South African secondment helps process engineers

A DTI Global Watch Service product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Oct 4, 2001

Two engineers from a Burton upon Trent process engineering company are learning about the latest automation techniques in South Africa, thanks to the DTI

Two engineers from a Burton upon Trent process engineering company are learning about the latest automation techniques with South African Breweries Limited, one of the world's leading breweries with global operations.

Briggs of Burton plc have been awarded two secondments by the Department of Trade and Industry's International Technology Service.

Andrew Edwards, 38, from the company's plant at Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, is spending six months there looking to enhance his company's understanding of new batch automation procedures which have been introduced by the South African organisation.

"We will then be in a first-class position to consider using the new technology in our future projects worldwide", said Andrew."The knowledge we gain on the DTI secondment will help our growth strategy, giving us a positive impact on our ability to respond to the latest developments in the automation of batch processes".

Robert Buxton, 30, from the main Burton plant, who is on a year's secondment, said: "Our turnover across the past ten years has been achieved largely on the back of a company strategy of internationalising our business with significant exports to areas such as the USA, Russia, China, Australia and South Africa.

We believe that,with our core knowledge and experience together with a number of unique features and benefits within our own technology, we can continue that successful strategy.

"In addition to learning about their technology, an integral part of my DTI secondment is to help to form a strategic alliance with the South African company so that we will be in a position to secure future implementation work both inside and outside South Africa".

Briggs employs 230 people on the United Kingdom - at Burton upon Trent, Holmes Chapel, Hull, Rochester and Wellingborough.

The two secondments for Briggs are supported by the DTI's International Technology Service.

The secondments service, which supports UK employees from any discipline to any country for periods of three to 12 months, aims to help UK SMEs (small and medium-sized companies) improve their performance by benchmarking themselves against overseas companies and adopting leading edge techniques and management practices.

It enables them to learn best practice, improve productivity and develop overseas links with other businesses.

The service provides both financial assistance and practical advice to companies with up to 250 staff.

The DTI grant provides about 50 per cent of the direct costs of the secondment and there is also financial help for language and presentational skills training if needed.

In addition to secondments, the International Technology Service supports group missions to overseas countries, has a 12-strong team of International Technology Promoters which forges links with specific countries on behalf of British companies and provides an information service, highlighting technology advances around the world.