Member Article

Birkenhead business completes HMS Queen Elizabeth contract

IPS Marine Fabrications’ service contract for the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier has been completed, after three years of supplying welding services to the ship.

The Birkenhead-based firm signed the deal with Cammell Laird in 2010, which saw between six and eight men from IPS working on the project to construct huge flight desk modules.

Director, Paul Smith said: “We have a long standing relationship as a supplier to Cammell Laird and this was a terrific contract for IPS to work on.

“It was complex and demanding job but one which was a good fit for our experience and expertise. The main work we undertook was the drawn arc stud welding.

“The prime advantage of drawn arc stud welding is that it provides very strong and reliable welding under a broad range of conditions.

“It essentially produces a full cross-sectional weld, forming a bond that is stronger than the surrounding metal.

“Given the scale of the aircraft carrier project and the thousands of pins we had to fit this calibre of welding was essential.

“Working on such a big project also meant reviewing the specification in detail with the project team to maximise efficiency and ensure we kept to strict deadlines.”

Mr Smith founded the business in 2001 along with his co-director Peter Hillian. The partners said the carrier project with Cammell Laird was a tremendous showcase of IPS’ skills and expertise.

Mr Smith added: “We are very proud to work for Cammell Laird and to work on a project of this size and prestige.

“It really shows the depth of expertise in the supply chain here on Merseyside and in the North West.

“Moreover, the market for drawn arc stud welding is big one and not many firms have the track record and skill set that we do.

“We want to use this project to promote our expertise to the wider marine and industrial sectors.”

The business also fabricated extractors to provide ventilation for engineers while they were working on the flight deck modules.

The HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are being delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, which is a partnership between BAE Systems, Thales UK, Babcock and the UK Ministry of Defence.

Each aircraft carrier will provide the armed forces with a four acre military operating base which can be deployed anywhere in the world.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .