A NORTH EAST drone specialist is scaling new heights after investing in its own manufacturing facility.

heliguy, based in North Shields, has established itself as a drone supplier for clients across the globe since its launch in 2006.

The company started life as a retailer of remote-controlled helicopters but has since grown into a full-service drone specialist, providing drones, bespoke accessories, servicing, repairs, custom integrations, product development, drone pilot training and end-to-end workflow support.

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Over the past two years, this diversification has seen the company secure contracts with 38 police forces across the country, as well as the London Fire Brigade, Port of Tyne and a host of personal and commercial clients.

The expansion of its services - and the establishing of a dedicated manufacturing hub at its Orion Business Park base - has not only led to the company onboarding more clients, but also more staff, with its headcount in North Shields now at 28.

Ross Embleton, custom integration specialist at heliguy, said: “We identified a gap in the market - quite early on - when the drone market was just maturing and swiftly established ourselves as one of the UK’s leading independent providers of drones and accessories.

“Since then, we’ve continued to invest in the business year-on-year.”

Central to bringing product development and manufacturing in-house and growing the business has been a suite of state-of-the-art 3D printers that has allowed heliguy to design and produce parts at its North Shields facility, helping to slash lead and prototype times while reducing costs.

The company purchased the printers after receiving technical support and a grant from the £10.9 million Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing (SAM) Project, which is a collaboration between the European Regional Development Fund, University of Sunderland and the Northern Powerhouse Initiative.

The funding supported the purchase of a market leading 3D printer, which allows the company to print parts in reinforced carbon fibre and Kevlar.

The firm also aims to acquire a number of surface finishing machines over the coming months as it continues to invest in its design and manufacturing capabilities.

Ross added: “Bringing the production of our components in-house was key to us broadening our horizons and expanding into new markets and the support we received from SAM has been key to helping us do that.

“Carl Gregg at SAM was fantastic as he really bought into the concept. After working with him to identify which areas of our business could benefit from additive manufacturing and which 3D printers would be best suited to our needs, we went on to buy a state-of-the-art Markforged composite printer that has helped us significantly slash costs and lead times.

“It has massively reduced design times too. Now, if the managing director or a client has an idea, we can create a physical, working prototype within a week as there’s no waiting around for third party suppliers.

“Aviation parts also need to be strong and light, therefore being able to print parts in carbon fibre and Kevlar is a huge benefit to us.”

Carl Gregg, product and process design specialist at the SAM Project, said: “As a team of engineers who thrive upon helping businesses overcome challenges to growth, it was fantastic to work with heliguy and to become so involved in helping them plan for the future as they continue to innovate and grow and create jobs here in the North East."

 

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