Having completed the construction and fit out of its state-of-the-art Composite Centre of Excellence facility in Banbury, Oxfordshire last February, UTC Aerospace Systems’ advanced composites manufacturer, CTG is now busy making progress with the layout of the production area. The 137,000ft2 facility was approached with an environmental and sustainable focus and unites CTG’s six current sites into one location to give the company an overall footprint increase of more than 90%. The move enables CTG to manufacture volume quantities more effectively of advanced composite products and systems used across a range of high technology industries. Employees have already moved in, and the facility will be fully operational by mid-2014. Amenities include dedicated production lines, a technical library, high-tech smart boards, a gymnasium and flexible meeting spaces. The facility has been designed using UTC’s Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) lean principles which focus on material flow and flexibility. Layout of the production area has been planned using value stream envelopes; enabling wasted space to be lowered by more than 30% and linkage and flow improvement to increase by 50% in comparison to the old sites. “CTG’s Composite Centre of Excellence is a truly incredible facility and we are delighted with the outcome which will benefit our customers, employees, and the wider UTC organisation,” stated the company’s marketing manager, Kate White. “It will ensure our operations are more streamlined and efficient, while sustaining the current innovative and agile environment. The facility ensures we stand out from our competitors as a leader in composite product technology now and in the future.” www.ctgltd.com
