the
turbine two metres tall. The equipment
will also monitor the same-sized Siemens
machine that will be operated at Olkiluoto 3
nuclear power plant in Finland.
And at Germany’s Irsching 4 combined
cycle power station near Ingolstadt, the
world’s most powerful gas turbine, a Siemens
SGT5-8000H, is being converted from a
simple-cycle to a combined-cycle powerplant.
‘Combined-cycle’ simply means that
exhaust heat from the turbine is captured
and used to heat water, generating steam
and thus boosting the turbine’s output. In
Irsching 4’s case, that output will surge
from 340MW as a simple-cycle unit to
530MW in its new guise.
The power plant, which is due to be
handed over to Irsching’s operator E.ON
for commercial use next year, will achieve
an efficiency rating as a combined-cycle
turbine of 60%. This is a new world
record and brings performance that will
contribute to it emitting around 40,000 tons
of C0 2 greenhouse gas per year less than
comparable existing plants.
By measuring factors such as
vibration, displacement and combustion
dynamics, Meggitt’s VM600 and associated
high-performance sensors help ensure that
such levels of efficiency are maintained.
The Sensing Systems’ team,
meanwhile, is pressing ahead with efforts
to get its equipment on to world-leading
examples of other types of turbine.
“There are two main reasons for
monitoring equipment on critical rotating
machinery,” says Henry Reinmann, director
of energy sales for Europe andMiddle East
for Meggitt Sensing Systems.
“One is safety: you want to measure
vibration levels in a turbine and if they
suddenly increase to an unwanted level you
would shut down the machine.”
Of course, Meggitt’s condition
monitoring equipment has been on aircraft
engines for years but whereas on an
aircraft the equipment provides the pilot >
We are the only
company to propose an
efficient combustion
monitoring system for
gas turbines
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 11

with information and lets him decide
how to cope with a misbehaving engine, the
situation is different with large industrial
power generation turbines.
“Some of those run automatically, day
and night, without human supervision,”
explains Reinmann, “so you have to have a
mechanism in place to shut them down if
something goes wrong.” Sometimes this
is achieved by flagging up a problem to a
remote control room, but the Vibro-Meter
system can be given the ability to close
down a malfunctioning turbine by itself
within a fraction of a second.
The second aspect to the VM600 is
condition monitoring. This measures a
series of parameters and transmits the
information to a remote computer, where
analysis software checks that the turbine
is performing within its limits. The digital
VM600 has been around for a decade. The
latest VM600X version includes InSight
software and a new data acquisition card.
InSight integrates multiple sensing
and analysis modules, has greater capacity
and is faster than its predecessor, giving
better performance, explains Reinmann.
“It measures new parameters and does
so more quickly. For example, we started
monitoring combustion dynamics on
the older system and were reaching the
system’s limits. We can do that much
better with InSight and now we are the only
company to propose an efficient combustion
00 12
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
monitoring system for gas turbines.”
The new software also has an open
architecture that allows new modules
to be integrated. Meggitt’s tip clearance
measurement hardware and software—
the smaller the gap between the turbine
blade and the turbine casing, the more
fuel-efficient the engine—was released for
InSight last December, for example.
Open architecture also allows it to
interface with other plant information and
control systems.
There is undoubtedly a benefit for
operators in using condition-based
monitoring in avoiding downtime due to
unscheduled maintenance or malfunction.
As well as being an unexpected expense, it
can cause major problems for the operator’s
customers. An operator in Florida does not
want to lose a turbine in July when demand
Meggitt’s condition monitoring equipment
provides the pilot with information and lets
him decide how to cope with a misbehaving
engine. The situation is different with large
industrial power generation turbines
for air-conditioning is at its peak, for
instance. The same goes for a power utility
in Germany in January, when customers are
reaching for the central heating thermostat.
Demand for very large turbines can
reach 300 to 400 units a year. “Demand
for power production usually comes more
or less in parallel with GDP growth, so
countries like China and India have very big
potential,” says Reinmann.
At present, Meggitt Sensing Systems’
condition monitoring systems are on about
35% of these huge machines. Meggitt
clearly leads the market in areas such as
Left: Technicians prepare the
Siemens Energy SGT5-8000H
for delivery to a power plant in
Irsching, Bavaria. The turbine
weighs 440 metric tons.
high-temperature piezo-electric pressure
sensors and accelerometers,
while recent hi-tech achievements such
as the microwave based tip-clearance
measurement gives the company greater
overall credibility in the sector.
One major boost for the Fribourg-based
facility comes from the long-term support
of German turbine manufacturer Siemens,
for which it has been ‘house supplier’ of
condition-monitoring equipment since
the 1970s. “We’re seen as a very reliable,
innovative supplier,” says Reinmann.
That innovation, he adds, is faster
with industrial turbines than with Meggitt’s
traditional aero-engine market.
This is because aviation is one of the
world’s most highly-regulated industries.
Every component of an aircraft—quite
literally down to every screw—is logged and
tracked throughout its lifespan to ensure
aviation is as safe an activity as possible.
“In aerospace, you design something
in close co-operation with an OEM. He
then certifies that part on an engine or
airframe and it’s given a certified part
number. On the energy side of the business
these systems are much more open and
configurable. You can use a part on a gas
turbine, steam turbine or hydro turbine.
You are more innovative because you don’t
have to go through the same regulated
certification procedure. Once you have
agreement from an operator to put a new
part on his machine you can do trials ‘in the
field’ alongside existing systems. There’s
no certification body saying ‘You can’t do that.’
The challenges of working in aerospace
do have benefits, however, says Reinmann.
“When we’re talking to energy customers,
they’re impressed we have a leading position
in aerospace, as they know it’s a very
demanding market with tough factors such
as the environment, quality and reliability. ●

Adding values
The threads
that bind us
Meggitt’s leaders have defined the set of values
needed to realise the group’s ambitions and guide
decision-making at all levels of the organisation.
Robin Young, Meggitt’s Group Organisation
Development Director, explains how he overcame
his distrust of value statements and why we should
do the same.
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 13

ADDING VALUES
I
don’t remember when the concept of
values first entered my universe but I can
almost certainly guarantee that whenever
it did, I treated the whole idea with suspicion,”
says Robin Young, chief facilitator of the
team tasked to define the values needed to
underpin Meggitt’s future development.
“At the time, I would have been a soldier
ant somewhere and considered that those
who put value statements together had
no idea what the world was really like and
where the work that moved the company
forward, sideways and backwards took place.
Many corporate values seemed to risk being
too generic to be interesting or too utopian to
be credible and so I felt they missed the point.”
And the point for Young is that values in
business should be touchstones to fall back
on when there are decisions to be made.
He cites the example of leadership
thinking when Meggitt’s share price sank
sharply in early 2009. “The management
board could have halted investment. Instead,
because one of Meggitt’s key values concerns
investment for long-term growth, it never
entered anyone’s head.” He enumerates
continuing investment in efficiencyenhancing
state-of–the-art machinery
across Meggitt; the development of facilities
enabling the group to respond to customers’
requirements for global manufacturing
coverage; the programme participation costs
essential to doing business in aerospace;
continuing investment in innovative
technologies such as sensing systems for
engine and airframe condition-monitoring;
and the appointment of a group head of
technology and engineering to coordinate
R&D internationally and ensure every division
backs—and delivers—the technologies our
customers really want. Then there is the
investment in Transformation initiatives, the
SAP implementation among them, designed
to create an organisation fit for purpose in an
increasingly competitive global market place.
Young returns to the touchstone
criterion. “When you are in a quandary, you
go back to values when you want to clarify
the way forward. As such, all Meggitt’s values
are non-negotiable.”
Another Meggitt value—concerning
integrity-based action—should run like
a thread through all the work a Meggitt
employee undertakes, with particular
emphasis on respect between colleagues,
business ethics, trade compliance and
quality control. “Sometimes in business,
00 14
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
there is pressure to take the shortest route to
getting things done but this should never be
at risk to integrity. On the basis of our values,
we expect employees to ask whether any
short-cut violates our integrity principle and
if it does, to take the long way round. After
all, the products we make stand between a
safe and unsafe flight; life or death on the
battlefield and the presence or absence of
domestic power for essential services.”
Young affirms that the absence—
until now—of official corporate values
does not mean Meggitt employees do not
already adhere to the highest standards of
professional behaviour. In fact, he believes
value statements work best when they are
not only properly constructed for the good
of corporate health but are in line with the
values the majority of employees hold as
individuals. “Most will believe, for example,
that honesty, integrity and respect for others
are as desirable as they are uncontroversial,”
he explains. The point of setting out what
Meggitt expects is to ensure the consistent
thought and action that will enable the group
to become a more successful international
business. “Under the old operating structure,
we took different decisions in different
places that were sometimes counterproductive.
Our value system was based on
operating autonomously in small business
units to maximise individual profitability.
Sometimes we acted carelessly against
each others’ interests. Now we say clearly
we will operate as a global team in pursuit
of customer needs.” And why? Because
Meggitt’s customers want the group to have
the scale to invest, take risks and have the
common policies, processes and universal
IT that will enable them to see and access its
capabilities more easily.
T
ension between values is critical,
according to Young, to achieve a
balance of interest in the obligations
the group has to shareholders, customers
and employees. He cites Enron’s infamous
culture, which prized independently-minded
financial deal-making above all else, virtues
that became vices without the balance
of real attention to corporate integrity.
“Without that balance in its culture, Enron
people were beggared and some went to
jail.” He highlights Meggitt’s orientation:
“We have always aspired to exceptional
shareholder value. Today, we’re saying that
alone is not enough. The concept of a much
There will be no wall
plaques with Meggitt’s
values etched into them.
It’s about practice, not
posters
wider constituency expressed in the phrase
stakeholder value is what counts.”
Young anticipates some cynicism.
“’Stakeholder’ is a word that has come
to mean nothing in the mouths of some
politicians but it does have profound meaning
when used properly.” And he is frustrated
with “a values industry that makes people
feel good for a few minutes and a little bit
worthy.” Values must work hard for their
living. “Ours have got teeth and purpose
because they embody the behaviour needed
for all our businesses to succeed. They are
what is driving transformation.”
A recent pitch to Meggitt from an HR
information services provider showed how
shared values make a difference—the
difference that wins business. Young asked
what one thing would kill their organisation.
Each member of the team answered that as
the company was relatively youthful, it would
be just one disappointed customer: they
were trading on credibility, not longevity. “I
got the message. You just knew they would
move heaven and earth for their customers,”
says Young. The way the company approached
business had become second nature, the
kind of universal cultural norm he wants
We had to make some very difficult decisions, some of which resulted in
redundancies. At that same time, we have had to invest in a new structure
that will enable us to thrive in global markets for the long term
Meggitt to develop. “Shared values equal
shared behaviours—the culture that makes a
business tick.”
The values team, which included Peter
Huber, President of Meggitt Sensing Systems,
Charles Andrews, Group Head of Financial
Planning, Martin Ferrell, Vice President
of Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems US
manufacturing and Mike LeClair, Director, Site
Operations, Meggitt Control Systems, Simi
Valley spent some time examining the notion
of values in a business setting. Didn’t they
really just boil down to a work ethic or a set
of characteristics? But Young is happy with
moral resonances. “A moral framework that
determines action is as powerful in business as
it is in your personal life.”
He believes you can put the global team
value on a higher moral pedestal. “It is about
prioritising the common good.“ He explains:
“In corporate terms, you should not put your >

We will
act with
act as a
team focused on
customer needs
for continued
long-term growth
strive for performance
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 15

What do they mean for you?
We will act with integrity
Respect for each other and adherence to the highest
standards of ethical business behaviour.
We will act as a global team focused on customer needs
Looking beyond the old business units and embracing the
power of divisional teams with the scope and capability to give
our customers what they want.
We will invest in continued long-term growth
Creating a business for us and the next generation.
00 16
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Values guiding our decisions
Meggitt’s values will become integral
to professional development reviews
and the understood platform upon
which we all go about our business.
deliver
exceptional
stakeholder
We will strive for performance excellence
It’s everyone’s business, not just operations.
We will deliver exceptional stakeholder value
For customers, shareholders and employees,
because we have lived all our values …

own site’s interests to the fore if that
makes life for the rest of your division—or the
group—more difficult.”
Employees are already highly committed
to the Meggitt’s global team-working value.
However, Young acknowledges that it
cannot be lived to its full potential until
the Transformation organisation beds in
completely. He observes: “People want to get
things done easily rather than have to move
heaven and earth.“ He continues: “Many of
our tools, processes, skills, capabilities and
training programmes have been aimed at
single company solutions and this can make
things harder than they need be. The common
policies, processes and tools we are building
will enable us to redirect that energy and fulfil
the global team ideal.”
When it comes to the value associated
with performance excellence—that
we should ”strive” for it is key. Young
explains: “One should perpetually test
one’s assumptions about what could make
things better in and outside the working
A moral framework that
determines action is as
powerful in business as it
is in your personal life
environment.” At Meggitt, performance
excellence is no longer centred on operations
alone. It is everyone’s business.
As far as the requirement to invest for
long-term growth is concerned, his tone is
uncompromising: “We have an obligation
to make sure that the people who succeed
us have something to work with.” This is no
glib statement. Young has not forgotten the
toll economic conditions and transformation
activity have taken on today’s Meggitt
workforce. “We had to make some very
difficult decisions, some of which resulted in
redundancies. At that same time, we have had
to invest in a new structure that will enable us
to thrive in global markets for the long term.”
Delivering fully against Meggitt’s
values—the touchstones for decisionmaking—remains
a work in progress
Young emphasises. “ We know we are strong
in some areas and weak in others. Now we
have a list of the things we need to work
on if we are to fulfil the aspirations that
our values represent. This list is critical to
Meggitt’s future success.” If Meggitt’s values
are to be become integral to professional
development reviews and the understood
platform upon which all at Meggitt go about
their business, Young wants employees to
hold senior management to account for
Standing by for sales
Meggitt Avionics’ state-of-the-art secondary flight displays provide the
information pilots need to land should the primary system fail. Its latest
generation product is now fully certified on both sides of the Atlantic.
Meggitt Avionics has just received
European Technical Standard Order
(ETSO) Authorisation from EASA (European
Aviation Safety Agency) and Technical
Standard Order (TSO) Authorisation from
the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)
for its integrated secondary flight display
(iSFD). This makes the display the most
up-to-date, low risk standby instrument on
the international market.
iSFD is Meggitt’s third generation solidstate
secondary display. Showing critical flight
data such as attitude, altitude, air speed and
heading, it can be matched so closely to a
primary system it will appear to be integrated
with it. For pilots, this means an easy
transition to the standby in an emergency.
First introduced to the market in 1995 as
a back-up to primary digital cockpits, Meggitt’s
secondary flight display has been installed on
over 40 different aircraft programmes. Over
5,000 are in service worldwide.
Like those before it, iSFD is sustaining
a high level of interest for its low weight,
shortest installed length and best use of screen
space. Customers are also attracted to the low
power, long life and the magnitude of brightness
that comes with the LED backlights unique
to Meggitt standby systems. The product can
be customised and configured within certain
parameters without having to be recertified.
Long-term agreements with suppliers will
ensure a stable pipeline and enable cost
and price to be controlled and obsolescence
managed. Selecting iSFD will also cut the
compliance workload for manufacturers and
aircraft operators: United States export control
(ITAR) regulations do not apply.
Certification gives Meggitt Avionics the
green light to move several key programmes
forward—iSFD has already been selected by
seven customers, a mix of military and commercial
programmes which includes the Boeing
Apache, HondaJet, LearJet 85 and the Korean
medium weight utility helicopter, KAI Surion.
the implementation of those they cannot
influence strongly. Young confirms: “Our value
statement is not a diktat that is being handed
down from on high. Our values are a set of
promises that employees, whatever their
function, can challenge group leaders with.”
There will be no wall plaques with
Meggitt’s values etched into them. “It’s about
practice, not posters,” says Young. “What
matters is that we live up to the operations
excellence value, say, and upgrade our
programme management capability. That
way, we’ll end up astounding customers with
a performance that is so fantastic we will be
put at the heart of a development programme
for the next five years.” ●
Read more from Robin Young on
Transformation and Meggitt’s values at
Meggitt’s new corporate communications
space, mymeggitt.com\The Conversation,
where you can access a podcast, a
presentation (in six languages) and a
dedicated question and answer facility at
Q&A@meggitt.com.
To learn more about Meggitt Avionics
standby, threat warning and engine displays
and view lifelike animations of these seminal
products, go to Flight displays in Meggitt
in a Minute (Meggitt’s e-brochure) on the
homepage of www.Meggitt.com. Look for the
circular icon.
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 17

At Meggitt’s Polymers & Composites plant in Rockmart, Georgia, USA, a workforce
dominated by women sculpts a very special kind of rubber into the whale-like
structures that constitute America’s market-leading flexible fuel tanks. Some are
lightweight, yet immensely strong bladders. Others—crashworthy and ballisticallyresistant—help
prevent death from fuel fires and enable military aircraft to get back to
base safely on a shot tank. That’s why Rockmart people don’t mind that the work is
tough, probably the toughest across Meggitt.
What changes with the seasons is the feel
of the rubberised fabric layers
Unless you work at the division’s sister facilities in Loughborough and Oregon creating
rubber seals to fill the gaps in aero-engines and airframes, you could be forgiven for
thinking a tool is a rivet gun, a soldering iron or even a CNC machine.
At Rockmart, a tool is the large wooden, steel or laminate structure from which
a plaster or cardboard mould of a fuel tank is made. In Meggitt’s seal factories, metal
presses and plaster moulds accommodate all manner of configurations but are
smaller-scale. Rockmart fuel tanks come in shapes and sizes as awkward and large as
sofas and grand pianos and, in some cases, small cars—fitting whatever cavity is left
for fuel after the aircraft designers have finished their work and filled the airframe with
gadgetry. When you make a rubber seal, you sit at your work (mostly). In Rockmart
you stand, using a turning fixture to manhandle a structure often bigger than you. To
Loughborough and Oregon instruments—knives, scrapers and scissors—Rockmart adds
sledges and grinders.
A Rockmart operator literally sniffs the air
and knows how to play the day’s work
And then there‘s the weather. Ever been to Georgia in August? Temperature—humidity—
is everything. The most experienced workers know what it takes to create these mammoth
bags come spring, summer, autumn, winter. Come rain or shine, they just know. What
changes with the seasons is the feel of the rubberised fabric layers that make up a tank and
their propensity to stick and stay. Rockmart craftsmen and women literally sniff the air
and know how to play the day’s work.
And that’s not all to the 726,000 square foot facility. When it was acquired in 2008
with what is now Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems in Akron, Ohio, it came with a
significant electro-thermal ice protection and composites business. Today, this constitutes
around a quarter of the plant’s output from around a third of the plant’s 1000 or so workers.
00 18
REVIEW | WINTER 2010

FACTORY
FOCUS
FEELIN’
GOOD
In the following pages, we explore all facets of Meggitt’s facility in Rockmart, Georgia,
USA and where it fits within Meggitt Polymers & Composites, the new division created
as part of the group’s Transformation initiative.
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 19

TONY’S
TOUR
“Drab” is how Tony McCann, operations director of Meggitt Polymers & Composites’
facility in Rockmart, Georgia describes his office. “It’s been like this for over 30 years but
I like it that way.” McCann’s focus is on what goes on outside it—training, manufacturing
and process improvement, health, safety and the environment and anything to do with
the people who make Rockmart product. Two thirds of production is dominated by
flexible fuel tanks and the rest—give or take blimp work for Goodyear and Macy’s and
a small oil boom business that may increase significantly due to events in the Gulf of
Mexico—by cold laminates for helicopter interiors and heated products for helicopter ice
guards. McCann walks us through Rockmart’s past and present.
00 20
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Above: Tony McCann, operations director and devotee of Rockmart’s history, hardwood and heroic handcraft.

Dropping a crashworthy fuel tank from a
great height—65 feet to be precise—is
one of the more striking test processes
conducted at a Meggitt factory.
On impact, these huge rubber bags—
filled to capacity with hundreds gallons of
water—bounce around a rugged concrete
plot like giant salamis and remain intact.
But it is no laughing matter. As McCann
observes, “operators who build these tanks
by hand are almost always chewing their
fingernails during these tests. They are very
proud of their work. They want their fuel
cell to pass.“ At the same time, the crash
impact test demonstrates why, when a crew
survives a helicopter crash (apparently some
do), it will not be at risk of a fuel-related fire.
These tanks won’t break on impact, tear
after striking sharp objects or leak because
fittings rip away from their polymer hides.
Gun-fire tests for the facility’s
ballistically-resistant tanks are conducted
off-site and there is less drama. A special
rubber swells and self-seals when it comes
into contact with fuel caused by a bullet
hole, a process so quietly effective a pilot can
return to base without knowing his tank has
been shot until a maintenance inspection.
The tanks that keep crew safe and
transports on the move in Iraq and
Afghanistan begin life in a three-storey
textile mill. Built in the heart of the United
States cotton belt in 1929 by Goodyear Tire
& Rubber to make tyre cord, it wasn’t until
the 1950s that fuel tank lines were brought
from Goodyear’s plant in Akron, Ohio. The
tyre cord-related technology is still employed
for Rockmart’s fuel tank fittings while the
flexible fuel cell offering is streets ahead
in scope and sophistication—lightweight,
long-life, low maintenance bladders for any
aircraft, the crashworthy and ballisticallyresistant
variety of ultra-tough fuel tanks for
military helicopters and EFC100, the world’s
longest life sealant for wet wings and other
fuel cavities.
One of the older parts of the Rockmart
facility is still referred to as the “Yankee
Stadium”, a reference to the occupation
of a small building next to the grander
bricks-and-mortar mill by managers from
Goodyear’s facility north of the Mason Dixon
line in Akron. McCann, himself from Ohio,
also delights in the handsome stonecarved
Goodyear logo and depiction of the
Roman god Mercury’s winged foot that
announces the old mill entrance. He points
to the ”Goodyear village”, a row of identical
brick houses erected to house the Yankee
executives of former days. “That’s where
the culture of our facility comes from,“
he says. The sense of a company mill town is
reinforced by the fire department nearby and
a grade school—both built on Goodyear-
Above: Meggitt’s tough but flexible fuel tanks begin life
in a three-storey former textile mill built in 1929
while ‘the mill’ is
the biggest show in
town, its workforce
is drawn from five
counties. Those who
work here, work here
because they choose to
donated land. Yet while ‘the mill’ is the
biggest show in town, its workforce is drawn
from five counties. “Those who work here,
work here because they choose to,” says
McCann.
The Rockmart operation produces
over 10,000 tanks a year for around 70
programmes, dominating the plant’s total
production space and profits. The largest
tanks, amounting to a quarter of fuel tank
turnover and at least one third of the factory
floor, are for the airborne gas station that
refuels military aircraft on the fly—Boeing’s
KC-135 stratotanker. As part of an upgrade
that will see the aircraft in service until about
2045 (a little under a century since it was first
launched), MPC Rockmart is replacing the
16 tanks that carry over 200,000 pounds of
jet fuel in the aircraft’s wings, body and tail.
Around 100 people make around five tanks a
day involving at least 60 build positions—the
angles at which a tank’s rubber fabric layers
are applied.
McCann says that after 600,000 square
feet touring fuel tank manufacturing, visitors
are always overwhelmed by the Who’s
Who of the US defence industry present in
tanks for UAVs, missiles, military jets and
helicopters covering all branches of the
services—the Army, Navy, Coastguard and
marines. Just 10 per cent of the plant’s
output is destined for commercial aircraft.
The second impact of a Rockmart visit
concerns the almost wholly manual nature of
its processes. Every tank is built by hand, one
layer at a time with plies of cloth and >
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 21

TONY’S TOUR
00 22
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Left: sanding away every last
sharp edge and imperfection on
a fuel tank’s plaster form. Any
fault in construction could have
catastrophic consequences.
Right: Operators pump up
the completed tank, testing
for leaks using an ammonia
solution before thorough
cleaning and meticulous
inspection, especially of the
inner liner.
if you get
overgenerous with
your cement or get
sloppy with your
plies, the tank will
be overweight and
have to be scrapped

Left: Operators in chest waders
partially submerge tanks in
waist high pools, rotating to
remove the disposable
tool - the cardboard mould.
Right: Rockmart operators use
a turning fixture to work on
large, awkward structures.
10,000 tanks a year for
around 70 programmes
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 23

TONY’S TOUR
> continued from page 21
urethane. The orientation of the fabric ply,
its thickness and the way it is woven is the
secret of impact resistance and strength.
McCann is also keen to draw attention
to the challenge—not shared by many other
Meggitt facilities—that material instability
presents to continuous improvement
initiatives. Fabrics and other materials
must be refrigerated in rolls and boxes to
keep them fresh and stable before being
acclimatised for manufacturing. He explains:
“After you cement two pieces of rubbercoated
nitrile fabric together, there is a point
when you peel them back, when you will see
spider legs. That’s the optimal time to stick
the fabric together. If you do it too soon, you
won’t get it and if you do it too late it won’t
work either.”
Another set of variables arises during
manufacture. Until recently, a MPC
Rockmart tank was made from
start to finish by one person. Now, teams
are increasingly being brought into play in
new ‘start’ and ‘build’ areas where batch
production (one person: one tank) is being
exchanged for flow set-ups (one tank: five
people). “Visibility boards” (white boards
constantly updated with output data) and a
system of little coloured flags highlighting
the completion of a manufacturing
sequence—or a problem—evidences this
step-change in manufacturing process.
Using the production metronome of ‘Takt
time’ to pace key stages of production using
a team, McCann expects to double output.
He points to five stations in a straight line.
“On this programme, we will be able to shoot
a tank out every 90 minutes instead of five
tanks a day.” With demand for the life-saving
military tanks high and competition never far
away, around 20 fuel tank programmes are
being converted now. Virtually all production
will be converted to flow over time. (See ‘Why
Sam got rhythm” and “What the coach said”
on pages 30 and 31).
With fuel cell production process spread
over multiple floors, much creativity has to be
employed to create flow. The MPC Rockmart
team seems to be infinitely resourceful.
“You wouldn’t build a factory like this now,”
McCann says, before recalling: “A couple of
years ago, I was really proud of our crew—
we shuffled around 140,000 square feet of
building to bring in the KC-135 programme
and expand our ice guards business.”
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REVIEW | WINTER 2010
McCann highlights the plant’s training
area, a space off a long corridor, and with
great affection its original—and gleaming—
hardwood floor made from Canadian lumber.
Refurbished in 2009, training houses a
conference room and offices for four fulltime
trainers and a part-time retiree with
35 years’ invaluable experience. Operators
receive extensive training before they go on
to the shop floor, every six months after that
or when they go into a new area.
Exceptional attention to detail must
be paid at every stage of the tank-making
process. McCann explains: “It takes real
dexterity and workmanship to make these
components and not everyone is suited
to it. There is a skill to putting this cloth
on to meet the requirement and if you get
overgenerous with your cement or get sloppy
with your plies, the tank will be overweight
and have to be scrapped.”
Each fuel cell type requires its own
set of manufacturing instructions and
Rockmart’s industrial engineers work closely
with the training department to standardise
and document the build, sequencing,
measurement and positioning of components
so fundamental to McCann’s pursuit of flow
production. Now all first-time programmes
are developed by trainers and operators and
‘debugged off-line’. McCann explains: “In the
past, we would get a tank out on the shop
floor and iterate a process there. Now the
tank form follows the specification—not the
other way round.”
Patterns for fuel tank and ice guard
moulds and a seemingly infinite
range of composite product shapes
are downloaded from the engineering
department in an adjacent building, captured
by a giant digital camera and fed to the
cutting centre here in the old mill. Multiple
automated cutters cut anything from single
to multiple ply coated fabrics, cardboard,
gum for self-sealing fuel tanks and collars
for tank fittings. To minimise waste, digitised
patterns that can be cut in the same material
are nested by engineers using real-time
digital feedback. These machines, which
originated in the garment manufacturing
industry, resonate with the factory’s textile
history, just like the software used to make
the fuel tank’s fabric flanges: when 30 holes
are cut for bolts in a fuel tank flange, a machine
ingeniously adapted by MPC Rockmart engineers,
thinks it is cutting 30 shirt button-holes.
Visitors are always
overwhelmed by the Who’s
Who of the US defence
industry present in tanks for
UAVs, missiles, military jets
and helicopters covering all
branches of the services
McCann explains that the iterative
prototyping enabled by these cutting
machines is a vast improvement on his
earliest days at Rockmart, which involved
clicking dies—giant steel cookie cutters
for cardboard, cloth and fabric still used
for product lines not yet converted for
computerised modelling.
Today, MPC Rockmart’s engineers
create a solid model of the cavity that will
hold a fuel tank. Software enables it to be
‘unfolded flat’ in the form of data sent to the
cutting room where the cut-out is crafted
into a 3-D shape. After minor modification,
Part of MPC Rockmart’s art is the design of fittings for very complex
contours and dimensions, adapting a process that harks back to
tyre-making in the Goodyear days
this prototype will be ready for production
tooling, “minus the imperfection we had to
work around in the old days,” says McCann,
emphasising: “These days, we won’t hard
tool anything until we get it the way we want.”
Customers commonly provide the
specification of a cavity but MPC Rockmart
engineers will challenge the spec if airframe
and cavity modifications will enable lighter
constructions, devoid of heavy corner and
edge reinforcement, that still meet the
customer’s specification.
Large wooden structures are used to
create disposable cardboard forms for the
largest tanks. Operators nail a jigsaw puzzle
of pre-cut cardboard pieces around them and
line interiors with foam or cardboard. Once
assembly is complete, the structure is removed,
leaving the disposable cardboard tool.
The grind of circular saws and the
smell of dust announces the shop where
operators “curf” (buff and grind) the edges
of cardboard forms intensively to create the
smoothest possible surface. “It is always
amazing to me what we are able to make
in terms of complex shapes. Our operators
do some miraculous things with cardboard
and masking tape,” says McCann. Layers
of cardboard are removed gingerly without
breaking the skin of the form and key
surfaces are taped over tightly—any defect in

Right: It takes real dexterity
and workmanship to make
a Meggitt fuel tank and not
everyone is suited to it.
Below right: Every tank is built
by hand, one layer at a time with
plies of cloth and urethane. The
orientation of the fabric ply,
its thickness and the way it is
woven is the secret of impact
resistance and strength.
the cardboard tool becomes a defect in the
tank through which fuel can seep.
After inspectors pass the form for
surface perfection and correct location of
fittings, it is sprayed with a coating that
enables it to be removed easily once the tank
has been fully constructed. “Some of our
spray booths are humungous and create such
a negative draft they open all the doors on the
first floor of this building,” says McCann.
In the heat of August, the dry cool
recesses of the plaster area are an oasis.
While cardboard forms are used for large
tanks like the KC-135, wood wool mixed with
plaster using fibre-glass moulds is used
for the smaller tanks (for missiles, say) or
awkwardly shaped parts of larger fuel cells
designed to fit into fighter jet cavities.
Fitting collars—a fabric flange between
metal—is an MPC Rockmart speciality
awarded its own manufacturing space.
Fittings attach tanks to aircraft, provide
access points for fuel, draining points for
sumps and ducts and wiring to support
military systems that have little do with fuel
management. McCann observes: “Jet fighter
fuel tanks seem to have everything but fuel
going through them. The F18 fighter tank,
for example, has hundreds, all designed
and located with great precision.” He adds:
“And that is very hard to do with a flexible
fuel bladder by the way. There is no room for
error on these critical components.” Part of
MPC Rockmart’s art is the design of fittings
for very complex contours and dimensions,
adapting a process that harks back to tyremaking
in the Goodyear days. Nylon cord
for crashworthy tanks is strung by hand, cut
into mopheads, sandwiched between the
plies of cloth being applied to the cardboard
form and embedded into the construction.
The impact resistance of crashworthy tanks
derives from a proprietary process variation
that enables fittings to dissipate loads.
Walking through the facility, you can’t fail
to observe the hundred-plus hangers applied
to each fuel tank used to spread the tank out
into the aircraft cavity during installation.
Internal hangers are used to position
equipment such as pumps and valves. >
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 25

TONY’S TOUR
At this point,
claustrophobics
should look
away now
> The pole from which a tank has been hung
throughout its manufacture is removed, its
holes patched and the tank palleted before
being ‘cooked’ in giant autoclaves using
vacuum pressure and heat—up to 300ºF and
pressures of 90 PSI. The largest of these
ovens is over 30 feet long—wide enough to
accommodate fuel tanks and long enough to
accommodate composite ice guard sheaths
for helicopter rotor blades.
Next to the autoclave, rows of tanks lie
in waist-high pools which operators in chest
waders partially submerge and rotate to
remove the disposable tool—the cardboard
mould. “It is not a fun job, but it is what we
do,” says McCann. The only way to remove a
plaster casts—Tony’s ‘one shot deals’—is by
taking a mallet to them.
Operators pump up the now deflated tanks,
testing for leaks using an ammonia solution
before thorough cleaning and meticulous
inspection, especially the inner liner.
00 26
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
At this point, claustrophobics should
look away now. Operators and inspectors
climb inside fuel cells for extended periods
to ensure every centimetre of an inner liner
is flawless. When they find a blemish, they
repair it with cement, buffing and sanding
away every last sharp edge and imperfection.
Any fault in construction could have catastrophic
consequences. McCann reminds us: “Every
piece of material that goes into the construction
of these tanks—every colour coded cement,
fabric and fitting—is fully traceable.”
And this is when the Origami begins. Even
the largest tank can be packed down to around
three feet square for wrapping and shipping.
Health and safety, as with any Meggitt
plant, is taken extremely seriously.
Operators wear air hoods into which
fresh air—and lots of it—is fed when working
inside a tank. Outside tanks, large fans blow
across breathing zones of at least three feet.
“It’s mandatory, even in winter, when it is
cold,” McCann affirms.
Employees use numerous dermatology
facilities offering barrier creams and “tough
towels” infused with alcohol before and after
their breaks. They are encouraged to dispose
of gloves every four hours. The approach
works. McCann says: “When NIOSH came in
here and did a complete study, they told our
guys: you have less dermatological incidents
in your factory than they have across the street.”
Left: Operators and inspectors climb inside
fuel cells with special torches for extended
periods to ensure every centimetre of an
inner liner is flawless.
Above: One shot deals: the only way to
remove a plaster cast from the fuel cell
moulded around it, is by taking a mallet to it.
McCann is delighted to have been
able to work with George Markulis, (Meggitt’s
first group Health, Safety & Environment
director) over the years. Markulis has known
the MPC Rockmart plant since it was sold by
Goodyear Aerospace to Loral, moving with it
when Loral went to K&F Holdings and then
Meggitt. “George was always great coach. He
could always find ways to improve but each
year he had to look harder and harder. When
we were being sold each time, I would ask:
where’s George going? I would not want my
job if I did not have a George Markulis looking
out for me. He is very thorough and looks
beyond the Georgia regulations to keep us
on a standard.”
Rockmart is surprise-audited by
government regulators twice a year on
hazardous wastes (there are 65 at the plant).
Again, McCann is proud of MPC Rockmart’s
record. “Lots of times they bring an extra
inspector in with them because they have
realised over the years, this is how a plant
should do it. It’s a compliment to the team”,
he says and, never complacent, “and an extra
pair of eyes.“
At the back of the plant, a new
explosion-proof test house surrounded by
a leak-proof burm designed to contain the
massive structures that keep fuel-laden tanks
from deforming over 30-day stand tests (or at
high pressure over several hours depending
on the fuel cell and number of fuel fixtures). >

Meggitt’s book of
How?
How to make a flexible fuel cell
➊ Create a mould of the cavity your fuel
tank has to fill using a wooden structure
on to which you fix cardboard that has
been pre-cut to size. Use a plaster
mould for any part of the geometry
that is small and complex. Measure the
locations and sizes for the tank’s pump,
valve and airframe fittings.
➋ Spray your mould with a release
material that will allow the completed
tank to pull away from the form later in
the process.
➌ Start the tank by applying the inner
liner, fittings and internal accessories.
➍ Now place the first ‘ply’—or layer of
rubber-coated fabric—on the mould and
repeat alternating with nylon barriers,
strengthening materials and sealing
products. You will need a rack around
which to rotate the tanks so that you
can follow exact sequences and dry
times for each layer on all sides. Drying
sessions can last up to 16 hours …
➎ Cure your tank in an autoclave
(or just air].
➏ Immerse the cured tank in water to
liquefy the release material and soften
the mould for removal. If your cast is
plaster, you will have to use a mallet to
remove the mould …
➐ Take your tanks for a pressure test
to check for leaks. Fill your tank
with ammonia—this will react with
chemically-treated cloth strips if there is
a leak.
➑ Fit your finished tank into a jig that
simulates the body of the aircraft that it
is destined for. Fill it with fuel this time
and check it again for leaks.
➒ On final inspection, clean the tank
and mark key access points for later
installation in the aircraft and fold lines
with stencils ready for folding flat,
packing and shipping.
Above: Over a hundred-plus hangers can be applied to
fuel tanks. They are used to spread the tank out into
the aircraft cavity during installation.
Left: Rubber-coated fabric is placed over the mould
in multiple layers, alternating with nylon barriers,
strengthening materials and sealing products.
Above left: Material instability and variation is a
challenge to continuous improvement initiatives
not shared by many other Meggitt facilities.
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 27

TONY’S TOUR
> All structures are lined with paper from
which tell-tale oil stains cannot evaporate.
Fuel tank manufacturing starts at
Rockmart early in the day and stops at three
o’clock in the afternoon before the heat of
the day hits. The hours are child-friendly,
attracting many female workers. Fans run all
night long, ready for the morning shift.
the coolest part of the plant is mpc rockmart’s
brand-new 126,000 square foot composites facility,
hosting the manufacturing of interior cabins
and the gallimaufry of accessories needed for
all models of Sikorsky helicopters. Its 15,000
square foot pressurised clean room contains
the composite-embedded element work for
the V22 rotorcraft ice guard programme,
strands of production that balance nicely with
the fuel cell business. (See “Blade runner”
and “Under Sikorsky’s skin” on pages 34
and 38).
There is a five-axis machine centre for
trimming composites, cutting fibre glass
doors and making the tooling that lies at the
00 28
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Above: Heated products like this
electro-thermal ice protection component
under repair represent one of two streams
in Rockmart’s rapidly growing composites
business. The other is unheated laminates
for helicopter interiors.
Right: Manufacturing the side panel of
an electro-thermal iceguard for a V22
nose cone spinner, work that takes
place in the new 126,000 square foot
composites facility.
heart of all composites work. There are rows
of sewing machines. Neat workstations are
optimised for cementing foam onto metal or
composites onto panels ready for upholstery.
Operators lay up composite ply into metal
moulds for helicopter nose cone ice guards
based on patterns beamed onto them by
advanced laser projectors. They wind wire
around nails to create the heater elements
placed into the cones reinforced with
lightweight cloth.
Tools in the interior composites area are
in heavy metal into which pre-impregnated
plies are laid. At the end of each day, most
of these tools lie inside vacuum bags
which compress the plies before curing in
autoclaves.
The same degree of buffing and
grinding that applies to fuel cells is deployed
to deliver smooth surfaces for parts destined
for upholstery and ice guards.
The composites facility is a breath of
fresh air in more ways than one. The work
is fine and light, the air cool and, what
excites McCann most, space without walls
and floors—the ideal blank canvas on which
an optimal manufacturing architecture can
be constructed. Here McCann and team do
not have to work around the limitations of a
factory built to spin cotton.
Still, he’s fond of the old cotton mill and
Yankee Stadium: its history, its hardwood, its
heroic handcraft—and his very drab office. ●
The hours are
child-friendly,
attracting many
female workers

Ihad some experience of Lean
Manufacturing in 2006—the five Ss,
some pacing sheet and floor layout. It
was a nice introduction for someone like
me who’d never had any formal training.
But when Meggitt sent its Lean crew in to
drastically increase the output of our fuel
tank manufacturing, I thought “no way”
with the product mix we were running at the
time. Each cell had product lines of every
shape and size all running together. How
could you standardise that and speed things
up? But sometimes, it takes outsiders to
see the value of what you have, like the
quality control data and the direct labour
charges we record for every tank. Meggitt’s
Lean experts, Garret Mertz and Bob
Meeker picked tanks out from our defect
reports and, putting to one side what a tank
looked like, they focused on how long it
took to make one successfully. Suddenly, the
light went on. We had to find tanks that had
something in common. Manufacturing time
was it. After 31 years’ experience, I may have
been set in my ways but I could see how the
concept of a “mixed model” might work.
After that, we brought our frontline
supervisors in on the project. There is no
way we could reach our goal without them.
Each one has decades of experience with
knowledge so broad and problem-solving
skills so inventive you could mistake them
At Rockmart, building
more products better
and faster saves lives as
well as livelihoods
for supervising mechanical engineers. They
helped us group together eight different
tanks with similar manufacturing times
Why Sam
got rhythm
Sam Dunwoody, Product Manager, Meggitt Polymers & Composites,
Rockmart explains how the facility is nearly doubling its output of
fuel cells by moving from batch to flow production—with a little help
from group Lean experts and plant supervisors Kathy Gazaway and
Gloria Barber.
ready to start up the new process. Then
the really hard work started, developing
standard operations. You see, there’s more
than one sequence of processes through
which you can make a sound fuel tank but
building them the same way is critical to
creating the one-piece flow you need to
increase productivity. Now we now have the
best building specifications for fuel tanks of
any department in the plant and all our new
employees are training on them.
As we improved standard operations,
our industrial engineers were doing the
studies on the tanks to establish Takt
time. Pacing work this way was something
that had never entered my head—moving
step by step through the manufacturing
process at fixed and regular intervals like
clockwork. Each step has to be completed
by everyone before the entire team moves
on to the next part of the process. In our
first manufacturing cell, each member of a
team of six had to complete a step in under
70 minutes. The beauty of establishing
a rhythm like this, is that if some people
complete earlier than other team members,
they would rush to help anyone who hasn’t
put the white flag on their tank that shows
they’re finished and ready for the next tank.
It used to be one person who built one
fuel tank. It was their tank. They took all the
pride in the world over it and they knew that
their tank was good because they had made
it, one hundred per cent. Now one person
makes one sixth of a tank and it’s “our
tank” not “mine”. It is a new way of thinking
for all of us. Teamwork like this is really
rewarding for us as individuals as well as
the company.
The initial start up exceeded our
expectations. Yes, we had hiccups but
the wheels did not run off the process. In
fact, a few of our people went a little too
fast—literally running on occasion—before
they understood that this exercise was
about working smarter not working harder.
That’s when the ideas about eliminating
time-wasting activity started to flow from
the builders themselves. It is important to
react when someone has a good idea, not
only letting them have their say but really
listening. That way, everyone owns the
activity and takes pride in making it work.
It took months of tweaking the
manufacturing process and then practice—
lots of it. That is how we got to building six
It took months of tweaking the manufacturing
process and then practice to meet the desired rate
tanks a day, rather than four and a half and
why we will be converting all 25 fuel cells to
this new mixed model flow concept.
Each tank is now inspected by six
pairs of eyes instead of one, making quality
control integral to the manufacturing
process. Our youngest and least
skilled operators have increased their
performance and reduced their learning
curve using standard specifications.
Increasing throughput and reducing cycle
times means we can win more contracts to
keep jobs here in MPC Rockmart.
Of course, around here there is added
incentive. We have many family members of
soldiers flying around in helicopters in
ballistically-resistant and crashworthy tanks.
Many see their work as a patriotic duty,
involving a very personal commitment to the
people who use our products. At MPC
Rockmart, building more products better and
faster saves lives as well as livelihoods. ●
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 29

What the
coach said
Garret Mertz, one of the MEs
(manufacturing engineers) assigned
to MPC Rockmart’s flow project,
adopts mentoring and coaching roles
on process improvement projects. He
explains: “Supervisors and operators must
not only understand a new process but own
it if they are to maintain and improve it. It
must not be done to—or for—them.”
For readers unfamiliar with the terms,
‘batch’ manufacturing involves people
working independently. ‘Flow’ on the other
hand “virtually links you at the hip to your
colleagues. Each worker performs a vital
operation on the product in question, which
then moves down the line for the next. It is a
lot like car manufacturing,“ Mertz explains.
The psychological impact is transforming.
“Linking people together like this creates a
synergy that just doesn’t happen when you
work alone.” This claim is born out by the
performance of MPC Rockmart’s first flow
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REVIEW | WINTER 2010
team, which nearly doubled its output, and
Mertz’s experience of previous projects.
“Generally speaking, a move from batch to
flow manufacturing increases throughput
by 30%, reduces inventory by between 50%
and 70% and the cost of labour by around
20%.” What’s more, while the challenges
differ, flow production is as effective
for hand-made products as it is for the
hi-tech. He explains: “highly engineered
products involve managing capital assets,
like machine tools. At the other end of the
spectrum, you are looking at workstation
organisation, effective work instructions
and factory layouts to support manpower.”
With fellow ME, Bob Meeker, Mertz
spent six months working with the
Rockmart team on one of the smaller, but
more complex product lines—crashworthy
fuel tanks. The first step toward achieving
flow was to eliminate variability in
the production process. Mertz says:
“Everybody pretty much built their tanks
differently. We had to unlock what was
in people’s heads and create standard
documentation around optimal techniques
and sequencing.” Mertz and Meeker spent
around a month observing operators who
were understandably nervous, taking
photographs and documenting activity.
Later, those operators found themselves
working actively with the MEs to analyse the
results and identify the best way to make
the product. The chosen method was then
released formally to the rest of the floor. As
part of the rethink, inspection was pushed
Supervisors and operators
must not only understand
a new process but own it
if they are to maintain and
improve it. It must not be
done to—or for—them
back upstream so that defective tanks
were not able to halt the flow and material
shortages at line stations were eradicated.
Once process variability was driven
out, the team worked out the average time
it took to build a tank, breaking it into small
steps to establish the Takt time (see page 29
for Sam Dunwoody’s definition). Operators
then practised building them in the same
way within the agreed Takt interval. Without

working harder, productivity gradually rose
and, after exposure to the techniques of
more experienced colleagues, slower, less
experienced operators matured rapidly.
Applying standard work, eliminating
the variability, figuring out standard times
and breaking up a sequence of work
are tried-and-tested Lean techniques.
However, they are nothing without operator
motivation, especially when it comes to
a fundamentally hand-made process
that cannot be improved with machine
tools. “Creating a team that focuses on
a common goal is extremely important,”
confirms Mertz. In particular, he cites the
sponsorship of operations director, Tony
McCann, the application of continuous
improvement professionals like Alan
Wood and the authority of production
manager, Sam Dunwoody and supervisors
Kathy Gazaway and Gloria Barber. “This
team really embraced the idea of trying
something new, even when they didn’t fully
understand the concepts of continuous flow
manufacturing. Eventually, they became
highly adept users of continuous flow
tools, accomplishing tasks in a timeframe
that would been difficult enough for an
experienced team.” ●
What the
Math said
Before continuous flow manufacturing
at MPC Rockmart, six operators
would work independently and,
typically, finish 4.5 tanks a day. Once the
flow cell was implemented, the same six
operators, working as a team, were able to
complete six tanks a day.
They used a simple version of the
“Andon” signalling system pioneered by
Toyota. Operators posted a green flag
above the fuel tank when an operator had
completed his or her portion of work on it.
Red flags signalled a problem in the build.
A typical tank took six hours to make. The
customer wanted six a day so the total
build time was divided into increments.
Each operator built their portion of the tank
before passing (or ‘indexing’) the tank to
the next operator who would apply the next
build step. The tank moved through all six
operators until the final build was complete.
Operators who completed their build early
helped those who had not to maintain the flow.
Mertz and Meeker and the Rockmart
continuous improvement team implemented
two cells in five months. The majority of
their time was spent documenting and
timing the build process. Eight different
tank types ran through the same cell in
hourly indexes. Before breaking the total
tank build into hourly increments, all
eight models had to be documented and
time-studied. After that, implementation
took one week. Reaching targets following
implementation in the first cell took about
three months, the second cell just two. To
date, 20 cells have been converted to flow
manufacturing.
Garret Mertz and Bob Meeker are now
working on operational excellence projects for
the new Meggitt Control Systems division. ●
Below: Supervisors Gloria Barber (right)
and Kathy Gazaway (left) became highly
adept users of continuous flow tools,
accomplishing tasks in a timeframe that
would have been difficult enough for an
experienced team.
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 31

For decades Velma Brooks,
MPC Rockmart’s head of engineering,
has been changing one material into
another so it’s fit for purpose. The
transformation is no different, she says.
MATERIAL
00 32
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
GIRL
it was hip to be in composites when i started out, says Velma Brooks,
MPC Rockmart’s head of engineering, “which is why I joined
Goodyear Tire & Rubber. It seemed as if its products touched
everything on earth.”
A uranium enrichment programme consumed most of
Brooks’ time at Goodyear’s facility in Akron, Ohio. She worked
with the hi-tech glass and carbon materials needed for the super
lightweight cylinders that would separate isotopes and create
radioactive energy. “That was set-the-world-on-fire stuff,” she
laughs with gentle self-mockery. When the programme finished,
the polymer science major won another Goodyear role, moving
from a research environment involving highly sophisticated
equipment, to Banberries (rubber mixers) and injection-moulding
equipment at Rockmart, Georgia. “It seemed like simple work but
I soon discovered that a lot can go wrong and I was intrigued by the
fact that you had to feel this stuff to really understand it. You never
needed to touch glass or carbon.”
If you need to climb over a wall, it looks
daunting until you build the steps
32 years climbing in and out of military aircraft fuel tanks have
passed since. “Tanks on the shop floor, tanks on the airplane—if
you are going to go to work on products like these, you’ve got to
touch them,” she explains. Brooks considers the sense of touch
developed by operators as equally important for the plant’s
engineers and designers. They are subjected to a wide range of
hands-on training assignments when they join the business. “It’s
the quickest way to get up to speed on what we do.”
The challenge, as with any aircraft component, is to meet the
performance requirement and stay within weight limits. Meggitt
Rockmart is addressing this by taking increasing responsibility for
designing, developing and qualifying composite components rather
than making them to a customer’s pre-determined specifications.
Brooks explains: “This gives us the opportunity to really exploit our
materials science capability and make further gains in the quest for
lightweight assemblies.”
Tanks on the shop floor, tanks on the
airplane—if you are going to go to
work on products like these, you’ve
got to touch them
One project involves reducing the weight of all the materials
that go into Rockmart’s fuel tanks by 30 per cent—metal and
textiles as well as rubber. This is being achieved using the plant’s
own R&D, working with speciality material suppliers and tapping
into longstanding academic links.
After a professional lifetime in elastomeric and composite
materials development, the potential of polymers seems to Brooks
to be limitless. “One hardly feels one has scratched the surface,”
she says modestly. In fact, Brooks has supported the evolution
of a low-level fixed wing capability in ice protection into today’s
sophisticated higher assemblies for the V22 tilt rotorcraft. She has
supported the growth of the plant’s helicopters interiors production
from zero to a sixth of Rockmart’s overall business—and there
is a long list of developments in material science that have kept
the facility ahead of the competition and high in prestige such as
hi-tech rubber for the Spacelab Transfer Tunnel n the 1980s, the
Orbital Docking System for the Space Station in the 1990s and
the Space Shuttle this century. And Meggitt Rockmart continues
to more than scratch at the surface of new technology and new
markets, with developments so significant they must evade the
Meggitt Review spotlight to protecting competitive intelligence.

There are, however, some areas Brooks can talk about. She
is a strong believer in the importance of developing Meggitt’s own
intellectual property, most recently “EFC100”. The polyurethane
spray sealant for ‘wet’ wings and other fuel storage cavities is the first
truly leak-proof product to enter the market. It offers a jaw-dropping
market-wide retrofit opportunity for existing aircraft and growth
opportunities for new fighter aircraft, which are using flexible fuel
tanks less and less in the quest for all but weightless product.
A unique feature of MPC Rockmart’s polyurethane tanks is
that they do not have to be oiled to maintain flexibility, reducing a
huge maintenance burden associated with conventional tanks. The
facility is transitioning all current programmes to this exceptional
product and delivering it to all new aircraft.
MPC Rockmart is targeting small commercial helicopters with
a new, very lightweight, yet very strong flexible fuel tank and has
already qualified one for the new Robinson 66 utility helicopter.
The first article product passed the 65 foot drop test applies to the
facility’s military products, despite a reduction in weight of 25 per cent.
And Brooks and team are always looking at ways of speeding
the product process in fuel tanks. The latest improvement
involves the automation of fuel tank accessory sealants improving
repeatability and minimising solvent exposure for operators.
We are always looking at how we can make things better. Our new divisional positioning
gives us wider views of what the other units are doing in terms of handling materials
and controlling tooling so we can get process times down
In future, Meggitt Rockmart will be able to draw on the
resources of a much bigger in-house team. Brooks is delighted
to see a substantive expansion of engineering expertise
following the merger with Meggitt’s facilities in Oregon in the
US and Loughborough in the UK under new Meggitt Polymers
& Composites divisional management. She highlights MPC
Rockmart’s vast knowledge of elastomeric material behaviour
and characteristics and can point to significant achievements in
manufacturing engineering. The Loughborough teams have long
experience of systems and sophisticated analytical tools and have
created proprietary next generation ice protection technology.
Loughborough has an especially well-developed finite element
analysis (FEA) function that enables the dynamics of a component
to be thoroughly understood. It uses FEA, for example, to show
Below: Brooks is a strong believer in the importance of developing
Meggitt’s own intellectual property, most recently “EFC100”, the
polyurethane spray sealant for ‘wet’ wings and other fuel storage
cavities. It is the first truly leak-proof product to enter the market.
Above: The Rockmart facility is targeting small commercial
helicopters with a new, very lightweight, yet very strong flexible
fuel tank and has already qualified one for the new Robinson 66
utility helicopter.
how a seal reacts to compression. Brooks observes: “Customers
really appreciate this when you are proposing a package for a solid
feature, particularly when it is combined with the rapid prototyping
technology that gives them a shape and a configuration to look at.
Of course, for us there are a lot of dynamics in dropping a fuel tank
from 65 feet to test performance. That’s a big deal and where we
need to go.”
At the same time, Brooks is part of a team that aims to
transform the entire engineering function across Meggitt. With
her people, she is fully engaged with group’s Head of Engineering
Transformation, Bernie Stevens and his people, finding
commonalities and identifying centres of excellence. “I have been
very impressed with the expertise that is present across Meggitt
and so far, it’s been a great experience—open door, open floor,
while still keeping everyone on the road toward our goal.“ The
scope for materials development within a centre dedicated to
improving process flow is particularly exciting for Brooks. This
is not about the sequencing of process steps but how material
development affects the ‘manufacturability’ of a process. “We
are always looking at how we can make things better. Our new
divisional positioning gives us wider views of what the other units
are doing in terms of handling materials and controlling the
tooling that the materials come into contact with so that we can
get process times down.”
Identifying gaps in expertise and skills and hammering out
best practice across the division and the group holds no fear for
Brooks. “If you need to climb over a wall, it looks daunting until
you build the steps. That’s something Bernie has outlined very
well concerning engineering policies and procedures. They are
segmented into steps, something we are all used to.”
The best thing about the transformation workstream for
Brooks is the cross-divisional engineering representation. “You
can tap into knowledge instantly. Having workshops across all the
sites was enriching too—starting with a presentation and then a
plant tour to see how all the dots connected. The first workshop,
in particular, really humanised the process. ‘Transformation’ is a
great word and concept but it is people that have to deliver it.” ●
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 33

00 34
REVIEW | AUGUST WINTER 2010
BLADE
RUNNERS

The main tail and rotor blades of over 2,000 H60 Black Hawk and Sea
Hawk helicopters are heated by MPC Rockmart’s electro-thermal
ice protection technology. And then there are the “Pigs” and “Salad
Bowls”, operators’ nicknames for fairings and nose cones. These
products are just two of ten components in the facility’s “higher
assemblies”—higher value integrated component packages that
stop the spinners as well as the rotor blades from icing up on
Bell-Boeing’s V22 Osprey vertical take-off plane.
Heated products like this represent one of two streams in MPC
Rockmart’s rapidly growing composites business. The other—
mostly laminates for helicopter interiors—are unheated. Hot or
cold, both may seem worlds away from the flexible fuel tank business
that dominates the plant. They flow, nonetheless, from the materials
science capability that underpins the output of the facility as a whole
and the new Meggitt Polymers & Composites division within which
MPC Rockmart now operates.
In simple terms, MPC Rockmart’s electro-thermal ice protection
products have something in common with the de-icing wiring arrays
found in the rear windshields of ordinary domestic cars. Meggitt’s
arrays for helicopters are made from etched foil or a web of copper
or alloy elements intricately woven by hand or machine, adhered to
a textile base. Made from nylon, fibre glass or graphite carbon, that
base will have been pre-impregnated with lightweight composite
materials that maximise electro-thermal transfer, minimise weight
and withstand a range of punishing environmental conditions.
our joint operations complement
each other perfectly. Now we can
go from one end of a programme
to another
In addition to the US military’s front line military helicopters—the
Black Hawk and Sea Hawk and the MH60 variant used for special
operations—MPC Rockmart’s electro-thermal blade heaters are
used by numerous Sikorsky platforms. The S92, Sikorsky’s fourbladed
twin-engine medium-lift helicopter, carries Meggitt’s complex
composite electro-thermally heated engine air inlets. Originally won
by Meggitt Polymers & Composites’ former Coventry facility before
it was bought by Meggitt, the programme has been the subject of a
strategic transfer to Rockmart, closer to the US-based customer. The
work, similar to Rockmart’s Sikorsky heavy-lift CH53E programme, has
been supported successfully by MPC trainers from the UK. The S76, a
multi-purpose medium-sized helicopter, carries Meggitt fire walls and
bell mouths—metallic components with electrically-heated elements
bonded to connectors located at the engine air intake.
Randy Holbrooks, who heads up the facility’s ice protection
engineering team, has been intimately involved with the growth of
this counterpoint to the facility’s fuel tanks business for a decade. He
Above: Randy Holbrooks, Director of Engineering, Ice Protection
& Composites, says smarter use of electro-thermal power will
enable smaller, lighter and more efficient engines.
highlights the facility’s presence on successful new programmes
with many years to run like the V22 Osprey and strong demand from
the workhorses of current conflicts, Black Hawk in particular. He
confirms: “The US military has ordered a mix of around 1200 Black
Hawk and Sea Hawk, so we’re not only providing spares and repairs
for a very demanding current fleet, but equipment for production
aircraft, which are at record rates right now.”
Icebreaker
Holbrooks is also keen to highlight MPC Rockmart’s growing ability
to deliver profitable original engineering beyond the “build-to-print”
programmes that have traditionally characterised Rockmart’s output.
With his team, Holbrooks has developed unique composite
engine inlets with a patent-pending embedded flex section for the
heavily-funded, very solid CH-53K Super Stallion programme. The
inlets for the Marine Corps’ batch of 156 of the US military’s largest,
heavy lift transport helicopter will work with the Donaldson’s engine
air particle protection system, providing foreign object debris filtration
to protect the helicopter’s turbine engines from sand, dust and ice
ingestion. This original engineering development work is rooted in
the plant’s experience of complex composite structures (a capability
shared with its sister facility in Loughborough) and won on the
strength of MPC Rockmart’s performance on the CH-53E, for which
the facility provides composites for complex heated inlet shapes. >
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 35

BLADE RUNNERS
> The S92 has also benefited from MPC Rockmart’s engineering.
After working as a build-to-print supplier on it for many years on a
non-Meggitt designed blade sheath, the team was invited to redesign
the part with Sikorsky, successfully delivering a new level of performance
in the field.
According to Holbrooks, the evolution from build to print to
original design, development, qualification and certification has
been a natural one. “You can’t deliver a build-to-print programme
with your eyes shut. Our programmes require a significant amount
of technical support from manufacturing optimisation to smoothing
away design flaws. After a decade investing in this specialist field, we
are now entirely capable of delivering substantive growth from the
engineering, design, development and qualification services OEMs
increasingly don’t want to carry in-house.”
While MPC Rockmart’s standard electro-thermal ice protection
is largely military and rotary in orientation, it numbers several
commercial fixed wing programmes amongst its customer base,
notably the Beechjet 400 and the Learjet 41 business jets. “This
may seem small potatoes, “says Holbrook, “but most commercial
aircraft were designed with pneumatic ice protection equipment for
a less energy-conscious era. Now that we have joined forces with
Loughborough and have access to its ‘smart’ next generation ice
protection technology, we have the opportunity to make new gains in
this market an era in which saving fuel has never been more critical.”
Married life
Through the combined capabilities of Rockmart and Loughborough,
Meggitt Polymers & Composites occupies a leading position in ice
protection. It has a strong presence amongst the most significant
manufacturers in Europe and the United States and on key
programmes like the V22 Osprey and Agusta Westland’s EH101,
probably the biggest rotor programmes running on either side of
the Atlantic. It offers the gamut of electro-thermal ice protection
technologies, from traditional bleed air (high-quality lipskins,
00 36
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Left and right: Ice guards for
helicopter nose cones are made
from etched foil or a web of copper
or alloy elements intricately woven
by hand or machine, adhered to a
textile base. Made from nylon, fibre
glass or graphite carbon, that base
will have been pre-impregnated
with lightweight composite
materials to maximise electrothermal
transfer, minimise weight
and withstand a range of punishing
environmental conditions.
Bottom right: Randy Holbrooks
works closely with Production
Manager, Jackie Swegar to address
any technical concerns during the
manufacture of electro-thermal
rotor blade heaters.
inlet structures, piccolo tubes, ducting and anti-ice valves) to next
generation electro-thermal technology with advanced controllers.
Because this advanced technology enables systems to react to flight
conditions and provide only the power needed at given points in the
flight envelope, test results are showing that up to 50% less power
is being consumed over traditional bleed air equipment. Holbrook
explains: “Electro-thermal is a very good solution for ice protection
but the problem has always been carrying enough generators on
an aircraft to produce the electricity to drive it. With modern day
technology, power generation is more efficient and electro-thermal
solutions are really gaining credibility. At the same time, smarter
use of electro-thermal power will enable smaller, lighter and more
efficient engines to be developed.” Meggitt’s technology is the subject
of an advanced trial with a leading manufacturer of fuel-efficient,
more electric fixed wing aircraft.
The next generation system originated in Meggitt Polymers
& Composites in the UK, with its strong systems capability across
conventional bleed air and electro-thermal technologies and long
experience deploying advanced analytical tools to plot the flow
characteristics around complex shapes. Flow domains are translated
by computational icing coded to identify the areas and magnitude of
we can deliver substantive growth from the engineering, design,
development and qualification services OEMs increasingly don’t
want to carry in-house
ice accretion and determine the power needed for the appropriate
ice protection solution. Its engineering teams, many of whom have
aircraft constructor experience, are skilled in designing, integrating,
manufacturing and qualifying electro-thermal technologies in ways
that minimise programme risk.
Holbrooks is delighted to be working with a wider ice protection
capability and expresses great respect for the Loughborough
team with whom he has already joined forces on a number of US
programme bids. “It’s a good marriage,” he says. “We have always
been able to access systems expertise but have never had it on
staff before. We have always been more tuned into manufacturing
processes and flow so that we can make a product to its specification
in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. Loughborough’s

analytical team starts with the customer at the design stage of
the relationship, which is why our joint operations complement
each other perfectly. Now we can go from one end of a programme
to another.”
Leading on composite wings
Both teams have significant experience integrating heated structures
and materials so while they are targeting business jets with the new
energy-conscious ice protection technology, they are also positioning
themselves to create composites for composites. Mark Hancock,
who heads up Loughborough’s ice protection and systems function,
explains: “Bleed air is not used to protect composite structures from
icing threats because of the material’s temperature limitations. Our
composite-based electro-thermal technologies, which have been
proved over multiple engine inlet programmes, position us very strongly
to provide low risk ice protection solutions for composite wings.”
Meggitt’s facilities in Rockmart and Loughborough cover a
wide range of structural solutions. Composite parts, embedded
with resistive heater elements and electronic control and protection
equipment, range from simple monolithic components to complex
hybrid sandwich structures using resin systems that can operate at
over 200ºC. The team’s approach to structural excellence is based on
optimising load, weight and cost without compromising performance
and reliability, garnering a reputation that has attracted the attention
of a major airframer who is working with the division to integrate
Meggitt’s pioneering electro-thermal ice protection system into an
advanced heated structure. ●
How?
How to make a composite sandwich
Whether for electro-thermal ice protection equipment or
interior products for helicopter cabins, MPC Rockmart’s
composites process is one and the same. It involves
laying-up ply material such as carbon fibre, Kevlar,
polymer foam core, fibre glass or honeycomb structures
pre-impregnated with the matrix materials needed to
bond them together and to other components during
manufacture.
There is just one difference. The composite sandwich
destined for ice protection includes heater elements in
copper, nickel or alloys.
Plys of pre-impregnated materials (“pre-preg”) are
laid up on a mould made from machined metal shapes
that can survive the necessary high temperatures
and pressures needed to create high quality, extreme
environment composites. Moulds are reused for up to
1000 cycles.
In the old days, operators used patterns similar to those
used by dressmakers to position the plys so they would
not wrinkle, yet maintain the correct thickness. Today,
MPC Rockmart operators still lay the fabric ply by hand
but save time and improve accuracy by using the most
up-to-date laser ply projectors to beam patterns onto
the surface of the mould.
Once the lay-up is completed—with or without heater
elements—the mould and fabric is vacuum-bagged and
cured in autoclaves large enough to accommodate an
entire helicopter ceiling panel and long enough to cure
the longest helicopter blade sheath.
After the composite is consolidated in the autoclave cure,
it is removed from the mould and the nearly finished part
emerges ready for machining to final size and painting or
upholstering as required.
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 37

SIKORSKY’S SKIN
The bulk of MPC Rockmart’s non-heated composites lie under the skin of Sikorsky helicopters—
interior cabin products you can just “snap” into an aircraft, says Kirk Hargett, Composites Operations
Unit Director. “If you got inside a Black Hawk helicopter, pretty much everything that you would see
and touch would be produced here in Rockmart.”
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REVIEW | AUGUST WINTER 2010

He lists the acoustic panels and
blankets that suppress noise and
vibration in these deafening machines,
ducts for environmental control systems and
supports and covers that protect everything
from a simple seat to electronics, hydraulic
lines and control rods. Amongst “a lot of
miscellaneous items you would never even
think of” there will be cabin and cargo straps.
There are around 75 to 100 different parts
in a typical shipset. All products are easy to
fit and for maintenance purposes easy to
remove. All are designed to maximise space
and minimise weight.
we slashed Sikorsky’s
costs by 30 per cent
This rapidly growing non-heated laminate
composites business is housed alongside
heated electro-thermal composites product
lines in a brand-new composites centre,
a single storey facility of 126,000 square
feet next to the four-storey fuel tank plant.
As operations director, Tony McCann
observes: “It has been wonderful to have the
opportunity to create the ideal architecture
for Lean production in this new facility rather
than have to work around the limitations of
our fuel tank facility, which was built in 1929
to spin cotton.” Containing a state-of-theart
clean room, the latest Virtek laser ply
projectors, giant autoclaves and other hightech
ovens, heated presses, paint booths,
curing facilities and workstations, it is as
bold a measure of confidence in the future of
these product lines as you can think of. From
a standing start ten years ago, composites
for aircraft interiors now represents 16 per
cent of Rockmart’s total output—doubling to
32 per cent with de-icing composite lines.
Before Sikorsky, MPC Rockmart’s
composites capability was viewed only
in the context of speciality electrothermal
de-icing. John Skubina, however
(see the profile on page 44) could see that
ice protection manufacturing drew on the
capabilities needed to manufacture the
composites Sikorsky was talking about
outsourcing. What’s more, the plant had a
residual sewing and upholstery capability
associated with products the plant still
makes like the Goodyear Blimp and products
the plant used to make, like parachutes for
bombs. A number of employees involved in
an old shirt manufacturing business were
also applying their craft skills laying up
fabrics for iceguards—blade sheaths and
nose cones. That skill-set, plus competitive
labour rates and the requirement for certain
military programmes to be supported on
US soil, gave MPC Rockmart the ability to
respond with confidence when Sikorsky
finally put out its “offload” tender. Hargett
explains: “There were a lot of Mom and Pop
shops out there capable of doing interiors
work but they did not have the infrastructure
to service large military contracts—or the
critical mass to deliver real savings. We
had both and once we got into the swing of
production, we slashed Sikorsky’s costs by
30 per cent.” Today MPC Rockmart makes a
wide range of cabin products for all Sikorsky
helicopters, outstripping sales of fuel
tanks and ice protection components sales
combined to this highly valued customer.
Drive-thru upholstery
Hargett makes it sound easy. However,
dealing with nuts and bolts of parts
management for the helicopter variants with
similar but far from identical interiors is
not for the faint-hearted. And lead-times are
short. He jokes about the plant’s ‘drive-thru
upholstery’ where speed is of the essence.
He explains: “our products are the last to go
on a helicopter before it is shipped out of the
Sikorsky factory. If just one item in a ship set
is damaged or mislaid, something that could
be worth less than $500 could hold up the
completion of a $20 million dollar aircraft.
We have to act fast to provide a replacement
part or a handful of parts in two to three
days, sometimes less.” Employees will walk
a product through the factory taking in all
its manufacturing processes and quality
control, queue-jumping if needed to keep
the customer happy.
A number of employees
involved in an old shirt
manufacturing business
were also applying their
craft skills laying up
fabrics for iceguards—
blade sheaths and nose
cones
Life in the composites centre is not all
about crisis management. The team is
supported by a well-managed finished
goods inventory for production parts, Lean
manufacturing techniques and the evolution
of flow cells like those underway in the
fuel tank facility. There is daily contact with
Sikorsky by telephone and through on-site
representation at the Connecticut plant.
Sikorsky’s requirements are monitored daily
through ERP system links to the customer’s
supplier system.
The team’s mission is to get one month
ahead of production once all the engineering
changes to a ship set have ceased. Hargett
explains: “Interiors are the last thing to >
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 39

UNDER SIKORSKY’S SKIN
If just one item in a shipset
is damaged or mislaid,
something that could be
worth less than $500 could
hold up the completion of a
$20 million dollar aircraft.
We have to act fast to
provide a replacement
> change on the aircraft. Any time the
manufacturer changes the plumbing or the
electrics or installs additional equipment,
it affects the interior—a hole here for a light,
a small access door there, an aperture
for additional equipment like a hoist. Our
parts can change a lot until a programme
settles down.”
While no two days are the same in
composites due to the huge variety of parts
that need to be managed and the installation
variables, Hargett is comfortable in his role
and comfortable with his team of engineers
and operators. They are almost as long-
Above: The bulk of MPC Rockmart’s
non-heated composites lie under skin
of Sikorsky’s helicopters, outstripping
sales of fuel tanks and ice protection
components combined.
Right: Sikorsky CH-53E Super Stallion
is the largest and heaviest helicopter in
the United States military. Rockmart is
working with Sikorsky Aircraft and Spirit
AeroSystems to make all the interior
composites for the next generation CH53K,
consulting with Cambridge Collaborative
on acoustics and vibration.
Below right: Kirk Hargett, Composites
Operations Unit Director, “We have the
infrastructure to service large military
contracts and the critical mass to deliver
real savings.”
00 40
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
serving as he is and just as prepared to go
the extra mile when needed. In his tenth year
at MPC Rockmart, Hargett joined initially as
a manufacturing engineer after graduating
from Georgia Tech and a brief spell in textile
chemicals. He believes that Sikorsky derives
real value from the continuity of personnel
at the plant and recognises the deep level of
product knowledge across all programmes.
Hargett, like many of his engineers, has
made it his business to learn how to make
a number of products involving hardware,
composite ply lay-up and some final
assembly, although all bow to the plant’s
sewing teams. “People are often surprised at
how much effort and craftsmanship goes into
making an interior piece fit. It is not about
laying a piece of fabric on a nice flat piece of
metal. There is a lot of contour on the inside
a helicopter and many of our parts have
hand-sewn covers. It is quite an art to get
seams to sit and look right.”
Icing on the cake
The history of MPC Rockmart’s relationship
with Sikorsky has been built on build-to-
print—making other companies’ designs—
but like its ice protection business, John
Skubina challenged MPC Rockmart to ask
for more—projects that take advantage
of long manufacturing experience and a
superior material science function. “John
made it clear that MPC Rockmart is a growth
company and gave us the confidence to see
that we were more than capable of rising
to the challenge of more profitable original
engineering. He never let us quit on a new
opportunity,” says Hargett. The result is the
ground-breaking contract with Sikorsky and
Spirit to make all the interior composites of
the new heavy-lift CH53K helicopter. MPC
Rockmart is drawing on the expertise of
Cambridge Collaborative, the world’s leading
authority on acoustics and vibration, to
devise the optimal material solution relative
to available space and weight targets. The
win complements the system design and
development contract for the aircraft’s
engine inlets, which draws on the facility’s
composites technology for ice protection (see
page 35). ●

It’s an aircraft Jim,
but not as we know it.
Meggitt is strongly placed to come to the fore in a booming composites
market, says Jim Johnstone, Sales & Marketing Director MPC and
Mark Hancock, Engineering Director, Ice Protection & Systems at
Meggitt Polymers & Composites Coventry facility.
Airline passengers do not usually
think much about the structure of the
machine surrounding them. If asked
‘What do you think this aircraft is made of’?
It’s a fair bet that most would reply ‘Metal’.
In fact, when the new Boeing 787
enters service late this year it will be
classed as the world’s first composite
passenger airliner, with 50% of the aircraft,
including the complete fuselage, composed
of these advanced materials.
Thoughts of flying in a giant Airfix kit
can be dispelled at this point. Modern
composites are as tough as metal, but
weigh significantly less. Lower weight
is the Holy Grail of aircraft design, as it
means improved fuel consumption, greater
efficiency and lower costs for operators.
Which explains why the composite structures
market is worth $24 billion a year and rising.
Meggitt Polymers & Composites has
kept pace with this trend over the years.
Although it is best-known for its aircraft
de-icing solutions, its capabilities in
that field conceal at least as significant
an ability to produce a wide variety of
composite components. Many of these
components come courtesy of the highlyskilled
craftsmen and women at MPC’s
former plant in Coventry, who designed and
manufactured technically highly-complex
parts and assemblies.
Over the years, it had moved from
producing ‘build to print’ composites—
items that are manufactured to customers’
plans and specifications— to being equally
maintaining our technical edge … reducing our
manufacturing cost base. That’s the way to win
contracts in a highly competitive market
comfortable designing composites
‘from the ground up’. Now located in MPC
Loughborough, the team continues to
make use of the division’s combined >
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 41

IT’S AN AIRCRAFT JIM, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT
What we have over
the Ma and Pa shops
is the full arsenal of
engineering support
> background in specialised fields such
as stress analysis to create increasingly
complex components.
The composites sector has attracted
a large number of small producers—‘Ma
and Pa shops’ as they are known. “It has
grown out of being something of a cottage
industry,” confirms Jim Johnstone, Sales &
Marketing Director. This is where Meggitt’s
breadth of experience brings advantage.
Being able to bundle together several
technologies such as composites and seals
from across the division gives aircraft
manufacturers the ‘one stop shop’ for
multiple requirements.
There is a significant gap in the market.
Traditionally, small producers do not have a
design capability, they merely ‘build to print’
simple, low-value components. High-end
composite manufacturers, on the other
hand, do not want to design small, complex
structures— precisely the capability that
resides within MPC.
“What we have over the Ma and Pa
shops is the full arsenal of engineering
support from throughout the division,”
says Johnstone. “We have experience
in addressing complexity and the ability
Thoughts of flying
in a giant Airfix kit
can be dispelled at
this point
00 42
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Above: MPC is highly skilled in complex
secondary composite structures like the
fire-proof, lightning resistant composite
duct and seal for Rolls-Royce’s Trent 900
turbofan.
Left: Jim Johnstone, Sales & Marketing
Director: “The consolidation of our
expertise on one site has paid a big
dividend in contract wins.”
Below: Lowering weight and saving fuel,
50% of the Boeing 787 is composite.

to draw on other Meggitt capabilities, or
just understand where a part fits within a
system. We can see the bigger picture.”
This capability recently came to the fore
in the recent design and construction of a
duct for one of the world’s most powerful
turbofans, which powers several major
airliners.
“Historically, this type of duct has
always been a very heavy casting or
fabricated,” explains Hancock, Engineering
Director, Ice Protection & Systems who
admits that the engine manufacturer
was initially wary of having a composite
component in what is a fairly extreme
environment.
Extreme environments, of course, are
what Meggitt specialises in.
“The duct takes up the space between
the engine and the cowling,” says Hancock.
“There’s a heat exchanger that takes oil
and feeds it through an oil cooler, like a car
radiator, and there’s also a complex seal
allied with it.
“The duct has a number of requirements.
It protrudes very slightly from the cowling,
so it has to have a direct lightning strike
requirement, so that lightning goes through
our seal and into the cowling, rather than
into the core of the engine.
“The duct also forms part of the fire
protection for the engine, so both the
duct and seal have to meet fireproofing
requirements. The engine manufacturers
were nervous about this. They wanted
the duct to be able to pass a fire test even
if it was damaged. So they deliberately
degraded it by drilling a small hole in it.”
MPC designed the entire duct,
heat exchanger and seal. Its design and
production staff had the great satisfaction
of seeing the assembly pass the fire test
with flying colours—even with the damage
deliberately inflicted on it for the event.
In another example of its expertise
in the field, MPC produces the new engine
cowlings for a widely-used European
military helicopter. Replacing the
original metal components, these carbon
honeycomb structures not only form an
aerodynamic surface over the helicopter’s
engines during flight, but fold down during
maintenance periods to create a platform
strong enough to take the weight of two
Carbon honeycomb structures
not only form an aerodynamic
surface over the Lynx helicopter’s
engines during flight, but fold
down during maintenance periods
to create a platform strong
enough to take the weight of two
mechanics and a large toolbox
mechanics and a large toolbox working on
the powerplants. In designing these new
composite versions, MPC had to overcome
several hurdles, including the constraint
The engine manufacturer was initially wary of having
a composite component in what is a fairly extreme
environment
of accommodating latching positions held
over from the original design, which in
turn led to many additional complications
in meeting the structural, fireproofing and
other requirements.
What’s next for MPC’s composites
experts? Another project for which the
division hopes to provide substantial
composite input is a proposed new military
tactical transport aircraft currently under
design. Discussions on Meggitt’s role are
underway.
Composites have come a long way
since their appearance on aircraft as minor,
non-loadbearing components and Meggitt
aims to continue to be in the vanguard of
manufacturers on that journey. ●
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 43

IF YOU BUILD IT,
THEY WILL COME Above:
John Skubina was one of the architects of the MPC Rockmart facility’s
astonishing turnaround over the last decade. After relieving Sikorsky of its
non-core composites production by thinking laterally about the capability that
resided within Rockmart’s iceguards business, not to mention a mix of ice
protection and fuel tank wins on new helicopter programmes and the USAF’s
faithful KC-130 stratotanker, he is applying his entrepreneurial flair and
shrewd financial brain to all Meggitt’s polymers and composites businesses.
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REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Boeing’s KC-135
stratotanker, the airborne gas
station that refuels military
aircraft on the fly. Its fuel tanks
amount to two thirds of fuel
tank turnover and at least half
the factory floor.
Right: John Skubina, Senior
Vice President, Strategy,
Sales & Marketing: “Now I’m
walking in to see customers
representing a significantly
enhanced polymers and
composites capability—right
in line with our one-stop
shopping model vision.”

it might not play well in your magazine warns John Skubina, formerly
general manager of MPC’s Rockmart facility and now the new
Meggitt Polymers & Composites division’s Senior Vice President,
Strategy, Sales & Marketing. It is about his early career choice.
“The truth is, I was 17 years old and trying to date this girl and she
was doing accounting …”
The young sophomore changed the course of Skubina’s life
again a decade or so later when, now his wife, she accepted an
interview on his behalf at Engineered Fabrics Corporation (EFC)—a
little way away from the Long Island suburb where they had made
their home. ‘Where’s Rockmart?” was all he could manage after
an 80-hour absence on the road auditing the internal controls of a
defence company’s warehouses and manufacturing facilities. At the
top of his game in this sector in 1999, he was ready for something
new. The prospective interview with an ex-colleague intrigued him.
You learn a lot about how to be a good
manager by surviving a down-cycle,
learning how to identify key people you
absolutely have to hang on to for the
future, the ones that will be there for you,
five, ten years down the line to help bring
products to fruition
A
fter graduating from the New York Institute of Technology
in 1986, Skubina broke into defence, demonstrating his
numeric and analytical skills as a production scheduler
for Hartman Systems, a high tech electronics outfit. This early
operational exposure delivered a lesson that guides him today.
“The best laid plans can go wrong, so you need to know how to
adjust and adapt to keep to your path,“ he says. It is no accident
that the programme management capability of EFC—now Meggitt
Polymers & Composites, Rockmart—is well-developed and that
Skubina’s management style is coloured by constant planning and
preparation. “That first role really showed me what operations go
through to get the product out of the door.” The year’s production
scheduling led to a dedicated cost-accounting role at Hartman,
then internal audit work for Ademco, a defence-oriented alarm
system business, then rapid promotions after a move to another
high tech electronics business, Microwave Power Devices.
Moving South held no terrors for Skubina. “At that time, EFC
was a company falling on hard times with one terrific product
line—fuel tanks—and another with huge potential—ice guards and
composites. It just needed turning around. I was excited by the
scope of the opportunity.”
Then began a fruitful partnership with then ‘EFC’ President,
Roger Mart. Mart’s engineering strengths and Skubina’s financial
acumen laid the foundation for MPC Rockmart’s current success.
Then, turnover was $29 million. In 2009, the workforce delivered
well over $100 million worth of business. “What you see today,”
says Skubina, “was really created five to seven years back when
we had regained our footing. Today, we are working on 2014.” In
common with the managers of all Meggitt’s aerospace and defence
businesses, he plays a long game.
Today’s multi-million dollar fuel tank business was greatly
enhanced six years ago when the US Air Force asked MPC Rockmart
to supply new fuel tanks as part of a major retrofit programme for
the KC-135 stratotanker. MPC Rockmart is now providing 16 fuel
tanks for each of the 500 aircraft in service. The V-22 tilt rotor, >
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 45

the US Marine’s main aircraft for moving
troops, went from production of up to 11
aircraft a year in 1998 to 42 in 2010. The
aircraft carries multiple composite and ice
protection products too. Boeing’s CH-47
helicopter is another example of the longlegged
programmes Skubina has targeted
and grown. The facility currently equips 37
of the heavy-lift helicopters with fuel tanks
each year, though this is expected to rise in
2014. Sikorsky’s Black Hawk US Army and
Sea Hawk US Navy upgrades have called
for all the facility’s products: fuel tanks,
interior cabins, composites, ice guards
and sealants. “With the war effort, these
aircraft are wearing out at six times the
peak time rate, “observes Skubina.
“The US government really needs them.
No one wants to walk around Afghanistan
and Iraq.”
Below: Sikorsky interior panel:
much effort and craftsmanship goes
into making an interior piece fit.
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REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Initially, things were tough. Two product
lines outclassed by new technology
had to be written off and shut down.
Sales of $50 million were almost cut in
half but 11 years in high tech electronics
for Boeing, Sikorsky and Bell had given
Skubina insights into the potential of the
MPC Rockmart business. He saw the
beginnings of industry consolidation and
could see how it could retain its position
by selling directly to its current customers
rather than moving down an increasingly
non-profitable pecking order. He saw a
dedicated employee base. He saw a highly
efficient labour rate. He saw capabilities
rather than product lines. And when
business developer Greg Williams alerted
him to Sikorsky’s interest in outsourcing
its composite interiors production, he saw
the glimmerings of a business model that
would enable the site to take a big leap
forward. Where some questioned MPC
Rockmart’s ability to capitalise on its skill
base rather than its product lines, Skubina
swept doubt away. “MPC Rockmart had
a great base in the fuel tank product line
so if you could expand that and develop
the others, you could reap operational
synergies from all three and provide a
highly competitive entry to an expanded
marketplace.” Skubina and team went on
to win the outsourcing bid for the Sikorsky
‘offload’ and over ten years created a
composites business from an ice protection
capability that amounts to 30%—and
growing—of its total output.
The seven-year interior composites
contracts with Sikorsky for all its
helicopters and Bell-Boeing for the V-22
ice guards provided the guarantees
needed to finance the first 50,000 square
foot phase of the brand new composites
facility, with Meggitt funding the addition
That’s one big business
created from four
small independently
operating entities, with
the collective talent
of all of them at the
customer’s disposal
Left: Spinner side panel for the
V-22 tilt rotor, the US Marine’s
main troop helicopter. This went
from production of up to 11 aircraft
a year in 1998 to 42 a year in 2010.
of 76,000 square feet when it acquired the
site in 2008. “We saw the V-22 and UA60
upgrades expanding very significantly and
our customers were encouraging us to
invest. When we showed them the space,
they could just see their products going in
there. It really was a case of if you build it,
they will come.”
We are creating a powerful
design and manufacturing
capability from
conventional to cutting
edge, from component
to system, from regional
to international—with
multiple currency options
With the growth in MPC Rockmart’s
critical mass, Skubina is eyeing up
bigger programmes. He explains:
“It is very difficult for customers to get, say,
five $20 million companies to take on big
projects but if you have one $140 million
company with the size and critical mass
to invest in programme management and
all the support structure and functions
necessary to go into these bigger projects,
then you are in business. That is the next
phase we are evolving into.”
The bigger projects are defined by
what Skubina describes as ‘higher assembly’
production. This means fuel tanks to fuel
systems and ice guards to complex composite
structures for mainframes. On composite
interiors, MPC Rockmart is already adding
value with design and development, not just
building to print. (See Blade runner, page 34
and Under Sikorsky’s skin, page 38). >

Above: The SK-64E. MPC Rockmart makes the
interiors for all Sikorsky helicopters and many
of their electro-thermal blade heaters.
Photograph: Jeff Milstein
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 47

Stop a $70 million
aircraft for a $10,000
fuel tank that leaks.
That is a good way to
lose a customer
When Skubina first joined Rockmart,
the company had to scale down
before it scaled up but he was
quick to retain the “star quality” in his
management teams. Those stars are with
him today. “You learn a lot about how to be
a good manager by surviving a down-cycle,
learning how to identify key people you
absolutely have to hang on to for the future,
the ones that will be there for you, five, ten
years down the line to help bring products
to fruition.” Sometimes it wasn’t about
choosing individuals but retaining the
only representative of a key discipline.
“I remember having to fight to retain
the only engineer we had on the V-22
programme. Today that programme is
worth tens of millions of dollars a year and
now we have substantial engineering team
working on it.”
Over the last ten years, Skubina
says that he and team have worn
many different hats, every member
exceeding their job descriptions and
enjoying the fruits of their labours. In the
last four years alone, sales have doubled
and, despite the downturn, Rockmart is on
track for further expansion this year. The
sense of possibility born of huge confidence
in the future of the business is palpable.
While Skubina scans his hawk-eye
over the defence horizon, looking to
provide the next decade’s security for
Rockmart’s employees and healthy returns
for shareholders, he knows that he is as
good as the plant’s ability to deliver on the
promises he makes to customers. He can’t
emphasise enough what quality and on ontime
delivery means to the success of the
MPC Rockmart business model. “We are a
very labour-intensive shop here, probably
the most of all Meggitt businesses, so
making things intelligently, using all
the Lean manufacturing tools we can is
critical. The future of MPC Rockmart is
quite literally in the hands of everyone who
works here. We can command a premium
00 48
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
and our customers will pay it if they know
that every time they order a part from us,
it is delivered on time and fits the aircraft
perfectly and works the way it is supposed
to. The last thing they want to do is stop a
$70 million aircraft for a $10,000 fuel tank
that leaks. That is a good way to lose a
customer.”
Meggitt has been good for Rockmart,
Skubina affirms. Setting aside substantial
financial investment to complete the
composites facility and the services of
Meggitt’s in-house Lean and continuous
improvement teams, there have been
significant introductions to new customers
and aircraft programmes. Further, as
the new Meggitt Polymers & Composites
division beds in with common processes,
common information systems and
shared services, Skubina believes there
will be more opportunities to reap the
benefits of the division’s critical mass.
“We are creating a powerful design and
manufacturing capability from conventional
to cutting edge, from component to system,
from regional to international—crossing
three continents if you count Meggitt’s
strategic manufacturing base in Xiamen,
China—with multiple currency options.”
While Skubina has acceded to a
division-wide role from his former focus
on Rockmart as its president, he intends
to represent Rockmart’s interests as
vigorously as ever. “The only difference
now is that I’m walking in to see customers
We are a very labourintensive
shop here,
probably the most of all
Meggitt businesses, so
making things intelligently,
using all the Lean
manufacturing tools we can
is critical. The future of MPC
Rockmart is quite literally in
the hands of everyone who
works here
representing a significantly enhanced
polymers and composites capability—right
in line with our one-stop shopping model
vision. That’s one big business created from
four small independently operating entities,
with the collective talent of all of them at
the customers’ disposal. There’s a $600
million market for us out there in aircraft
interiors and composite structures, fuel
cells and ice protection and while Meggitt
has healthy proportion of it, we can do so
much more in the new organisation.”
Growing the composites side of the
business, targeting components and
secondary structures in particular is
an area Skubina finds extremely exciting.
“The composite structures market is
growing at an incredible rate—it is worth
about $24 billion dollars and it is growing
as more and more metal is being converted
into lightweight composite alternatives.
We are used to creating incredibly complex
extreme environment composites for our
electro-thermal ice guards here and in our
UK facility and there is real demand out
there for quality products that only Meggitt
Polymers & Composites craftsmen and
women can deliver.”
he expresses his business aims with simplicity.
The former EFC, Meggitt Polymer Solutions
and Dunlop Ice Protection & Composites
businesses will operate using the power of
the Meggitt brand within the new polymers
and composites division, delivering more
capability, more innovation and more
initiatives to deliver excellent and costeffective
operations. “Now Meggitt has
bought Rockmart, it is no longer part of a
holding company that looks at our financials
alone. It can be proud to be part of a big
business that thoroughly understands
our markets and gives us resources to
make us more competitive we simply
could not afford to develop on our own,” he
says. He talks about greater security and
career opportunity for employees, access
to investment in the fabric of factories
and the investment needed to win and
sustain big manufacturing programmes.
Regulatory support in any defence business
is critical and Meggitt’s programme
is highly regarded internationally. The
group’s procurement function is improving
buying power for common products and
services. There is access to cost-effective
IT and HR services and a group-wide
engineering system to tap into, never mind
the combined resources of the new division.
He is also keen to benefit from shared best
practice. “We’ll share what’s good about
the way we do things here with our sister
facilities and vice versa.”
The philosophy of the new Meggitt
organisation is meat and drink to Skubina.
“If you can run similar businesses
together, they cost less to run and deliver a
streamlined management structure that is
easier for customers to do business with.”
He concludes: “Operationally, marketingwise,
we will be so much stronger than we
could have envisaged pre-Meggitt.” ●

CHEMISTRY
LESSON
As MPC President Phil Lewis departs for pastures
new, Ian Joesbury, formerly Meggitt group head
of operations excellence, picks up the baton. Here
he explains the thinking behind the new Meggitt
Polymers & Composites division.
“IT’S ABOUT CHEMISTRY—MATERIALS ENGINEERING,”
says Ian Joesbury, newly appointed President of Meggitt Polymers
& Composites. The new ‘MPC’ division was launched officially on
January 1 2010 and Joesbury is referring to one of the success
factors common to its product lines—aircraft and oil platform
seals, flexible fuel tanks and the composites that make up its
aircraft interiors and ice protection equipment. He explains: “The
material science at our UK and US facilities is outstanding. With
an expert divisional team now being managed by one materials
development director, we can combine and develop a knowledge
base that could be the envy of the industry.”
The nature of output is common too. Across the division,
labour dominates production cost and the best operational
processes are needed if its factories are to remain competitive.
“Instead of Lean manufacturing and continuous improvement
experts working alone in one facility, they will be working as part
of one powerful MPC operations excellence team covering all
plants,” he confirms.
As well as knowledge, MPC will share services covering
human resources and IT, saving money, making the most of talent
and delivering critical mass. “We need to scale up our activities,
MEGGITT POLYMERS & COMPOSITES
Was four separate operating companies
Engineered
Fabrics
Corporation,
Rockmart,
Georgia,
USA
Dunlop Ice
Protection
& Composite,
Coventry,
UK
(for a while part of
Meggitt Thermal Systems)
Meggitt
Polymer
Solutions,
McMinnville,
Oregon, USA
a merger of Dunlop Precision
Rubber and Bestobell
Meggitt
Polymer
Solutions,
Loughborough,
UK
Formerly Meggitt
Silicone Products
win bigger programmes and move to the next stage of growth,”
Joesbury reasons. “From materials science and engineering to
marketing and customer service, a divisional offering is bigger and
better than that of any facility working alone.” Joesbury reminds
us that where Rockmart has strong relationships with Sikorsky
and Bell in the United States, Agusta Westland and Eurocopter
are key customers in Europe. Where Loughborough has an ice
protection system solution using cutting edge electro-thermal
technology and the engineering capability to make it work, MPC
Rockmart has complementary ice guard technology, significant
manufacturing capacity and access to the large North
American market.
We can combine and develop a knowledge
base that could be the envy of the industry
Joesbury is particularly inspired by the division’s enhanced
transnational composites capability. Popularly replacing metal
on structures and wings, composites is one of the fastest growing
segments in aerospace which the whole division can capitalise on. >
Now one management hub, one division with three facilities
McMinnville,
USA
Rockmart,
USA
Meggitt Polymers &
Composites
Ian Joesbury, Meggitt Polymers &
Composites’ new President: MPC
Rockmart is a balanced business,
poised for expansion. The new
divisional management structure
will help it and its sister facilities
deliver sustainable growth from
more products in bigger markets.
Loughborough,
UK
MPC Xiamen,
CHINA
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 49
1

MPC Rockmart is already counting the kilograms on lighter
weight interior components and Loughborough on secondary
structures with demanding specifications such as extreme
environment engine cowlings and complex ducting. “The greatest
growth over the last ten years at MPC Rockmart has come from
composite aircraft interiors but we have quite a track record
across the division whether its helicopter interiors for Sikorsky
and Bell or composites for ducting pipes, seals and rudders for
Boeing 737s.”
Joesbury is also keen to capitalise on the new fighter jets’
‘wet’ wings. He explains: “These aircraft won’t come with
fuel tanks in future and we have just the product to ensure
these fuel storage cavities won’t leak—and for the long term.”
‘EFC100’ can be painted or sprayed inside wings and is based
on the long lasting flexible polyurethane technology from which
00 50
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
MPC Rockmart’s fuel tanks are made. It is the first truly long-life
leak-proof sealant anywhere and has already been adopted on a
number of US military and BAE Systems retrofit programmes.
Joesbury praises MPC Rockmart’s management team for
creating a balanced business. “The flexible fuel tank line is a retrofit
business and cyclical but it exists within a product portfolio that
smoothes the valleys and gives it a smoother growth trajectory.”
As well as retrofitting fuel cells on existing aircraft, MPC Rockmart
works closely with airframers to develop the ice protection and
interior products for new aircraft that will keep its factories busy in
years to come. Now, with the division’s enhanced capability, it can
begin to address bigger markets with more products but Joesbury
is cautious: “There are exciting opportunities out there for MPC
Rockmart but like all our facilities, it needs infrastructure to deliver
sustainable growth in increasingly competitive markets—and that’s
what the new MPC organisation is all about.“ ●
Above: Some of the key actions being undertaken to deliver the vision presented by former
MPC President Phil Lewis and facility leaders to the workforce in 2010. For him, it is not all
about winning awards from customers, perfecting processes and working as a team. He wants
employees to enjoy coming to work. New President, Ian Joesbury shares this philosophy.

Plevin’s
Eastern Promise
Adrian Plevin, Vice President and General Manager of Meggitt’s
Singapore facility, worked hard at this year’s Farnborough
International Air Show—marketing Meggitt’s Asia Pacific hub to
group businesses. He’s on a drive to market the facility’s ability
to boost sales—new sales of a range of Meggitt products and
capabilities needed on the ground in this booming region.
the emergence of a large middle class, increasing
regional cooperation and progressive
air deregulation are making the broad
geographical region of the Asia-Pacific
(APAC) the fastest growing in terms of air
traffic. Some forecasts see APAC acquiring
a 28% of global GDP within a decade—and
36% of worldwide travel. Today, with 31% of
the world’s 100-seat plus passenger aircraft
already in service in the region and 30% of
the world’s narrow body passenger jet order
book destined for it, Meggitt’s facility in
Singapore is already finding itself growing in
importance as a regional hub.
With his team, Plevin has 18 months’
hard graft behind him at the plant, adding
maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO)
services for brakes from Meggitt’s facility
in Akron and—making it one of the very few
MRO heat exchanger lines in the Asia-
Pacific—products from the former Serck
Aviation facility in the UK.
Ian Joesbury, Meggitt’s Group Director
of Operations Excellence is delighted with
progress. “Meggitt’s strategy is to invest in
MRO on a regional basis so that we underpin
quality workmanship wherever the customer
needs it with slick logistics. With excellent
facilities in the UK and mainland Europe,
North America and Singapore, Meggitt offers
a wide range of service options to our engine
and airline customers.”
Kevin Wright, Strategy, Sales &
Marketing Director, Meggitt Control Systems,
draws attention to the uniqueness of the
shop within Meggitt: “It isn’t building parts.
Its focus is entirely on quality workmanship
and performance for the aftermarket.
As such, this dedicated facility is a key
component of our division’s regional MRO
services strategy.”
But there is more to this $22 million
a year (and rising) facility than MRO. With
spares distribution, technical support in
the field and aftermarket marketing in its
armoury, it is very much open for business,
protecting existing Meggitt territory and
promoting new sales in a wide ranging
capacity.
Meggitt acquired the facility with the
British design and manufacturing
business of Dunlop Aerospace in
2004. Then it was just MRO and distribution
for wheels and brakes and Dunlop
Equipment engine valves lines. Anticipating
the needs of aftermarket customers in the
wider Asia-Pacific region, the group was
quick to put an investment programme in
place, adding distribution of Meggitt Sensing
Systems’ Vibro-Meter monitoring range.
The facility’s customer base encompasses
airlines, the aftermarket organisations of
We are doing business in a country that trades on
the success of its user-friendly customs network
the major aircraft constructors and engine
overhaul facilities and distributors from
across the whole Asia Pacific—India, China,
Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and
New Zealand.
Now Plevin has his sights on the
distribution of Meggitt Safety Systems (MSSI)
fire detection products. Due to launch at the
turn of the year, “they are a natural fit,” he
says. “We already have relationships with
70% of MSSI customers and we even have
specific individual contacts in common.”
Manufacturing and marketing will continue
to take place in the US, leaving the Singapore
facility to fulfil regional orders promptly
from an island with one of the most efficient
customs operations in the world.
With Meggitt Control Systems, Plevin
is also investigating the MRO market for the
division’s Whittaker Controls industrial valves
lines. Feedback has been positive and a
formal business case identifies new sales
growth in energy—Meggitt’s ‘third’ market
after aerospace and defence.
Increasing the facility’s volumes means
economies of scale can be realised for
its Meggitt division customers but Plevin
is also reinforcing a highly competitive
service with the transparency and trust
that comes from dealing with a Meggitt
group business. Peter Huber, President
of Meggitt Sensing Systems endorses this
claim: “The Singapore facility is very open
book in the way it does things because it is a
highly driven business and wants to give us
the best deals it can.” The team is already
fulfilling the contractual obligations Meggitt
group businesses have entered into with
insistent customers—new business won on
the back of an MRO capability based in the
Asia Pacific. He explains: “Customers will
simply no longer accept the punitive shipping
costs and logistics burden of sending home
goods for overhaul to diametrically opposed
locations.” They are also protecting Meggitt’s
market position on original equipment. “We
can close off opportunities for competitors to
open up second sources of material when we
keep our MRO in the family and service our
customers really well.”
Plevin is fully aware of the responsibility
that comes with taking on a business unit’s
sales into the region, especially when it
comes to a key driver of group profitability—
Meggitt’s aftermarket. With plenty of
customer service experience behind him,
he knows his facility has to deliver on key
metrics—turnaround times and price—while
maintaining the high quality relationships
established by Meggitt’s North American
and European businesses. He observes:
“They are doing an excellent job, which is
why we are determined to ensure any
change is seamless and the customer
experiences tangible benefits from it.” >
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 51

1
1 More Meggitt capability in Singapore: Chan
Kai Yee prepares a Serck Aviation fuel oil heat
exchanger for test.
Time, of course, is on Plevin and team’s
side. Singapore shares common
working hours of at least five to seven
hours with countries from India to New
Zealand. For the booming China market,
Singapore shares the same time zone.
Teams in North America and Europe, no
matter how responsive, cannot compete.
And of course, in a region in which
Chinese language and culture is pervasive,
nothing is lost in translation. All facility
employees speak Mandarin and understand
the region’s etiquette. Chinese national Vicky
Chen supports customers and business
development on the ground in Guangzhou, China.
Engine shops—maintenance repair
and overhaul facilities for engines owned
by the airlines—are one of Plevin’s major
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REVIEW | WINTER 2010
2 Meggitt is one of the few maintenance,
repair and overhaul heat facilities for heat
exchangers in the Asia Pacific.
customer groups. Some of the most
significant players include Rolls-Royce’s
own MRO facilities, Singapore Aero Engines
Ltd (SAESL) and Hong Kong Aero Engines
Ltd (HAESL). “They want a basket of Meggitt
products and services as well as Singapore’s
fundamental logistical advantages.” Plevin
recounts: “Rolls-Royce told us they have cut
shop turnaround times as far as they can.
Everyone is doing it in around 15 days, hence
the focus on simplifying logistics—reducing
the length of time products are waiting to go
Meggitt’s Singapore facility is very open book in
the way it does things because it is a highly driven
business and wants to give us the best deals it can
2
3
to Europe or North America for repair. We
can take that from, say, three to four days
to just one because we are doing business
in a country that trades on the success of
its user-friendly customs network. Getting
goods in and out is very quick here.”
3 Chuan Ng Yu tests a Meggitt braking system
destined for key customer, Embraer at its
neighbouring distribution facility.
Aside from Singapore’s excellent
logistics infrastructure, the island state hosts
the major North American and European
aerospace companies, most of whom, like
Meggitt, are supporting the local and wider
Asia-Pacific aftermarket—and are within a
20-minute drive from the group’s facility.
As to the cost of establishing new
product lines and services, Plevin is
assiduous in the requirement to ensure that
nothing is taken on without establishing a
compelling business case and demonstrable
management resources covering manpower,
logistics and inventory control. He confirms:
“While it is Meggitt’s strategy to expand
in the region, the group is not gifting
work to the facility. We know we have to
be competitive and provide a world-class
level of support and we will not take on any
business that would compromise this.”
Today, turnaround times adhere to 15-day
schedules over 95% of the time and the
utilisation of MRO manpower runs at over
75% efficiency—two highly competitive
metrics in a facility that has seen a marked

improvement in performance under the
management of operations director, Soon
Wah. ‘Visual factory’ techniques in particular
have enabled highly efficient activity-tracking
on top of modern Lean manufacturing practice.
We are not relocating
sales activity. The goal
is growth
Plevin’s primary aim is, unsurprisingly,
to increase sales. He feels the point needs
making. “We are not in the business of
relocating sales activity. The goal is growth,”
he asserts, evidencing brand new markets
found for the Vibro-Meter range of advanced
aircraft vibration monitoring products through
the likes of Air China—a huge concern—and
Hainan Airline. These are supported by Jessie
Gan, trained by the Meggitt’s Swiss conditionmonitoring
specialists.
The Serck Aviation MRO facility is a
source of particular pride for Plevin. “Heat
exchangers are a new technology for us.
However, Serck’s training programmes
have been first-rate and we offer OEMquality
workmanship for a product line
with few repair options in the region.” New
aftermarket business followed the facility
launch at the Singapore Airshow in February
from major players like ST Aerospace,
a major CFM56 engine overhauler, with
Heatric win
is show of
confidence
from energy
market
Meggitt’s UK-based Heatric facility
has won a £3.5 million contract
for its specialist heat exchangers.
Its biggest order for 18 months, Nick
Johnston, Director of Sales says this
reflects the return of confidence to its oil
and gas markets and draws attention to a
healthy prospects book.
Some 18 heat exchangers—for
gas compression aftercooling—will be
delivered by the end of 2010 for a brandnew
ship-mounted oil and gas production
system for MODEC, which specialises in
constructing, selling and leasing such
excellent marketing support from Stan
Greenleaf, one of Meggitt’s key regional
experts. With airlines are becoming busier
again in the region, the facility has seen a
40% rise in MRO business on the first six
months of last year, largely due to demand
from the engine overhaulers, and sales have
risen by 10% over all.
After graduating in engineering, Plevin
started his 13-year career in customer
services for Dunlop Ice Protection &
Composites. After challenging strategy work
for its parent, Dunlop Standard Aerospace
Group, he worked on sales and marketing
for Dunlop Aviation Services—the MRO
side of the current Meggitt Aircraft Braking
Systems operation in Coventry. He led
wheel and brake MRO offload bids for the
UK Ministry of Defence and UK civil airlines
and undertook organisational development
work for the braking systems business
under Dave Johnson (now President of
Meggitt Equipment Group), culminating in
leadership of a ‘Customer First’ initiative.
Before relocating to Singapore, he managed
the integration of the customer-oriented
departments of the Dunlop and ABSC wheels
and brakes business now known as Meggitt
Aircraft Braking Systems and ran the MABS’
wheel and brake MRO facility in Coventry.
This experience, mostly on the front
line of customer relationship-building,
should engender confidence amongst the
Singapore facility’s Meggitt customers.
His approach to service is not laboured,
despite his love of researching customer
service across different businesses. There
have been no boundaries in his quests for
radical techniques and innovative fulfilment
mechanisms and what he has learned—from
waste management companies, high-toned
hotels and smart internet businesses—is that
it all boils down to whether an organisation is
Meggitt’s strategy is to invest in MRO
regionally, underpinning quality workmanship
with slick logistics
floating production, storage and offloading
vessels (FPSOs).
Heatric has grown its business in
the offshore sector over 20 years
where it remains the only provider
of the diffusion-bonded, micro-channel
heat exchangers known as printed
circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs). PCHEs
are engineered with great precision to
accommodate the flow rates of individual
oil and gas reservoirs and will last
the lifetime of an operation. Johnston
confirms: “They have special advantages
over conventional tubular cooling
equipment. The PCHE production process
enables us to make highly compact heat
exchangers—approximately a quarter
of the size as a rule of thumb—which is
a significant advantage in offshore plant
where space and weight is at a premium.”
In terms of operational effectiveness,
Heatric’s PCHEs exemplify the extreme
easy to do business with, will sort problems
out quickly and learn from them.
And with his dedicated team, that is
exactly how he will deliver his mandate to
expand the facility’s capability, whether
servicing Meggitt businesses or the new
customers he will undoubtedly bring to the
Meggitt group. ●
environment engineering that
characterises sister Meggitt businesses.
They can accommodate extremely high
pressures—up to 600 bar—needed to
overcome the pressure of wells down
which waste gas may be reinjected after
separation from oil. Johnston explains:
“The high pressure integrity of Heatric
PCHEs arises from a production process
that eliminates joints. This results in a
leak rate that is 100 times less than any
competing system and therefore easily
managed and controlled. This reduces
the opportunity for catastrophic failure
dramatically.”
highly compact heat exchangers are about a quarter
of the size of conventional tubular models
On FPSOs, PCHEs cool the highly
compressed, high temperature gas
being prepared for reinjection, or piping
to shore, improving the efficiency of gas
compressors and conserving fuel.
Heatric’s technology is unique and is
reproduced nowhere else globally at this
scale or effectiveness. ●
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 53

Meggitt opens in Shanghai
With substantial upgrades
to airports and airliners, a
burgeoning automotive sector
and power, nuclear, renewable
and oil and gas segments in China
all benefiting from government
stimulus packages to build the
infrastructure needed for its next
growth surge, the opening of
Meggitt’s second Chinese base
couldn’t be more timely.
Not a day passes without a news
story on China’s economic might.
Most recently, dizzying double-digit
GDP growth figures and an exhausting
litany of statistics around Shanghai’s Expo
2010—the most expensive exposition in the
history of world fairs; the largest number
of participating countries and international
organisations (250); and the largest world fair
site (5.29 square kilometres). When the fivemonth
event closed, 73 million people were
said to have visited. A one-day record of 1.03
million visitors was set. How can one digest
the enormity of escalating consumption and
commercial opportunity in China?
Meggitt Sensing Systems can. It has
just opened an office in Shanghai, the base
from which Lizzie Li, Derek Dong and Istvan
Szabo will promote discrete sensors and
sensing systems across its key test and
measurement,energy and aerospace market
segments.
Li will work with Ken Fukuyama of
Meggitt’s San Juan Capistrano facility in
the United States, marketing its premier
Endevco product lines to China’s booming
flight test sector. On and off the ground,
00 54
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
whether during engine development or
maintenance, the flight testing and onboard
engine monitoring that ensures future aircraft
safety and optimal operations depends on the
data acquired from Meggitt sensors.
An even bigger opportunity beckons in
the automotive market. The largest in the
world, China produces 13.79 million units,
of which eight million were passenger cars
and 3.41 million, commercial vehicles.
Nearly half are local brands, the rest, the
offspring of joint ventures with Japanese,
American and European car makers. At the
last count in 2009, the number of registered
vehicles on the road in China reached
62 million and is expected to exceed 200
million by 2020. Meggitt Sensing Systems’
market-leading accelerometers gauge
the impact on crush zones and the human
body (using anthropomorphic dummies).
Pressure sensors and microphones test for
the harshness of noise and vibration.
Derek Dong, supported by a sales
manager and service engineer, will focus
on the international power projects and oil
and gas and renewable energy markets
not covered by Meggitt Sensing Systems’
Chinese distributor and reseller, BWB.
In the world’s most populous country,
second only to the United States in energy
consumption, the opportunity is vast.
Power plant operators require continuous
monitoring and protection systems for
critical assets such as gas and steam
turbines, compressors and mainline
pumps; and simple, periodic on-line
monitoring of the myriad essential assets
required to support them, such as fans,
pumps, blowers, gear boxes and motors.
Meggitt Sensing Systems’ VM600 series
optimises the performance of (gargantuan)
critical parts. Its next generation software
Over the next 20 years, China will need around
3,800 new aircraft, valued at more than $400 billion
tools provide advanced monitoring,
integrating multiple sensor modules and
interfacing with other control and information
systems. Intelligent transmitter systems
(the iT series) provide signal conditioning
for sub-systems and components.
Beyond powerplants, the energy team
will be marketing highly sophisticated
sensors for the upstream and
downstream oil and gas industries. China’s
oil fields are mature and the industry is
pioneering new frontiers in the western
interior provinces and offshore fields.
The stakes are high. The requirement for
energy to support the 350 million people
who will move to China’s big cities over
the next 10 years means resources must
be secured and the means of production
managed. Meggitt’s health management
systems apply to any large rotating
machines, not least wind turbines, a
technology that has found significant favour
in the region. According to the Global Wind
Energy Council, the development of wind
energy in China is unparalleled in terms
of scale and acceleration culminating, at
the end of 2009, in 25.1 gigawatts (GW) of
electricity-generating capacity.
Istvan Szabo, Vice-President, Business
Development, China who has been looking
after Meggitt’s aerospace interests in

the region for several years, reels off the
statistics that define its market potential.
China wants to develop its indigenous
aerospace industry, encouraged by strong
regional air traffic growth. Today, over 30%
of civil air transport aircraft deliveries are
in the Asia/Pacific region, of which China
accounts for a significant proportion.
Over the next 20 years, China will need
around 3,800 new aircraft, valued at more
350 million people will
move to China’s big cities
over the next 10 years
than $400 billion USD. But the current
infrastructure is unable to support forecast
growth. There are only 1.5 airports per
100,000 square kilometres (or 40,000
square miles). In the United States, 100,000
square kilometres yields 6.4 airports,
Japan, 23.3 and France, 21.7. By 2020, China
aims to build 97 regional airports, enabling
82% of the country’s 1.3 billion people to
live within 100 kilometres or a 90-minute
drive from one of them (a 21% increase on
today’s access). It is hardly surprising that
all the major aircraft manufacturers are
present in China with production facilities,
R&D centres and various collaborations
with local partners.
Meggitt has been in China since 2004
when it opened a facility in Xiamen
to provide group businesses with
access to low-cost manufacturing. The
facility has expanded three-fold since.
In the same year, Meggitt won contracts
to develop engine monitoring equipment
and the wheels, brakes and brake control
system for China’s indigenous ARJ21
regional aircraft. Since then, Szabo
has continued his campaign to expand
Meggitt’s relationships in China’s rapidly
evolving aerospace sector. In 2009, the
C919 programme, the Chinese equivalent
of the A320 single-aisle jetliner, was
launched. Meggitt businesses are
competing for positions directly through
COMAC, the airframer and with the maker
of the aircraft’s LEAP-X engine, CMFI.
He will continue to facilitate access to
other programmes in the offing, such as
a 90-seater regional turboprop, several
helicopters, a business jet and hydroplane.
Szabo emphasises the importance
of relationships in China. “The Chinese
do business with people they know and to
know them is to understand their culture
and history and be very alive to cultural
difference. My own study of the language
has been arduous but richly rewarded in
this respect.” ●
Business recovery plans
are tools, not documents
Q: What would you do if the factory
of a sole supplier burned down?
A: If you are in a Meggitt business,
you implement the business continuity
plan you have already prepared.
Teresa Hussey, Environment, Health, Safety
and Facilities Team Leader at Meggitt Control
Systems, Birmingham, UK, won numerous
plaudits earlier this year for coordinating
the crisis management team that resolved
a potentially very damaging metal finishing
supply chain failure. Here, she gives us the
benefit of her experience.
What role did you play in business
recovery exercises?
I was based in a “simulation cell” with
Meggitt’s insurance assessor (Marsh). I
fed information over the phone—incoming
events, times, locations—from a separate
room to the crisis management team to test
their responses. Before that, I had worked
with Marsh to ensure the exercise was as
realistic as possible, developing a scenario
that would be applicable to our work
environment.
How much time had you spent on the
business recovery plan before you had
to use it in anger?
I have been the business continuity plan
coordinator since the tool was introduced
around four years ago. Since then I have
developed the site plan continually, setting
out the business impact analysis for each
area of the facility and updating it with
personnel and process changes.
What kinds of scenarios did you rehearse?
All related to loss of service following fire or
flood but the principles of crisis management
response are as applicable to losing a single
source supplier as an emergency causing an
interruption to your own business.
Did you feel secure having rehearsed
some scenarios?
No matter how familiar you are with the
plan and the required reporting levels
and actions, you are always going to feel
exposed. We did not have a documented
recovery for supply chain. However, because
we understood the principles of the crisis
management response for a significantly
more serious scenario—structure and
recovery strategies and internal and
external communications—we were able
to think on our feet and develop one.
What lessons did you learn from having
to deal with the real thing?
The real event highlighted gaps in our
existing business continuity plan (now
resolved) but the most positive lesson was
to understand how important that plan is.
Before, we saw it as a carefully constructed
document. After, we regarded it as a
serious business recovery tool.
What did you discover about your crisis
management team members?
We have amazing knowledge and experience
within our team—and the wider business. I
was fascinated to see how well the different
characters within the team worked together,
regardless of the crisis unfolding around them.
If you were to give one piece of advice to
anyone in your position, what would it be?
Make sure you have the right people on the
team. You are not restricted to the team
members documented in your business
recovery plan, which can often be first line
management or department heads. If there
is an expert within the company who can
devise a solution quicker than your team
can, involve them.
In general, I must also reiterate the
importance and value of the business
continuity plan throughout a business
interruption and the need to build on
that plan with the lessons learned from
exercises and real events. Your business
recovery tool must be kept sharp.
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 55

MEGGITT HISTORY
In January 2010, individual Meggitt companies were reorganised. Each one
became a dedicated manufacturing site operating under a Meggitt banner,
managed through one of five new divisions. As the group engaged in one of
the most significant modernisation programmes in its 150-year history, we
identified what’s in Meggitt’s gene pool to celebrate the achievements of a
group undergoing the evolutionary step-change known as ‘Transformation’.
What’s in
Meggitt’s DNA?
Altimeters that ascended to 37,000ft
in the 1860s. Devices that tamed
the wilder excesses of the then
new-fangled internal combustion engines.
Pneumatic valves for the even younger
aviation sector. It is intriguing to see how
products from the earliest days of companies
that have become part of Meggitt anticipated
the current marketing slogan ‘smart
engineering for extreme environments’.
There is a tendency today—especially
among the young—to regard the Victorian
age through a prism of chocolate-box
images of crinolines and quaint courtesies.
The 19th century, however, was a time of
huge change and engineering advances.
Just think Brunel, Bessemer and
Bazalgette.* The Victorian era and its
Edwardian successor also saw the first
stirrings of today’s most important modes
of mass transportation, cars and aircraft.
This pattern of producing advanced
technology was set by the very first
company to which Meggitt’s origins can be
traced. Enrico Negretti and Joseph Zambra,
Italian immigrant craftsmen whose original
skills were in making thermometers, set
up as meteorological instrument-makers
Negretti & Zambra in London’s Holborn
Circus in 1850.
00 56
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Just a year later they won their class
at London’s Great Exhibition and were
subsequently appointed meteorological
instrument makers to Queen Victoria.
Indeed, Negretti & Zambra established a
small meteorological station on the roof
of their premises and received the title
‘Clerk of the Weather’. The company’s
instruments were so highly regarded for
their quality and reliability they were used
by expeditions to the North and South Poles
and in 1862 one of their aneroid barometers
was taken seven miles high in a balloon
to measure its accuracy against that of
a traditional mercury column.
There is a tendency
today—especially
among the young—to
regard the Victorian
age through a prism of
chocolate-box images
of crinolines and quaint
courtesies
Right: 150 graphic.
See A History of Meggitt in
about One and Half Centuries
on www.meggitt.com or
pull out the poster.
Negretti & Zambra’s history intertwined
with that of another company destined
to join the group. Evershed & Vignoles
produced a new illuminated engine
telegraph linking a ship’s bridge with its
engine room, which was the reason for
the presence of two of its engineers on
the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic
in 1912. Both perished in the disaster.
The company became part of Thorn
Electronics in 1970 and was subsequently
taken over by Negretti & Zambra before
becoming part of Meggitt Avionics.
Two other Meggitt predecessors
were to play crucial roles in improving
the reliability and comfort of the earliest
motor vehicles.
Sir Oliver Lodge invented the electric
sparking plug, doing away with the frankly
hair-raising previous methods of firing
up a vehicle’s engine that involved trays
of petrol, blow lamps and flailing starting
handles, which frequently resulted in
the car bursting into flames or a broken
wrist of the person undertaking the task.
In 1903 his sons began manufacturing
spark plugs, which were hailed as a
deliverance to harassed motorists.
Their successors now form part of
Vibro-Meter UK.

The comfort factor, meanwhile, was
enhanced by the creation as far back as
1889 of the Pneumatic Tyre Company by
Scottish veterinarian John Boyd Dunlop,
who had realised the shock-absorbing
qualities of an inflatable, rather than
solid, wheel.
Readers who are members of pub quiz
teams should note that although Dunlop
is generally credited with inventing the
pneumatic tyre, that distinction actually
belongs to another Scot, Robert Thomson.
Over the decades the name Dunlop became
synonymous with tyres and was one of the
most-recognised names in the Meggitt
portfolio. It is now the UK part of Meggitt
Aircraft Braking Systems.
This automotive connection among
Meggitt’s constituent companies was
duplicated on the western side of the
Atlantic, where the Stewart Warner
Speedometer Corporation was founded
in Chicago in 1912 to serve the emerging
car industry.
RAGEN DATA SYSTEMS
DUNLOP EQUIPMENT
VIBRO-METER
AVERY-HARDOLL
CARTWRIGHT ELECTRONICS
SENSOREX
BESTOBELL
PIHER NACESA
DUNLOP
MEGGITT AVIONICS
AVICA EQUIPMENT
HEATRIC
Possibly Stewart Warner’s most famous
product, the South Wind heater, was
introduced in 1936. Known as the ‘beehive’
due to its shape, the device’s main selling
point was its speed in heating a vehicle’s
interior. It achieved this by siphoning petrol
straight from the carburettor and igniting it
in the beehive, which was positioned inside
the passenger compartment – a process
that would give today’s health and safety
inspectors some pause for thought. A highly
popular gadget with car owners, Stewart
Warner produced up to 3,000 heaters a
day and they became factory- or dealerinstalled
options in several marques, with
production continuing post-1945.
Wars frequently provide the spur
for technological advance. This was
particularly true of the 1939-45 conflict,
where aviation, in particular, made huge
leaps forward. At the start of the war, the
UK and Germany still counted biplanes in
their inventories; five years later, the first
jets were operational.
AIRDYNAMICS
SOUTHWEST AEROSPACE
WHITTAKER CONTROLS
MEGGITT EQUIPMENT GROUP
JOHN E LINDBERG CO MEGGITT SAFETY SYSTEMS
FATS CASWELL INTERNATIONAL
MEGGITT SENSING SYSTEMS
MEGGITT
CONTROL
SYSTEMS
WESTERN DESIGN
MEGGITT DEFENSE SYSTEMS
KEITH PRODUCTS
FIREARMS TRAINING SYSTEMS
LODGE PLUGS
ENDEVCO
TARGET TECHNOLOGY
FERROPERM
WILCOXON
GOODYEAR ZEPPELIN CORPORATION
MEGGITT
AIRCRAFT
BRAKING
SYSTEMS
NEGRETTI
& ZAMBRA
SCHREINER CANADA
ENGINEERED FABRICS CORPORATION
MEGGITT POLYMERS & COMPOSITES
SERCK AVIATION ESCO RADATEC AGI
STEWART WARNER SOUTH WIND
PRECISION RUBBERS LTD MEGGITT SAFETY SYSTEMS
DAVEN CORPORATION
MEGGITT TRAINING SYSTEMS
Lodge Plugs, which had branched out
from its work with vehicles into aircraft
as early as the First World War, was in the
forefront of spark plug technology from its
work with the Supermarine seaplanes that
had won the Schneider Trophy race for the
UK in 1931.
Looking through Meggitt’s history, it is remarkable just how many
iconic programmes the group’s companies have been involved with
It is difficult now to appreciate the interest
and excitement this event generated in
the UK at the time. It was seen as a
statement of national prestige and
industrial expertise. The tiny, compact
Supermarine aircraft had a Rolls-Royce
engine generating close to an astonishing
3,000hp and 3200rpm, which imposed
a tremendous strain on ignition systems
of the era.
This experience helped Lodge
produce a series of revolutionary advances
in materials that could cope with the heat
generated by the increasingly-powerful
engines coming off the production lines.
Sintox, for example, was a ceramic
possessing remarkable thermal, >
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 57

MEGGITT HISTORY
> electrical and mechanical qualities that
was found to be a brilliant insulator. And
‘S Alloy’, composed of thoriated platinum,
could stand up to the forces generated
in the combustion chambers of the new
generation of high-boost engines such
as the Rolls-Royce Merlin.
S Alloy spark plugs, which lasted up to
five times longer than standard types, were
also fitted to US bombers flying from UK
bases. So impressed were the Americans
with these that President Roosevelt made
special mention of them in a 1944 address
to Congress, commenting that they may
have been responsible for saving the lives
of thousands of US airmen.
Dunlop, meanwhile, hugely expanded
its product range into previously undreamtof
areas, including exotica such as
inflatable decoy vehicles and self-sealing
fuel tanks, whose exterior rubber coatings
would soften when leaking fuel came into
contact with them and close up bullet or
shrapnel holes. Dunlop Equipment’s new
products included the gun-firing system
for Spitfires and Hurricanes. This allowed
it to make the proud claim—but only after
wartime censorship had ended—that every
enemy aircraft shot down by these famous
fighters did so with its help.
Looking through Meggitt’s history,
it is remarkable just how many iconic
programmes—such as the Spitfire—the
group’s companies have been involved with
over the decades.
Concorde, Nasa’s Lunar Lander and
Saturn V rocket, the Boeing 707 airliner, the
Spacelab module and Orbiter, Lockheed’s
Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance
aircraft … all carried components from firms
that became part of Meggitt. Indeed, the
Bestobell group of engineering companies
had no fewer than 3,000 products on
Concorde.
Bestobell was a prime example of
the breadth of activities replicated by
Meggitt today. Founded in 1929 (although
predecessor firms can be traced back to
founder John Bell in 1870), by the 1950s it
consisted of 11 companies operating in the
UK and overseas. A 1977 advertisement in
Flight International magazine for Bestobell
Aviation Products lists subsidiaries
specialising in fields such as valves, seals,
paints and chemicals. In a daring takeover,
Meggitt bought Bestobell in 1986, despite
the latter being three times its size.
This strategy, which in the last decade
or so has included the transformational
00 58
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
acquisitions of the Whittaker Corporation,
Dunlop Aerospace and K & F Holdings
comprising the Aircraft Braking Systems
and Engineered Fabrics corporations, has
become a Meggitt hallmark. The Meggitt
name first really appears in the company
history in 1964, when Yorkshire-based
Willson Lathes bought the long-established,
family-owned Dorset engineering company
and became Willson Meggitt Holdings.
Although Meggitt was the smaller company,
its name was the one that survived.
However, at one point, that survival
looked distinctly unlikely. Heavy losses in
the early 1980s attracted a management
buy-in team of Nigel McCorkell and Ken
In a daring takeover, Meggitt bought Bestobell in
1986, despite the latter being three times its size
Coates, directors of Flight Refuelling
Ltd, who felt Meggitt could be used as a
launch pad for future acquisitions. Within
two years they had turned the company’s
fortunes around by focusing on expanding
its metal fabrication work and the steady
expansion of the group began.
From the mid-1980s, an increasing
amount of its business was either sourced
or located in the US, with acquisitions being
just as varied and exotic as in the UK. Two
early purchases were Plastic Fabrication
of Kansas and Ragen Data Systems of
New York.
The following years saw everything
from Endevco’s ultra-rugged
accelerometers capable of measuring
the massive loads generated by explosions,
to the giant inflatable figures that appear
in New York’s annual Macy’s Parade—a
small sideline of Engineered Fabrics’ more
important work of producing crashworthy
aircraft fuel cells—entering the group’s
range of products.
Firing ranges (Caswell International),
radar scoring devices to measure
the accuracy of missiles (Cartwright
Electronics) and air conditioning systems
(Keith Products) further expanded the
group’s portfolio.
The group also moved into mainland
Europe, acquiring market leaders such
as Vibro-Meter and Sensorex to bolster
its sensor activities.
On both sides of the Atlantic,
aerospace and defence-related work
became increasingly significant for Meggitt.
Its constituent companies provided not
just the vital ancillary equipment that
lay beneath the skin of modern aircraft,
but moved into developing complete
systems, such as an expanding range
of aerial targets.
Meggitt has also been quick to seize
opportunities in what it calls ‘adjacent
markets’. Its traditional areas of
aerospace expertise, such as monitoring,
sensing and smart controls, play well
with energy companies. Climate change
will increasingly demand clean energy
technology, a market estimated at a
mind-boggling $45 trillion by 2050, and
opportunities are legion. Integrating fluid
control valves with sensors could provide
control solutions for the industrial gas
turbines that provide rapid output boosts
to cope with demand spikes in many power
stations, for example.
Over the past 20 years, the group has
shown its willingness to be adaptable in
acquiring new technologies and companies
either to fill gaps in its market coverage
or as ‘bolt-ons’ to existing capabilities. It
has also shown over the years that it is
sufficiently fleet-footed to divest itself of
activities that no longer merit ‘core’ status.
This has led it to its current position
where it spans civil and military aerospace
markets working with manufacturers and
maintainers, specialist areas of defence
from land systems to simulated and livefire
weapons training and the deployment
of sensing and controls technologies from
aerospace into energy and vice versa.
It thus avoids having all its eggs in one
basket and this helps it to weather dips
in the market. Selling spare parts and
training are of particular help in this; even
if airlines and armed forces postpone major
equipment purchases in times of tight
budgets, they have to keep their current
fleets running and combat personnel up
to the mark.
Continued ability to
push the technological
envelope is what will
sustain the group over
coming years
Innovation at Meggitt remains a watchword,
as a selection of recent and emerging
technologies demonstrates:
• Drilling holes in composite wings to
fix essential test and measurement
equipment destroys their structural
integrity. An innovative new sensor—a
network of ultra-small sensors on a
flexible strip that is taped to the surface
undergoing test—solves that problem.
• Development of microwave and eddy
current technology to measure turbine
blade vibration and head off blade
breakage and massive engine damage
continues Meggitt’s long record of in-situ
condition monitoring.

• Ice on aircraft wings remains a potentially
lethal phenomenon. Meggitt’s new
electro-thermal ice protection systems
use up to 50% less power but deliver
100% more control than traditional hot
bleed-air systems.
• Research into laser technology to ignite
fuel more economically and efficiently
is the latest step in a journey that began
with those first spark plugs in early
motor cars.
• New, lighter silicones in seals are saving
around 100kg in a typical new-generation
airliner’s structure.
• Smart electronic control technology
that uses minimal power is being
demonstrated on the US Army’s nextgeneration
robot supply vehicle, MULE,
which walks over rough terrain.
• Next-generation digital fuel gauges
measure fuel level by measuring echoes
lasting one millionth of a millionth
of a second as they bounce off the
fluid surface in an aircraft fuel tank.
Importantly, their self-diagnostic feature
tells engineers about faults or if a
sensor needs replacing, eliminating the
maintenance nightmare of trying to track
down an individual sensor in an aircraft
with multiple fuel tanks.
• The electrically-actuated Ebrake and
anti-skid control system is the first
to fly successfully on an autonomous
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and on a
commercial airliner without a hydraulic
back-up system. Bombardier has ordered
it for its new C-Series airliner.
• Expect to hear more of ‘energy
harvesting’ in future: Meggitt Sensing
Systems in Denmark is collaborating
with research organisations to translate
vibrations into energy—from wind, for
example—potentially powering sensor
systems and eliminating batteries.
One-time installation and minimal to
zero maintenance of wireless sensors
in remote locations are potential
added benefits.
This continued ability to push the
technological envelope in fields throughout
the aviation, defence and, increasingly,
energy sectors will be a key influence
over what will sustain the group over
coming years. ●
* Isambard Kingdom Brunel became a legend
in his lifetime with his feats of railway and ship
construction. Henry Bessemer patented a
process of blowing air through molten pig-iron
to transform it directly into steel, eliminating
the intermediate wrought-iron stage. Joseph
Bazalgette, London’s first Chief Engineer,
revolutionised public health in the capital
through a vast scheme of sewer-laying.
“Of course I’d love to create a chronology
of the Meggitt group,” I said.
Having nibbled at the edges of the
organisation over the years with articles
for specialist aerospace publications,
I already had a nodding acquaintance with
its areas of expertise. ‘I mean,’ I thought
to myself, ‘it’s just a trot through history
on what the company did and when it did
it. How difficult can it be?’
The first three padded envelopes of
raw material were too big to fit through
the letterbox. As were the hardback books
detailing the history of two of the group’s
constituent companies, Dunlop and
Vibro-Meter.
It was while reading my way into
the job that the scale of the task started
to dawn. Most companies that have
been around for any length of time
either acquire others or are themselves
subsumed into a larger entity: that’s
natural. But Meggitt consists of around
30 companies, many of which have their
own, lengthy history. Just two documents
in the rapidly-growing collection on the
desk listed more than 120 acquisitions
and disposals. Companies appeared,
flourished, then merged or were sold.
Who today recalls Insley (London) Ltd.,
Sunvic Regler GmbH or Ronald Trist
& Company (South Africa) (Pvt) Ltd?
It quickly became apparent that it
would be impossible to mention every
company that had been part of the
organisation at some point or another.
Some selectiveness was essential. But
using what criteria? In the end, we decided
all current parts of the organisation
should be mentioned and traced back—
insofar as was practicable—either to their
origins or at least to the point at which
they became part of the group.
From that point, the task was simpler.
It became just a case of sifting through
background material provided from each
of the companies that make up today’s
group and extracting significant dates
and achievements.
The amount of background that
companies possessed on their origins
varied wildly. Some summed up their
history in less than a single A4 sheet
Aerospace journalist Alan Dron
reflects on the diverse history
of the Meggitt group
of text; others supplied product brochures
and photocopied pages from long-lost
internal publications. A few forwarded
fully-fledged commemorative books
produced to mark landmarks in their
existence. Dunlop Aerospace, for example,
probably one of the best-known names
in the group, compiled a genuinely
fascinating 144-page hardback in 2003,
written by its chief airworthiness engineer
Ron Vice that any industrial historian
would regard as a treasure trove of
information and trivia. The temptation
to read the entire book was resisted only
because of looming deadlines.
One of the biggest problems was
tracking down the dates when new
products appeared. Not every organisation
keeps details readily to hand of the year
in which a piece of kit was first produced
in the 1960s, for example.
But when requests to fill in gaps in
the jigsaw were passed back to individual
companies, somehow someone always
seemed to be tracked down who could
remember just when that world-leading
titanium flange bracket first saw the light
of day.
What became apparent in compiling
the chronology, which formed the basis
for the article here, was the pride and
sense of distinctiveness that still resided
in the many facilities that make up today’s
group. In 2010, those facilities started to
operate within a brand-new, corporate
structure initiated by a “transformation
programme”. Independent operating units
were grouped in new divisions centring
on common technologies and specific
markets, providing a new simplicity to the
group’s relationship with its customers
and suppliers and making the group easier
to do business with.
Just as the old Avro Shackleton
maritime patrol aircraft used to be
described as ‘40,000 rivets flying in
loose formation’, Meggitt businesses are
moving forward in unison, justly proud of
their heritage but hungry to create a new
history—a history of Meggitt engineering
excellence in the 21st century.
Now, where did I put that Vibro-Meter
book …?
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 59

Meggitt leads
with low or no
crew solutions
Whether detecting fire and overheat conditions in
minimally manned next generation destroyers or
unmanned air vehicles (not to mention enabling
the latter to land safely with wheels, brakes and
brake control systems), Meggitt’s ultra reliable
extreme environment technology continues to
be the first choice for low or no crew platforms.
The United States’ next generation Zumwalt DDG1000 destroyer
is about 20% larger than its predecessor and its crew about
one half the size, according to Bill Rice, Senior Programme
Manager, Meggitt Safety Systems. “One of the goals of this technology
demonstrator is to operate a bigger, higher performance ship with
fewer crew. We’re supporting this vision with an intelligent system
that will reduce the manning requirements for fire watch and
damage control.”
2010
The technology demonstrator Zumwalt DG1000
class destroyer is working with Meggitt
Safety Systems to reduce the crew manning
requirements for fire watch and damage control.
Meggitt is supplying multiple fire detection
technologies and system control.
00 60
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
2010
EADS Military Air Systems has just contracted
with Meggitt Safety Systems for its virtually
indestructible fire and overheat detectors for
the ATLANTE long-endurance unmanned aerial
vehicle. UAVs are a critical element of maritime
and terrestrial surveillance worldwide and the
outlook for ATLANTE is very positive in line with
rising demand for UAVs in general.
Those familiar with Meggitt Safety Systems’ aircraft fire detection
systems will note that diagnosing false alarms is as important as
detecting true fire conditions: it costs millions of dollars when aircraft
are grounded unexpectedly and airline schedules disrupted and it
pays to make sure those millions are spent on real issues rather than
wolf cries. Those same performance characteristics are required for
different reasons on the Zumwalt. “Anything it uses has to be ultrareliable
and absolutely not prone to false alarms,” says Rice. “With
a reduced number of personnel, the frequency with which needless
alarms have to be reset has to be minimal.”
The history of Meggitt Safety Systems’ involvement in marine fire
detection systems has its roots in the astute acquisition in 2005 of a
product line specified on the Zumwalt. Meggitt Safety Systems went
on to bring its extreme environment expertise into play, improving the
product and ruggedizing and repackaging it to survive in increasingly
punishing shipboard installations in salt and fog atmospheres, high
temperature engine rooms, ordnance zones and amidst radiation
hazard from radar and other communication devices. To ensure a
much wider smoke, fire and overheat and flame detection capability,
Meggitt Safety Systems added more components from third parties
and sister Meggitt facilities.
There is more, however, to this Meggitt Equipment Group
business’s maritime expertise than detection equipment. System
level design is integral to its offer. Rice explains: “We put all the
pieces together to ensure the components work as a system within
what we can call the general spaces of the ship and the magazine
where ordnance and warfighting elements reside.” These spaces
have different detection requirements and a range of components
is deployed accordingly—photo-electric smoke sensors, traditional
fire and overheat detectors and optical flame analysers that react to
2010
Meggitt Training Systems Canada has just
demonstrated its first 16-boat unmanned
‘swarmex’ for the Canadian Navy, simulating
a real-world threat of swarming fast in-shore
attack craft (FIACs) designed to create a
maritime self-protection training scenario
for one or more naval ships. (see page 4)

certain frequencies of emitted light. The system is scaleable and the
current configuration has the capacity for 1000 ‘plug and play’ devices
per controller. All interface with a Meggitt Safety Systems control unit,
itself integrated into the ship’s overall computer system providing
notification of alarm conditions and acting as standard fire panels so
In the past, fire alarms would go off but
systems would not be able to distinguish
between a true and false alarm—and which
sensor was going off and where. Our systems
will tell you which detector is going off in a
specific location and that someone needs to
pay attention
damage control systems can do their work if needed. Rice explains
how clever the new ‘addressable’ system is. “In the past, fire alarms
would go off but systems would not be able to distinguish between a
true and false alarm—and which sensor was going off and where. Our
systems will tell you which detector is going off in a specific location
and that someone needs to pay attention.” The system includes
manual call points from which crew can throw an alarm.
Meggitt Safety Systems is in the final throes of system
development and is about to start test and verification, but Rice is
confident. “My customer has told us that the products we put out are
some of the best they have seen and we have no reason to doubt we
will continue providing the solutions they need.” ●
2008
Meggitt Defence Systems is the leader in
battlefield robotics from an ammunitionhandling
perspective, pioneering advanced
military electronics cooling with ultra-reliable,
low power solutions for unmanned multi-function
utility, logistics and equipment vehicles. The
same vehicle type has been used to demonstrate
Meggitt Control Systems’ high ratio traction hub
gear box and fail-safe hydro-electric system.
This showed how control logic can be adapted
to deliver power management smart enough to
make the most of limited onboard power.
2007
Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems’ wheels,
brakes and brake control systems were selected
for the BAE Systems-led unmanned air vehicle
(UAV) technology programme, Taranis, putting
Meggitt at the forefront of the European UAV
marketplace as unmanned vehicles progress
towards operational capability in reconnaissance
and combat operations alongside traditional
military aircraft.
The new seapower
At the vanguard of a new generation of
advanced multi-mission surface combat
ships, the DDG1000 Zumwalt is America’s
next generation naval destroyer and fêted
as the centrepiece of seapower for the next
50 years by Raytheon, the designer and
integrator of its prime mission systems
equipment.
Zumwalt’s advanced mission
capabilities are driven by technologies
that give the ship unprecedented
versatility in a variety of operational
environments and dramatically reduce
manning requirements. Its systems’ open
architecture design enables commonality
across the US Navy’s entire family of ships.
Defence industry media say the
prime missions of the new destroyer
will be to provide naval gunfire support
in near-shore areas unsuitable for
larger ships, possibly as the anchor for
a group of stealthy littoral combat ships
and submarines. The estimated 14,500t
(cruiser-sized) Zumwalt Class may also
play undersea warfare, anti-ship and
long-range surface attack roles.
2006
Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems’ electricallyactuated
Ebrake ® and anti-skid control
system became the first to fly successfully on
an autonomous UAV. With no pilot to react to
landing conditions and control braking, Meggitt
delivered a system for EADS that was reliable
and responsive enough for safe, remote
operation, integrating it with flight controls
managed by pre-programmed computers.
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 61

Two Meggitt divisions have
joined forces to extend
the group’s presence on
Bombardier’s C-Series, the
promising programme of
innovative 110 to 130-seat
narrow-body airliners poised
to capture market share in
short-haul travel.
Alan Kaufman, Vice President of Aerospace
Group Sales for Meggitt Sensing Systems
Maintaining correct tyre pressure, which
deflates through temperature variations
and the impact of landing and braking, is
a matter of safety and effective aircraft
economics. A burst tyre has been
described as a rubber bomb releasing the
energy of four to five sticks of dynamite that
can result—if it needs to be said—in loss of
control and the risk of catastrophic fire and
engine damage. At best, tyres operating
at incorrect pressures become degraded
before their time.
Our tyre pressure monitoring system
can be used to ensure that line maintenance
procedures are fully and accurately carried
out to avoid the very serious dangers
associated with under-inflated tyres.
At the same time, it will reduce the cost
of maintenance associated with tyres
exhibiting poor wear and tear after use
at sub-optimal pressures.
00 62
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
ALL PUMPED
UP
In In 2009, Meggitt Aircraft Braking
Systems’ total braking system—which
included its pioneering electric braking
technology—was selected by Bombardier
for its C-Series airliner.
A year later, the value of the contract
was extended when Bombardier selected
Meggitt Sensing Systems’ next generation
tyre pressure indicating system (TPIS).
The product is the result of a divisional
collaboration that responds to the
aerospace industry’s increasing concerns
about several high profile catastrophic
accidents relating to incorrect tyre
pressure inflation.
Designed to provide a 20% fuel burn
advantage over current aircraft in its class,
C-Series is the first single-aisle aircraft
to adopt Pratt & Whitney’s revolutionary
PurePower® PW1000G geared turbofan
engine and to use advanced materials
and composites widely. Meggitt Sensing
Systems’ tyre pressure monitoring
system adds to the aircraft’s technological
sophistication, providing flight and
maintenance crews with remote real-time
tyre pressure data.
After calculating temperaturecompensated
tyre pressure, anomalies
will be indicated via the aircraft’s engine
indication and crew alerting system (EICAS)
system before take-off and landing,
enabling flight crews to make informed
safety-critical decisions. Ground crews
will be alerted to the requirement to inflate
a given tyre correctly via the aircraft’s
health and monitoring system, reducing the
frequency of manual pressure checks and
extending tyre life as operators maintain
correct pressure levels more easily. Tyre
pressure data is transmitted across
the stationary axle-to-rotational wheel
interface using Meggitt’s short-distance
wireless technology, making the product
lighter and more reliable than previous
generation TPIS systems. Jim Valentic
Vice President, Commercial Aircraft
Marketing, Meggitt Aircraft Braking
Systems is optimistic about the product’s
prospects: “Tyre pressure indicating
systems will be favourably received by
more and more aircraft manufacturers for
new aircraft designs and we are meeting
this need by expanding Meggitt’s overall
penetration of ATA chapter 32 [landing gear]
systems.”
A burst tyre has been
described as a rubber
bomb releasing the
energy of four to five
sticks of dynamite
Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems
pioneered electric brakes and remains the
first and only company to have successfully
tested them on a commercial demonstrator
aircraft in 2008 with no hydraulic back-up.
Its system integration capability is mature,
based on a simulation and modelling
capability that is probably the industry’s
most advanced. Meggitt Sensing Systems
has a first-class capability in monitoring
the condition of rotating machinery
in aerospace and energy markets. Its
systems deliver the most detailed image
of engine condition achieved to date. In a
press statement, Chief Executive Terry
Twigger commented: “By combining
these capabilities, we have presented a
compelling new offer to this longstanding
Meggitt customer, expanding our level of
integration and scope of work in line with
our product strategy in this market.”
C-Series has attracted 90 firm orders
and booked options for an additional
90 aircraft. ●

Above: Bombardier’s C-Series low fuel burn narrow-body aircraft deploys the latest technologies
including Meggitt’s electric brake and next generation tyre pressure monitoring system.
1
2
3
4
FACT FILE
Air Transport Association-controlled and published chapter
numbers provide a common referencing standard for all
commercial aircraft documentation for pilots and engineers.
ATA Chapter 32 encompasses landing gear.
Meggitt’s Aircraft Braking Systems equips Bombardier’s
entire fleet of over 1500 CRJ Series of commercial jets, the
Q400 and Q400 NextGen advanced turboprop digital brake
control system, business jet braking equipment on the
Learjet 60 XR and the Challenger 605 aircraft and the total
braking system for Challenger 850, 870, 890 business jets.
Meggitt’s integrated electric braking system (Ebrake®), the
first to fly successfully with no hydraulic back-up, includes
nose and main wheels, compact electric actuators and 48
associated control system elements. The system deploys
Meggitt’s lightweight, longer lasting NuCarb® carbon
heatsinks.
Electric braking provides fully integrated brake control and
anti-skid protection including emergency and parking brake
functions by combining brake-by-wire control technology
5
6
with electro-mechanical brake actuation. Its development
follows the aircraft industry’s gradual adoption of electric
technology to develop more fuel-efficient aircraft with lower
emissions. Electric braking is also expected to increase
dispatch reliability and reduce unscheduled maintenance
costs. The elimination of hydraulic fluids reduces the risk
of leaks and associated fires.
Meggitt Sensing Systems’ condition monitoring equipment
lowers the cost of owning high-value assets by enabling
owners to plan appropriate maintenance according to the
real condition of a piece of equipment rather than as a
standard operating procedure at a given point in its lifecycle.
The health monitoring techniques Meggitt Sensing Systems
evolved for aero-engines can be extended to many
sub-systems including landing gear, avionics and
environmental control. It shares this vision with Cranfield
University’s Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring (IVHM)
Centre of Excellence, which Meggitt is supporting with
Boeing (Phantom Works), BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce.
For further information about Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems
and Meggitt Sensing Systems, take our e-tour on www.meggitt.com
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 63

Science and
technology tsar
looks to the future
00 64
REVIEW | WINTER 2010

Richard Greaves, Meggitt’s first
Group Director of Technology
& Engineering is settling into
a new post after leading the
highly successful Meggitt
Sensing Systems division for
nearly a decade. He explains
his new mission.
Perhaps it’s a legacy of his early days
in nuclear physics. But spend some
time talking to Dr Richard Greaves as
he fires off plans and ideas and the image
one leaves with is of some particularly
energetic ions and protons bouncing around
the room.
Meggitt’s newly-appointed Group
Director of Technology & Engineering is
critically aware that it is technological
advances that have propelled Meggitt to its
position in the forefront of several scientific
sectors. And he means to keep it that way.
That, of course, requires the
combination of several business skills as
well as knowing one’s way around a slide
rule. Crystal balls are not normally part
of an engineer’s toolkit but trying to divine
the future—in particular, the future path of
Meggitt’s market sectors and the products
needed to service them as they develop—
will be an essential part of Greaves’ job.
A recent conversation with Dassault’s
chief of engineering, for example, left him
in no doubt that next-generation aircraft
from the French airframer will be ‘allelectric’.
This will considerably reduce the
consumption of power currently required
for hydraulic or pneumatic systems.
“Clearly, electric brakes are a move
in that direction and as engines become
more and more efficient they are very
sensitive to having bleed air taken off. By
doing so, you’re moving the engine away
from its optimum performance point.” So,
electrical systems are likely to be an area
of increasing interest for Meggitt.
Another of Greaves’ tasks will be to
try to minimise the ‘silo syndrome’
that inevitably results in any
industrial entity with a history of corporate
development based on multiple individual
operating companies.
One sector that is in particular need
of having someone take an overview of its
activities is aerospace, one of Meggitt’s
major areas of interest.
“I feel that life as a component supplier
within the aerospace sector is only going
to get harder and harder,” says Greaves.
Over recent decades, consolidation at all
levels of the sector has meant that there
are increasingly few end-users of
Meggitt’s products.
“While we all have to change to
improve – and while I think Meggitt is very
successful at that—it’s clearly a game of
diminishing returns.” Work must continue
on identifying and bringing to market new
technologies and finding discriminators
for those technologies that keep Meggitt
ahead of its competitors but there has to be
a change in the way those components are
presented to the marketplace, he believes.
“The other pillar of what we do has
to be providing customised solutions
for our customers, rather than a lot of
components. My view is that we have to
move more towards sub-systems than we
are at the moment.”
This process, he adds, means more
than simply bundling components together:
“It will be important for me to look at
A key role for me is to identify and
consolidate the technology developments
we’re already doing and should be doing with
various partners worldwide
how we put together those components
to deliver sub-systems that provide
advantages to our customers.
“From my new position I’ll have an
overview of all the bits of Meggitt, all the
capabilities within engineering that we have
and what we could be putting together.”
This process of putting things together
to provide maximum advantage extends
beyond hardware.
“We have a number of centres of
excellence across the group. These
are product-orientated—for example
temperature measurement (using
three different technologies), vibration
measurement, electronic monitoring
systems. This concept can be extended
beyond products to technologies and
engineering capabilities, such as thermal
analysis, fluid dynamics and qualification
testing. Looking at this over the group as a
whole will be interesting,” he comments.
Technology and engineering are
critical to the future of the group, he says.
With that in mind, Greaves intends to
ensure that, through him, its practitioners
now is the time to
install technology
and engineering
at the heart of the
group as part of this
‘growing up’ process
have a strong voice at headquarters and on
the management board: “We’ve had strong
engineering leadership at divisional level.
Now that is being boosted up to head
office level.”
Ensuring that Meggitt continues to
bring forward the types of technology of
interest to its customers may require more
investment and he is prepared to argue for
that. Having said that, when talking about the
development process—where Technology
Readiness Level 1 is blue sky research and
Level 9 is a developed product in commercial
service—Greaves accepts that there are
limits to the amount of hard cash Meggitt
can devote to technology investment.
Pure, basic research is probably
best left to universities, so Meggitt
generally starts to get interested in
technology that others have taken to Level
3 (proof of concept) and starts to develop a
product after Level 6 (demonstration of a
prototype).
“A key role for me is to identify and
consolidate the technology developments
we’re already doing and should be doing
with various partners worldwide,” he says.
To help in this, he has set up a reporting
system through which Meggitt’s constituent
companies will keep him informed of every
development where the companies are >
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 65

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TSAR
LOOKS TO THE FUTURE
> involved with third parties (usually
universities), so he has an overview of
project timelines, budgets and progress.
Developing new technologies is
essential to keep Meggitt ahead
of the pack. With this in mind,
‘commodity engineering’ tasks, most of
which are already subcontracted, are
being consolidated with one supplier in
India. Greaves refers to this as ‘liberating
intellectual capital’. “We’re relieving
engineering departments of nonspecialised
work to enable skilled people to
come up with fundamentally new stuff.”
Greaves is close to some of the levers
of power in European science. For the past
four years he has been a member of the
equipment commission of the European
Aerospace and Defence Commission in
Brussels. He sits on this on behalf of ADS,
the successor to the Society of British
Aerospace Companies.
He is also a member of the industrial
management group of the European
Commission. On the ground floor of
emerging European scientific projects,
Making the most
of specialisations
across the group
Meggitt is making the most of
specialisations within all its divisions,
notes Greaves.
Within Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems,
Coventry and Akron are using their skills
in differing technologies in creating
latest-generation carbon brakes whose
performance and cost-effectiveness
already exceed what either site could
previously have offered individually.
With Meggitt Aircraft Braking Systems,
Meggitt Sensing Systems is presenting
a compelling new offering, expanding
its level of integration and scope of work
within wheels and brakes with its new tyre
pressure monitoring system.
It is also working on tip clearance
measurement technology using radar to
measure the distance between the tip of
a rotating blade and an engine case—less
than one wavelength of a signal. We can do
this accurately at 800ºC plus. Why does it
matter? Because if you can measure the
gap, you can take steps to control the gap
and reduce fuel burn. This patented product
line is on the technology maps of the
world’s gas turbine and engine makers.
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REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Greaves can follow not only what types
of projects are attracting EU funding but
which technologies are regarded by the
European Commission as key to the future.
Technological advances
have propelled Meggitt
to its position in the
forefront of several
scientific sectors.
And he means to
keep it that way
Other influential posts include his
chairmanship of Cranfield University’s
Integrated Vehicle Health Management
Institute, which is being backed by some of
the biggest names in aerospace.
And he is keen, as a recently appointed
Fellow, to take a bigger role in the Society
of Automotive Engineers which, despite its
name, has a remit extending well beyond
cars. “It’s the world’s largest engineering
organisation It writes the industry
Making use of differing competencies is a
feature of Meggitt Polymers & Composites.
Loughborough in the UK is concentrating
on seals and the lighter weight polymers
recently accredited by Airbus, while
Rockmart in the US continues to develop
its fuel tank bladders and EFC100, an
important leak-proof fuel cavity sealant.
Meggitt is convinced that EFC100 will have
a profound impact on the perennial issue of
leaking integral fuel tanks. Its importance
will also rise with the increasing numbers
of military aircraft that will be designed
with fuel storage limited to sealed cavities
rather than customised bladders.
Meggitt Control Systems has gamechanging
600 volt motor and controller
technology earmarked for the military
market. The technology is uniquely
interchangeable and can be used for a
variety of applications
Meggitt Defense Systems facility in Irvine,
California continues to lead in battlefield
robotics from an ammunition-handling
perspective and is innovating very strongly in
military mission-critical cooling with ultrareliable,
low power systems for manned and
unmanned vehicle electronics cooling.
standards and while Meggitt Aircraft
Braking Systems already participates in
several committees, we must participate
more fully in this arena where the world’s
aerospace specifications are being
formulated,” he notes. “I’ve asked the
engineering divisional heads for details of
any participation they have that I don’t
know about.”
Over the years, Meggitt’s shape has
changed several times as it has
expanded, acquiring new companies
and disposing of others as it refined its
place in the market. The role of group
headquarters has also changed, with
positions involving strategy, sales and
marketing, operations excellence and
group organisation and development
increasingly being located there. Its
management executive feels that now is the
time to install technology and engineering
at the heart of the group as part of this
‘growing up’ process and Greaves is, clearly,
delighted to accept this mission. ●
Meggitt Training Systems Canada has just
demonstrated its first 16-boat ‘swarmex’
for the Canadian Navy, simulating a realworld
threat of swarming fast in-shore
attack craft (FIACs) designed to create a
maritime self-protection training scenario
for one or more naval ships (see page XX).
Meggitt Safety Systems continues to
expand its long-standing fire detection
capability into full FAA/EASA-approved Air
Transportation Association (ATA) Chapter
26 fire protection systems with integrated,
modular packages that reduce programme
development cost and risk.
“These are just a few examples of
Meggitt’s specialist technologies, says
Greaves, “but each site is concentrating
on what it’s good at, avoiding duplication
across the board.”

So, you reckon your job doesn’t expose you to offers of bribes? Barney Rosenberg, Vice President Ethics
and Business Conduct, explains why everyone at Meggitt is taking anti-bribery awareness training and
summarises the contents of the group’s revised Ethics and Business Conduct Policy.
At Meggitt, we are a group of
companies whose people speak
many languages, who come
from around the globe, and who share
commitments to our customers, our
suppliers, to the communities where we
work, to our regulators and to each other.
When we talk about “smart engineering
for extreme environments”, we are
summarising the kind of work we do and
the fact that not everyone can do it. We are
special. We hold ourselves to the highest
standards.
As our Chief Executive, Terry Twigger
says in the foreword to the group’s revised
Guide to Business & Ethics Conduct: “Our
future is in your hands. It depends on all
of us moving forward together on a path
that is clear and direct. One team. One
standard. One direction.” And that’s what
our Board of Directors had in mind when
they adopted our first Ethics and Business
Conduct Policy in 2005. Let’s look at what
that means for each of us.
Ethics and Business Conduct Policy
1 We pledge to conduct our business fairly,
impartially and in full compliance with
laws and regulations.
2 We acknowledge we are part of highly
regulated industries, such as aerospace
and defence.
3 We are committed to honesty, integrity
and respect for others.
4 The Board created a special committee
to oversee these commitments.
5 The Board adopted a Code of Conduct
to provide guidance to us all.
Code of Conduct
1 The training we all take from time to
time comes from that Code of Conduct.
2 The Code talks about conflicts of interest
and helps us make sure we promote the
company’s best interests as the way to
protect our own.
3 We undertake the obligation to promptly
report any illegal or unethical conduct
to management or other appropriate
officials.
a Each site has an Ethics Coordinator
b We have an Ethics Line, available 24/7,
worldwide
c Look for the Ethics Line around your
facility
d We will not allow retaliation against
people who raise genuine concerns
in good faith
e We do not have a chain of command
when it comes raising questions and
concerns
f If something isn’t being done the right
way, there’s only one way to fix it. Tell us.
g We take these matters seriously and will
act accordingly.
Nations are bound by treaties to
prevent corruption and end it—through the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) and the United Nations
REVIEW | WINTER 2010 00 67

and national laws that implement them
like the USA’s Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act and the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act
2010 (the world’s strictest standards). We
at Meggitt are naturally bound by those
treaties and laws and are signatories to
industry-wide best practice.
Anti-corruption policy
In January of this year, Meggitt’s Board
of Directors brought together a series of
policy statements into a comprehensive
anti-corruption policy. It deals with:
1 Bribery
2 Gifts and entertainment
3 Conflicts of Interest
4 Competition and antitrust
5 Money laundering
6 Sales representatives
7 Political contributions and lobbying
8 Breaches of the policy and reporting
obligations
By now, everyone has participated in the
training regarding global anti-bribery.
But you may ask why you had to take this
training, since your job does not put you
in a position to give or accept bribes?
Let’s look at whether that is really true.
1 Whatever your job is today, do you think
that will always be your job?
2 You don’t have to travel for the company.
Bad people can come to us.
3 Our businesses handle sensitive
00 68
REVIEW | WINTER 2010
Above: Meggitt’s updated ethics and
business conduct policy was delivered to
all Meggitt employees in a choice of six
languages in 2010.
company information; protected
technology; customer data; and all
sorts of other things that might fall
into the wrong hands. We are subject
to regulations and policies about how
to handle them. Others who are not as
honest as us may do all sorts of things to
get that information, including buying it
or paying someone to get it for them.
4 Organised crime reaches honest
businesses. We have to know who we
are dealing with. You should be vigilant
and mindful of what comes within
you field of vision even if it may seem
innocent or simply unusual.
a A would-be bomber left a van loaded
with explosives in Times Square in
New York City. A street vendor saw
that something was wrong and called
the police before the bomb could be
detonated. That vendor did not say “I am
not in the anti-terrorism business” and
aren’t we all glad he did the right thing?
b A programme manager at a manufacturing
company was offered $10,000 by a
foreign customer. He blew the whistle,
returned the money, and the company
severed relations with the customer.
c A worker on the shipping dock noticed
that the required government paperwork
was missing on a shipment about to go
out the door. He was not in management
and not responsible for trade compliance
but he saved the company from serious
infractions by stopping the shipment
until the situation was corrected. How
did he know that the paperwork was
required? He had recently completed
training given to everyone in the
company. He never once thought:
“It’s not my job.”
5 Things we do outside work, in our private
lives, can raise concerns. For example,
if you have a second job to make ends
meet (or because it’s a natural extension
of a hobby), consider whether you can
make copies of documents or make
phone calls about that second job using
Meggitt copiers and phones. Should
you use a company computer to place
orders for that other business? If we are
involved in political activity, will people
think we are speaking on behalf of
Meggitt? I hope not.
6 What else should we be thinking about?
a Is our work area clean and safe?
b Are suppliers’ goods passing incoming
inspection? What if they don’t?
c Do our products pass all required tests?
Do you know who your Ethics
Coordinator is?
As Terry Twigger says: “If you have questions
or concerns, speak up. People in the company
are ready to assist you.”
Meggitt is a good place to work. Let’s keep
it that way. ●

Above: The right way: a series
of graphic arrow metaphors
unites all Meggitt’s ‘Know
where you are going’ ethics
programme communications.
Postcript
Five years on. Meggitt’s Global Ethics Line
ou have seen the posters on message boards explaining how to
Y contact Meggitt’s Global Ethics Line. Let me explain how it works
and give you some real-life examples of the Ethics Line in action.
1 We operate 24 hours a day every day of the year.
2 Expo Link, in the UK manages the Line. It is completely
independent of Meggitt. Its clients include major corporations
around the world and everywhere Meggitt people work.
3 The call is free.
4 Operators answer your call in English and, if necessary,
transfer you to an interpreter who speaks your language.
5 Expo Link sends me a private, written report, without identifying
you if that is your choice and destroys its copy.
6 It does not record calls.
7 You can decide to be anonymous or you can give us contact
information. We may have questions or need more information.
8 I open a file and begin the investigation. We review documents
and interview people. Our goals are the truth and an appropriate
response. Even if you don’t have the whole picture, that’s okay.
We want to hear from you. Together, we will resolve the situation.
9 After we investigate, we provide feedback, usually within four
weeks. If you are anonymous, you will get a special ID number—
your key to feedback.
The programme in action
How cases are submitted
to the Ethics line
Ethics line 64%
Letter 3%
Telephone 14%
Direct 6%
E-mail 13%
1 An employee found a competitor’s confidential information on
the internet. He contacted me for advice. We investigated and
then told the competitor who said:
“I really appreciate your e-mail. I personally will remember what you
did for us. I will try to return the “good deed” to someone else if I see
something like this in my own work. It is not often in today’s world
that we get to say thank you for positive, ethical behavior. So thank
you again.”
Congratulations to our guy for doing the right thing.
2 A purchasing manager said suppliers offered us discounts in
return for prompt payment. But in some cases, payments were
not made for 120 days. After an internal review with senior
management, prompt payments were reinstated and supplier
relationships improved.
If we know that something is wrong, we can put it right.
3 A manager stole from the company by selling manufacturing scrap
and keeping the money. He was arrested, tried and found guilty. He
was ordered to repay Meggitt and to pay substantial fines to the court.
He now has a criminal record.
In 2005 we averaged two calls per month. Now it’s about eight. That
suggests the system is working. People are confident their concerns
will be addressed professionally and appropriate action will be taken.
They have a stake in Meggitt’s success and are willing to call. It also
means that, as a business, we still have work to do to improve. Thank
you for playing your your part. ●
Barney Rosenberg Vice President, Meggitt Ethics and Business Conduct

Not a lot of people know that Meggitt
has been around for about 150 years.
Find out what’s in our DNA by touring our interactive
History of Meggitt in [about] One and a Half Centuries
www.meggitt.com
This publication The Meggitt Review is
Meggitt PLC’s magazine for employees.
Headquartered in the UK, Meggitt is an
international group operating in North
America, Europe and Asia.
Meggitt Known for its specialist extreme
environment engineering, Meggitt is a
world leader in aerospace equipment,
sensing systems, defence training and
combat support.
Editor and reporter Fiona Greig
Telephone/fax +44 (0) 1202 597587
Address Meggitt PLC
Atlantic House, Aviation Park West,
Bournemouth International Airport,
Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 6EW, UK
www.meggitt.com
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