In our Suppliers’ Spotlight series, the best in British engineering and manufacturing and members of Team AW149 UK tell their story.

Team AW149 UK is Leonardo’s onshore supply chain for the AW149 helicopter. Featuring more than 70 companies from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Team AW149 UK members play a vital role in the latest-generation AW149. 

Ford Aerospace Ltd is deeply rooted in the South Shields community and its origins date back to 1910. From the North East of England, the company supplies on a global scale to 27 different countries. Ford provides a first-class manufacturing service to Leonardo and other OEMs alike. It takes customer designs and delivers complete supply to its customer requirements through the management of a portfolio of thousands of different items from material procurement, in-house manufacture, managing subcontract treatments and coatings, to in-house assembly and shipment to stock.

“From South Shields to Yeovil, Ford Aerospace Ltd provides Leonardo Helicopters with a top class manufacturing service for all small precision machined, pressed and laminate components. As a trusted UK partner of Leonardo, we are delighted to be involved in the AW149 team and be able to represent the best of UK manufacturing,” says Chris Ford, Managing Director of Ford Aerospace Ltd.

The company’s founder, Robert Ford, was involved in a workplace accident whilst working for a pressing company – during a time before modern health and safety – and lost the ends of his first two fingers in a press and subsequently lost his job. Out of work, he took a loan from fellow Freemasons and started Ford & Co at the age of 29 with a workforce of three, including himself, manufacturing corrugated steam joints. Since then, the business has grown through multiple different sites, and four generations as a family-run business. 

“Today our in-house capabilities are extensive for a business our size and include CNC machining up to 5-axis, threadrolling, assembly, pressing, laser cutting, laminate shim and material manufacture, grinding and lapping, amongst others. Ford Easipeel is our own brand of laminate material for the production of peelable shims,” explains Chris Ford.

Ford and Leonardo’s relationship stems back to the 1980s and over the years the two companies have forged a close bond as a small North East supplier and world leading equipment manufacturer in the South West, and this continues to go from strength to strength. 

“To be associated with such a well-known brand and best in-class aircraft is fantastic and is certainly worth the miles to visit from here. We pride ourselves on the skills and ability of our people that enable us to produce thousands of different items in low quantities to spec, on time and cost-effectively. So from a handful of items up to automotive production batch sizes we deliver,” adds Chris Ford.

In order to ensure the next generation of engineers come through, the company founded the Ford Engineering academy for trainees where, with support from partners at Gateshead College, it has up to 100 trainees progressing through every year. 

For further information, please visit https://www.ford-engineering.com.