Phoenix marks 25 years with move to larger premises
16/07/2008
Phoenix Inspection Systems, one of the UK's leading independent providers of NDT equipment, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a move to larger premises.The company, which employs 24 people, is in the process of acquiring a new 9000 sq ft building close to its existing premises in Woolston, Warrington, which it has now outgrown.
Phoenix was set up by Jim Quirk in June 1983. He was succeeded as Managing Director by his son Karl in 1995. Sadly, Jim died in July last year.
Celebrations for the anniversary included a reception where guests of honour were the company's first customer Charles King, owner of Salford inspection firm Nortest, and Jim Quirk's widow Sue and daughter Danielle.Initially focusing almost exclusively on the nuclear industry, Phoenix has successfully diversified into other sectors, including offshore, petrochemical, chemical, aerospace and rail. Although it offers an extensive off-the-shelf range of products, it is renowned for its ability to provide bespoke solutions to challenging inspection problems. Clients include major names such as Siemens, Rolls-Royce, Doosan Babcock, Linde, Alstom and British Energy.
Over two-thirds of its revenue comes from the export market and its sales team regularly take part in exhibitions around the world and have a high success rate in winning new business.
High-profile projects in recent years have included developing probes capable of operating three miles below sea level during the disaster recovery operation following the sinking of the Prestige oil tanker off the coast of Spain in 2002; setting inspection standards in the North Sea offshore industry; devising inspection procedures for the vacuum vessel of ITER, which is set to be one of the world's first nuclear fusion reactors; and helping to develop new ground-breaking medical scanners.
Karl Quirk says: "The ultrasonic NDT industry has changed dramatically over the past 25 years. One of the key advances has been developments in memory technology, which means that inspections can now be recorded and processed in real time. We have also seen the introduction of new techniques, including TOFD and phased array that are revolutionising the industry.
"Throughout these years Phoenix has remained at the forefront of developments. Our policy of employing highly skilled engineers has helped to drive the business forward, as has our participation in many of the leading international research and development projects.
"The business is currently thriving due to healthy global demand for NDT and we feel very positive about our prospects for the future. Ultrasonics is a growth industry worldwide. We also anticipate that the resurgence of the nuclear industry will boost trade in what was originally our core market."
