Sponsoring talented students proves a sound investment for Ingimex
Nov 05
With top engineering talent increasingly difficult to find, vehicle body manufacturer Ingimex Ltd has taken the long view by investing successfully in university training. Technical Director Jeremy Gallen says the business benefits are tangible.
A two-year university sponsorship programme to nurture the talent of a young engineer has proved a sound investment for vehicle body manufacturer Ingimex Ltd, with Rafael Elias (21) graduating with a BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and joining the Telford-based company.
Brazilian-born Rafael, known to his colleagues as Raff, first joined Ingimex in 2001 as part of a ‘Year in Industry’ placement scheme. During his year working in the quality department, Raff so impressed Ingimex Technical Director Jeremy Gallen with his motivation and aptitude, he was offered part-time employment during his first year of study at the University of Wolverhampton. A two-year sponsorship programme followed, with Raff’s final year project to improve internal fittings on a box van body resulting in significant cost savings for Ingimex as well as achieving top marks.
Jeremy Gallen commented: “Manufacturing process improvement - a continuous cycle of assessing what we do and how we can do it better, perhaps by changing the design, testing new materials and using different techniques – cuts through all that we do. Raff’s project was to find a smarter way to make internal load restraint fittings for the Ford Box Van, which we have manufactured for some years as part of Ford’s One-Stop programme. By re-engineering the fixings for the internal fittings, Raff reduced assembly time by three and a quarter hours. The second part of his project, creating a new design for internal fittings, has eliminated six parts to create one standard unit for every vehicle body we manufacture, reducing assembly time by around one hour.”
Seven years of part-time study has also paid off for engineer Barry Sayce (47), who graduated this summer with a BSc from the Open University. Barry, who joined Ingimex in 1996, has been sponsored by the company through his degree course. With an ONC as his starting point, Barry completed seven course modules, including structures, fatigue failure and design innovation. In his spare time, he has been studying for twelve to twenty hours per week, taking annual exams and completed a final year design project. The assignment, to re-design a rear pillar on a tipper body, produced a lighter, more efficient, user-friendly component, which will be going into production next year.
Technical Director Jeremy Gallen has no doubts about the business benefits on investing in training: “We’re talking about motivated staff, increased skills and product knowledge, a strengthening of the quality culture - and, most importantly, an improved end product.
He added: “We’ve been impressed by Raff and Barry’s commitment to learning and are delighted by their achievements. Our experience demonstrates the real value of taking on people who show ability and motivation to succeed in their chosen career. With engineering and manufacturing skills in short supply nationally and British manufacturing having to fight its corner, we know it’s a wise business investment for the future.”
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