Peak NDT leads the way thanks to phased array
18/02/2008
Husband and wife technology business Peak NTD, in Derby's Derwent Business Centre, is one of the firms which has seen a marked improvement in its performance over the past year thanks to advice from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS EM).The company designs, develops and manufactures ultrasonic testing equipment for the power generation and aerospace industries. Its technology enables customers to test metal for cracks using an ultrasonic probe which is controlled electronically.
Company owners Andy Whittle, Operations Director, and Alison Whittle, Technical Director, started the business 11 years ago following a breakaway from Rolls-Royce. Peak NTD took over one of MatEval's – a Rolls Royce company – main ultrasonic products called Micropulse 3 and have since gone from strength to strength.
Andy said: "Since we took over the product, we have further developed Micropulse and developed new products, growing the business to a point where we needed to bring some commercial expertise in to take us to the next level.
"I've used outside experts before and MAS ranks up there above them all. Their expertise was great value for money and has real and lasting benefits. We've recently picked up orders with NRG in Holland and UTEX in Canada thanks to a focus on sales that MAS helped us to achieve."
The MAS expertise was supplied by Derbyshire's Business Advice Team (BAT), a nationwide business consultancy, which identified key strategic issues that were hindering the company's growth. One problem was the focus on the technical aspects of the business and not enough on market development.
Simon Parke from BAT explained: "This company is developing leading edge instruments. Other companies supply similar products, but Peak's are world class. I have been re-focusing the business on a commercial footing rather than a technical one. They need to go out and sell more products to customers across the world."
Peak's leading product is the Micropulse phased array system, which was developed thanks to a DTI Smart Award. The product enables customers to inspect the metal for defects using a multi-element electronic probe which can be made to simulate probes at set angles, rather than the previous technology which relied on a number of separate probes at set angles. Some of the potential benefits can be a quicker inspection, as customers don’t have to keep changing the probes. In the nuclear industry, this reduced operator intervention could lead to a lower frequency of exposure to radiation.
The company currently exports to markets all over the world, including Argentina, France, Holland and Italy and has just completed an order for an organisation in Slovakia that inspects nuclear plants.
To find out more about how MAS could help your manufacturing business, call 01664 501301 or log on to www.mas-em.org.uk
