Case study - GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, Luton

Glance up at the flight-deck windows next time you board a plane - there's a good chance you'll be looking at something manufactured by GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems (GKN ATS).

The company is based near Luton Airport in a group of buildings that date from the 1930s. For years, the run-down site has given few clues to the cutting edge engineering carried out by the people who work there. Now, with the help of a £1.1 million SFIE grant from EEDA, part of the complex is being transformed into a world-class manufacturing facility.

But it could all have been very different. A victim of its own success, the plant might have been moved away from Luton in 2004, dealing a painful blow to the local economy. "EEDA's contribution was fundamental to safeguarding the future of the business on the Luton site," said Jeremy Chiappe, financial controller at GKN ATS Luton.

The Luton plant, part of the global GKN engineering business, has been a leading supplier to the civilian and military aerospace industries for 50 years. It specialises in the production of cockpit canopies and flight-deck windows, ice-protection systems and electro-luminescent lighting. In 2004, Boeing chose the company's groundbreaking
wing ice-protection system for its new 787 passenger jet. The system uses unique metal spray technology to create an electro-thermal mat, which is applied to the surface of the wing. It offers efficiency savings over traditional techniques, which rely on hot gases from the aircraft's engines.

The Boeing contract was excellent news for the company, promising sales of $360 million over a 15-year period. But it almost spelled the end for the Luton plant that pioneered the system. The existing site, already cramped and out of date, could not accommodate the new work. A simple solution was to close it, transferring its activities to other GKN facilities in Britain and abroad. Instead of being closed, the site is receiving a radical overhaul with the help of EEDA's grant. GKN ATS is extensively reorganising its operations and transforming one of the main buildings into a state-of-the-art ice-protection facility. This will rival Boeing's best manufacturing plants, said Jeremy.

"We expect this to provide a platform for growth in the ice-protection business, as other airframe manufacturers see the benefit of electrical de-icing over hot gases." - Jeremy Chiappe

The SFIE scheme targets areas of high unemployment. The GKN ATS project will safeguard 287 jobs and create 53. It will also secure the future of a centre of engineering excellence, allowing its workforce to reap the benefits of a potentially world-beating innovation.