Home: July 2006 › Built for growth
Built for growth
30/06/2006 | Channel: Aerospace, Manufacturing
Satair’s OEM division specialises in the supply of structural fasteners, engine components, avionics and general hardware items.
With headquarters in Denmark and offices in, the UK, France, Germany, Holland, the US and China, Satair is the largest aerospace hardware distributor in Europe. As an authorised distributor for many of the leading manufacturers, the company strives to provide a unique one-stop service for parts and value-added services, offering over 6000 customer drawn product lines alongside the latest developments in supply chain management, logistics and IT.
Introducing ESCM to the group, UK managing director, Nigel Thomas, says: “Satair is a publicly-owned Danish company, with Aftermarket and OEM divisions. As the OEM division, we supply a range of fasteners, hardware, and supply chain and logistics solutions to OEMs across the globe. Our division comprises of three legal entities, based in the UK, France and Denmark, and this year we are forecasting revenues in excess of $100 million. We sell both under contract and discrete purchase orders, specialising in a Direct Line Feed (DLF) service that delivers straight to the point of use at the manufacturing plant. We have DLF agreements with some of the largest UK OEMs, as well as blue chip companies from the US, mainland Europe and the Far East.”
Describing the state of the market, Nigel continues: “It is currently in a very vibrant position, following the very depressed period post 9/11. The market is growing at around 16 per cent every year, despite raw material and capacity constraints. In truth we have faced a fairly horrendous set of supply chain conditions over the last year, in terms of availability and the cost of raw materials. There is still a lot of hesitance in the supply chain as far as investment is concerned. We use sophisticated IT tools to help us understand the true demand of our customers, with DLF bringing significant rewards, allowing us to supply in response to usage rather than the business forecasts.”
Established in 1957, Satair’s UK operation has been shaped by its acquisitions of C.J. Fox and Lentern. “In 2001 Satair merged with C.J. Fox to form Satair Hardware,” explains Nigel. “In December 2003 we then acquired Lentern to form Satair Hardware UK. Following this was an 18 month integration programme, where we disposed of several old Lentern properties, and amalgamated the Southend operation into one large modern warehousing facility.”
Explaining the relationship between the OEM and Aftermarket divisions, Nigel says:
“Satair has a global presence that is growing day-by-day, with the aftermarket division recently adding TPA in Singapore to the group. The two divisions share facilities where possible, so that we don’t double up on costs. For example our aftermarket colleagues utilise our UK facilities, and we use their French site, as well as other sites across the globe.”
As well as sharing facilities, the divisions also work together on other aspects to ensure the operation works efficiently. Nigel continues: “We do have customers and
suppliers in common, and where possible we look to have a group arrangement, with a number of cross-functional employees interfacing between the divisions to provide a continuous cradle-to-grave service for the customers. For example, in our relationship with Raytheon we supply to the fuselage and tail plane assembly sites in the UK, whilst our colleagues at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, deal with final assembly in Wichita, Kansas.”
Commercial director, Kevin Chandler, explains that the company is involved in a range of different styles of customer relationships. “We range from being on a list of suppliers for a generic product range, where we will get a phone call three or
four times a year, to a far more strategic, contracted agreement where we supply a large portfolio of products.”
Emphasising the importance that the UK division places on providing a quality service to its customers, Westland Transmission awarded it ‘Supplier of the Year’ and ‘Proprietary Parts Supplier of the Year 2005’. Commenting on the success, Nigel says: “The awards are based upon cost, quality and delivery. Our consistent performance through the DLF supply of fasteners to Yeovil has not only saved them money but helped to improve the performance of their organisation. We see it as a very important achievement, illustrating the quality of our work, and it has been a useful tool for both internal and external marketing purposes.”
These two awards are particularly useful additions to Satair’s stand at this year’s Farnborough Airshow. With over 40 years of exhibiting as Satair, C.J. Fox and Lentern, the company displayed a wide selection of products from various manufacturers of spare parts and hardware. Explaining the show’s importance, Nigel says: “It is a big shop window for the industry where we can meet new suppliers, have a look at the latest technology and meet with our existing customers.”
The past six months have been particularly successful for Satair Hardware UK, with new contracts agreed with BAE Systems, Goodrich and Martin-Baker. Kevin comments: “We have also won a contract with the French company, Aircelle, securing our standing in the market. So far we have been successful in renewing these contracts, which gives us a solid platform to base our business on.”
Explaining why the company is so successful at retaining contracts, Kevin continues: “We are not always the cheapest, but we are very competitive for the service that we provide. We have many people in the business with many years of experience,
making our product and market knowledge second to none. This is reflected in our service level, with delivery performance consistently in excess of 95 per cent for our major contracts, with many cases reaching 99 per cent.”
Kevin and Nigel agree that it is the depth and breadth of employee experience that ensures Satair provides the highest quality service to its customers, and it is this key
area that will remain at the heart of the company’s drive for further success. Looking to the future Nigel concludes: “We are about to launch a new global branding initiative and we are looking to maximise our strong position, we remain a global player that can provide a cradle-to-grave service that is backed by the financial strength of being a very well thought of public company and driven by a strong, robust management team.”
Satair Hardware UK
www.satairhg.com
Industry Aerospace
Introducing ESCM to the group, UK managing director, Nigel Thomas, says: “Satair is a publicly-owned Danish company, with Aftermarket and OEM divisions. As the OEM division, we supply a range of fasteners, hardware, and supply chain and logistics solutions to OEMs across the globe. Our division comprises of three legal entities, based in the UK, France and Denmark, and this year we are forecasting revenues in excess of $100 million. We sell both under contract and discrete purchase orders, specialising in a Direct Line Feed (DLF) service that delivers straight to the point of use at the manufacturing plant. We have DLF agreements with some of the largest UK OEMs, as well as blue chip companies from the US, mainland Europe and the Far East.”
Describing the state of the market, Nigel continues: “It is currently in a very vibrant position, following the very depressed period post 9/11. The market is growing at around 16 per cent every year, despite raw material and capacity constraints. In truth we have faced a fairly horrendous set of supply chain conditions over the last year, in terms of availability and the cost of raw materials. There is still a lot of hesitance in the supply chain as far as investment is concerned. We use sophisticated IT tools to help us understand the true demand of our customers, with DLF bringing significant rewards, allowing us to supply in response to usage rather than the business forecasts.”
Established in 1957, Satair’s UK operation has been shaped by its acquisitions of C.J. Fox and Lentern. “In 2001 Satair merged with C.J. Fox to form Satair Hardware,” explains Nigel. “In December 2003 we then acquired Lentern to form Satair Hardware UK. Following this was an 18 month integration programme, where we disposed of several old Lentern properties, and amalgamated the Southend operation into one large modern warehousing facility.”
Explaining the relationship between the OEM and Aftermarket divisions, Nigel says:
“Satair has a global presence that is growing day-by-day, with the aftermarket division recently adding TPA in Singapore to the group. The two divisions share facilities where possible, so that we don’t double up on costs. For example our aftermarket colleagues utilise our UK facilities, and we use their French site, as well as other sites across the globe.”
As well as sharing facilities, the divisions also work together on other aspects to ensure the operation works efficiently. Nigel continues: “We do have customers and
suppliers in common, and where possible we look to have a group arrangement, with a number of cross-functional employees interfacing between the divisions to provide a continuous cradle-to-grave service for the customers. For example, in our relationship with Raytheon we supply to the fuselage and tail plane assembly sites in the UK, whilst our colleagues at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, deal with final assembly in Wichita, Kansas.”
Commercial director, Kevin Chandler, explains that the company is involved in a range of different styles of customer relationships. “We range from being on a list of suppliers for a generic product range, where we will get a phone call three or
four times a year, to a far more strategic, contracted agreement where we supply a large portfolio of products.”
Emphasising the importance that the UK division places on providing a quality service to its customers, Westland Transmission awarded it ‘Supplier of the Year’ and ‘Proprietary Parts Supplier of the Year 2005’. Commenting on the success, Nigel says: “The awards are based upon cost, quality and delivery. Our consistent performance through the DLF supply of fasteners to Yeovil has not only saved them money but helped to improve the performance of their organisation. We see it as a very important achievement, illustrating the quality of our work, and it has been a useful tool for both internal and external marketing purposes.”
These two awards are particularly useful additions to Satair’s stand at this year’s Farnborough Airshow. With over 40 years of exhibiting as Satair, C.J. Fox and Lentern, the company displayed a wide selection of products from various manufacturers of spare parts and hardware. Explaining the show’s importance, Nigel says: “It is a big shop window for the industry where we can meet new suppliers, have a look at the latest technology and meet with our existing customers.”
The past six months have been particularly successful for Satair Hardware UK, with new contracts agreed with BAE Systems, Goodrich and Martin-Baker. Kevin comments: “We have also won a contract with the French company, Aircelle, securing our standing in the market. So far we have been successful in renewing these contracts, which gives us a solid platform to base our business on.”
Explaining why the company is so successful at retaining contracts, Kevin continues: “We are not always the cheapest, but we are very competitive for the service that we provide. We have many people in the business with many years of experience,
making our product and market knowledge second to none. This is reflected in our service level, with delivery performance consistently in excess of 95 per cent for our major contracts, with many cases reaching 99 per cent.”
Kevin and Nigel agree that it is the depth and breadth of employee experience that ensures Satair provides the highest quality service to its customers, and it is this key
area that will remain at the heart of the company’s drive for further success. Looking to the future Nigel concludes: “We are about to launch a new global branding initiative and we are looking to maximise our strong position, we remain a global player that can provide a cradle-to-grave service that is backed by the financial strength of being a very well thought of public company and driven by a strong, robust management team.”
Satair Hardware UK
www.satairhg.com
Industry Aerospace