Premaberg manufacturing ltd – Nuclear
Premaberg Manufacturing Ltd based at Halstead in North Essex for 45 years designs and manufactures air filtration systems specialising in high efficiency removal of water droplets and aerosols from air streams.
Our systems are used on many critical air intake systems to protect gas turbines, diesel engines and HVAC plant, often in a marine or coastal environment for the naval, marine and offshore oil & gas sectors. We have an extensive record of export throughout the world, primarily to Europe, Japan and the Far East.
We have experience in the nuclear industry, providing specially adapted products for decommissioning; air intake systems for HVAC applications; droplet and aerosol removal and protection of filters for emergency exhaust systems; high-efficiency weather louvres on process buildings; and special HVAC applications for nuclear-powered naval vessels. We aim to increase our involvement with the nuclear industry and to develop our already strong business management and quality systems to meet these requirements.
We joined the F4N programme in 2016, building on our longstanding ISO 9001 accreditation and have successfully improved our established health and safety system, obtaining OHSAS 18001 accreditation in May 2016, and cementing our accreditations with further clean audits. We are now working towards ISO 14001 accreditation after carrying out an environmental gap analysis.
We have introduced lean manufacturing, 5S and continuous improvement programmes, engaging staff at all levels in improvement activities supported by the F4N team. We have moved forward with an absolute desire to empower our teams, who are now taking responsibility for improving their processes using lean tools and techniques to eliminate waste. We have also trained and appointed two lean facilitators to coach and support the continuous improvement teams.
We are continuing our strategic development utilising lessons learnt though the F4N coaching and have included many of our leaders in nuclear-related training through the National Skills Academy for Nuclear and other events, broadening our understanding of nuclear culture.
We have absolutely no doubt that the level of staff motivation and involvement has risen dramatically since the start of F4N and the 5S programme. Although we have yet to see new nuclear industry orders in the UK, we are working on several projects which now have a considerably better opportunity to succeed.
We believe that our nuclear business opportunities in the UK will come from the new build programme, and potentially from retrofitting to existing plant. As a relative outsider to the nuclear industry and probably a Tier 3 or 4 supplier, it is difficult to identify the correct contacts, although we are now registering on appropriate supply chain portals and also developing some export potential, particularly in Japan where we have just secured a contract for a nuclear plant.
Our business development is now preparing us to become a natural choice for consideration as a nuclear industry supplier, in the same way that our reputation in marine and offshore oil & gas affords us success in those markets.
Graham Wadley
Director
Premaberg Manufacturing Ltd