ACW signs up to aerospace and defence supply chain improvement programme

ACW Technology Ltd., one of Britain's most successful electronics manufacturing service (EMS) providers, announces that it has signed up to the 'Supply Chains for the Twenty First Century' (SC21) national aerospace and defence supply chain improvement programme.  In joining SC21, ACW will network with other leading companies in the aerospace and defence sector, including the UK Ministry of Defence, in a coordinated effort to improve the industry's supply chain.

Achieving supply chain improvement is critical to the continued competitiveness of the UK aerospace and defence industry and SC21 was set up with the aim of accelerating the process.  With international competition increasing, the participation of companies of all sizes throughout the UK supply chain is crucial to delivering real results from this modernization programme.

ACW was formally nominated to join SC21 by Thales, to whom it is a preferred supplier. By joining SC21 ACW has signed up to a formal recognition process that reflects the contribution and commitment of its supply chain. As a member company ACW can benefit from specific savings - for example the potential to achieve reduced overheads through needing to support fewer supply chain audits from customers.  Participation in SC21 also helps businesses like ACW gain key competitive advantage by understanding how the industry will be evolving in the future and giving early awareness of the latest developments in the sector.

Owen Reeves, Managing Director at ACW commented: "The fact that a large percentage of our business comes from customers in the defence and aerospace sector made signing up to SC21 a very straightforward decision.  Not only does SC21 help us to streamline our operating procedures and discuss best practice with other similar businesses, it also gives us access to potential new customers. The valuable knowledge sharing encouraged through the programme will also help us to enhance the already excellent service we're able to offer our customers and help us to identify and cut down on unnecessary costs."

ACW has nearly 20 years of expertise in all areas of manufacturing and offers a complete end-to-end service including product manufacturing, global sourcing, logistics and repair. The company has three facilities: in Southampton, Tonypandy (South Wales) and Zhuhai (China). ACW has a long pedigree in the aerospace and defence manufacturing field. Most recently the company was selected by Thales UK to supply fully tested printed circuit boards assemblies (PCBAs) for a new state-of-the-art target locator system, known as Surveillance System and Range Finder (SSARF), for the UK's front line forces.