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Gould Alloys is proud to be a supplier of metals to Gardner Aerospace

A strategic Long Term Agreement between both organisations sees a purchase and supply partnership that covers a broad range of metallic raw materials for multiple aircraft programmes for a number of Gardner’s global customers.

Gardner Aerospace demands a supply partner with global supply and processing capability to support its own expansion programme, and Gould Alloys is recognised as such a partner.

Gould Alloys has made, and continues to make, significant investments in support of the strategic relationship between the two companies. This is demonstrated by the recent opening of AS9120 accredited facilities in both India and Poland, providing Gardner in-country supply in each respective country.

Gould Alloys is one of the fastest-growing specialist metals stockholders in the country, serving the ferrous and non-ferrous metals requirements of leading-edge aerospace and defence industries.
The range of materials stocked includes: Alloy Steels, Stainless Steel, Aluminium, Nickel Alloys, Titanium and Phosphor Bronze.

Gould’s purpose-built facility near Chesterfield has a dedicated Machine Shop equipped with CNC lathes, milling machines and turning centres.

State of the art processing capabilities include cutting to weight or length, processing which includes radiused, chamfered, turned and bored/hollowed, sawing (bar and plate), waterjet cutting and material marking.

In addition, Gould Alloys is a founding business of Aero Metals Alliance (AMA), an organisation dedicated to meeting the needs of the global aerospace industry from five of the world’s leading suppliers of metals: Gould Alloys, Progressive Alloy Steels Unlimited (PASU), Service Centres Aero (SCA), Sunshine Metals and Wilsons Metals.

In the markets in which they operate, the companies have established their own reputations for industry experience, knowledge and expertise. When that is brought together through AMA, the benefits to those operating within aerospace manufacturing are considerable.

The capability for the different businesses within AMA to draw on the expertise of each other is highly beneficial to customers such as Gardner Aerospace. In addition to a wide-ranging understanding of the metals business, amongst its employees AMA has specialists in a number of areas. This includes materials scientists who can offer technical advice and in-depth knowledge on the classification of the different metals, offering invaluable support regarding a particular material or treatment that could better suit a given application.

This knowledge also extends into the requirements of specific markets and customers, for example the different British, American and German specifications, along with customer-specific grades such as MSRR (Rolls Royce) and ABS/AIMS(Airbus/GKN) plus many others. A collaborative approach helps to overcome such regional and customer-specific challenges, with AMA effectively extending the product portfolio that each business can offer to its customers, particularly contract customers such as Gardner Aerospace.

AMA provides a structure through which the companies remain independent, but liaise and cooperate on a regular basis, providing bespoke supply chain solutions to its customer base, wherever they are in the world.

Jane Bradshaw, Managing Director at Gould Alloys comments:

“Aerospace manufacturers are searching for the ultimate peace of mind in materials supply. Material stockholding, first stage machining and supply contracts designed around our customers’ needs enable Gould Alloys to offer the complete package, and our relationship with Gardner Aerospace is a prime example of how this works. We hold stock of our customers’ material, processed to the correct stage, in bespoke areas of our bespoke warehouse, thus ensuring confidence in material availability and supply, even on a just-in-time or DLF basis. This enables customers to free up storage and processing space to concentrate and develop core activities to grow their own business.”

The global capability of AMA coupled with the local expertise embodied within Gould Alloys enables Gardner Aerospace to access a wide stock portfolio and processing capability anywhere in the world, whilst supported by a dedicated project management and contract team.

Reproduced with the kind permission of BusinessFocus Magazine.