£900,000 investment by Centa Transmissions
Making life as easy as possible for boat builders has led to Centa Transmissions expanding and taking on more staff.
The company has officially opened a new 382m² extension to its West Yorkshire factory, an additional manufacturing area of almost 50%.
The investment – £300,000 to build the extension and £600,000 for new machinery -has allowed the company to restructure its production and storage facilities to produce components up to 660mm on site and take on several new engineers.
“We had run out of room and were desperate for space and the site allowed us to expand,” explained Centa Transmissions MD, Bob Arnott. “We’ve seen a glut of order intakes and have been desperately trying to catch up.”
One of the products driving the company’s growth is its new range of electro-magnetic clutches (EMC) launched last year, designed to make drive systems easier to install and operate. The EMC is aimed at manufacturers, boat builders and engine packagers carrying out remote clutching of ancillary drives.
Mr Arnott explained: “Boat builders want the complete assembly. They generally don’t want to do their own engineering, they just want to connect one part to another. We make all the torsional calculations which gives people the confidence.”
He added: “Machinery is getting more complicated, so we’ve taken on the responsibility of putting it all together which the boat builders and naval architects like.”
And the harder the application, the more Centa excels, with different packages to suit different applications such as providing the means to drive bow thrusters through its clutches.
The EMC is proving particularly popular with wind farm support vessels, especially the second generation with design benefits including easy integration into propulsion drives and applications.
Control electronics are sealed in a single watertight unit, allowing the EMC to be utilised on different types of vessels and operated in all seas and weathers.
“It’s going very well. We expected the orders to come in two or three years’ time but instead we’ve had to hit the ground running to keep up,” explained Mr Arnott.
“All the work we did for years, all the investment and prototypes, has been gradually coming through.”
Seven sizes of the EMC are available to be fitted directly to the engine SAE flange, via a torsionally flexible coupling onto the flywheel, or assembled as a stand-alone unit for auxiliary drives, from the non-flywheel end.
Visit Centa Transmissions at this year’s Seawork International on stand number A163.
By Katina Read
