Damper Technology

Source: Energy Digital

Date :17/03/2008 12:10:13

With archives dating back to 1965 and an experienced work force of engineers, Damper Technology Limited is achieving rapid growth. Exec finds out more

Written by Lucy Mowatt and produced by Alex Smith

Established in 2001, when an older damper manufacturing company moved out of the UK, Damper Technology Ltd has seen significant growth in the last seven years. Having

purchased technical and commercial archives from its predecessor dating back to around 1965, the company has built on this data and the experience of its engineers.

“We really wanted to provide a customer friendly approach, with a real focus on engineering and the needs of our clients rather than being just another company run by accountants,” Mark Hancock, MD at Damper Technology explains. “This was a one-off chance to do something we really believe in, so we grasped that opportunity with both hands.”

Damper Technology has not just gained its predecessor’s archives, but its customers, offering them ongoing service.

“They would have been left high and dry and we thought this was a good opportunity to provide ongoing support to them,” Mark explains. He says that their older dampers would have been very difficult to maintain properly without the benefit of DTL’s experienced engineers and their extensive knowledge.

Although Damper Technology Limited is still a relatively young company, it does business in a number of markets across the globe, which is managed by a dedicated team in the UK and a network of agents. Mark says, “We operate as a sales, design and project management company, subcontracting manufacture but keeping a tight reign on operations.”

He goes on to explain the workforce has been deliberately kept to a minimum, because although the company has looked carefully at the option of manufacturing its products in-house, fixed costs and overheads are kept down by outsourcing to trusted sub suppliers. “In times when it may be a little tough and there’s not as much work available, because our fixed overhead is quite low, we’re really financially stable and we felt that was more important than trying to bring it all in house,” Mark elaborates.

The company’s approach to expansion is to take “measured steps”, so that it doesn’t overstretch its resources too thinly, maintaining stability and keeping “a close eye on the projects at hand”. And with a turnover now in excess of £3 million, it is a philosophy that has served DTL well.

A “close knit” company

The MD describes the company as “close knit” and “highly motivated”. All of the employees are from an engineering background with “a genuine interest in our products and the applications they serve.” He points to the example of Damper Technology’s technical director and co-owner, Phil Dolby, who not only has a very hands-on role within the company but “builds, modifies and races a Stratos car” in his spare time.

Staff training helps to keep its people motivated and also means it offers customers the best service possible. Early on the company decided to put a member of staff through an offshore survival course in order to offer an after-sales service to offshore oil & gas industries, which would help with its customer focus. “In recent months we’ve actually had a whole bunch of people certified, which has incurred significant costs, but we’re now able to provide dedicated teams to do major overhauls and retrofit type work,” Mark explains.

Range of products

In line with offering customers the service that they expect, DTL has also developed a standard range of butterfly dampers. “Those were the things we started off doing and it is a range of very simple dampers,” Mark explains. Although all DTL equipment is bespoke and designed in house, the standard range allows customers to approach DTL with their specifications and have a design drawn up in little over an hour. Because the process has been streamlined, not only does the standard range reduce lead times from ten weeks to two, but it is also more cost effective, giving DTL a competitive advantage in the market.

The company started out making small equipment, but its portfolio now ranges from equipment of 100mm in diameter to pieces that measure 15 metres in length which not only goes to the oil and gas industry but to cement manufacturers, power stations and general industries alike. Mark Hancock explains that while there is a temptation for the company to focus upon larger items, it likes to maintain a wide product range and supply customers that it has worked with since its inception.

A global market

The company’s customers are based in markets all over the world, from the US to Europe, Australia, and the Far East. Bucking the trend for the UK to import from the Far East, Damper Technology has exported its products to China, which Mark describes as “unusual”. He says that although the market does have a level of competition for its larger scale items, “They’re all looking at projects that are worth mega bucks, they’ve taken their eye off the ball with regards to those small to medium projects,” he explains. This approach has allowed the company to leverage on a market where the commercial risks are generally lower and return on investment is often higher.

In spite of shying away from the United States, as it has done in previous years, owing to insurance and other technicalities, Damper Technology has recently gained in the region of €700,000 worth of projects for Alstom Power Inc. These will involve DTL supplying equipment to Alstom’s projects in Europe, which Mark hopes will lead to further contracts.

With continued expansion, the company has recently implemented the SAP Business One ERP system, in order to make processes more efficient. “SAP Business One brings all areas of your business management operations together in one package,” Mark says. Although it was only implemented in January this year, Damper hopes that it will help standardise products and offer the company the opportunity to archive its past projects in an easily accessible way. In addition, the system has an in-built MRP wizard, which will mean that stock levels are managed much more effectively.

A CRM system was rolled out at the company towards the end of 2007, along with a new computer system, which will help maintain relationships with its clients much more effectively.

Investments are also being made at the company’s premises. “We’re in the process of moving to a facility that is about three times the size of the existing site,” Mark says. “At the moment we’re office based and we have a separate small unit for warehousing and archiving. We’re moving somewhere that is three times the size with warehousing integrated in to it and it’s got more office space so we’ve got room for expansion.” Damper Technology will remain in Ilkeston, Derbyshire though, which Mark hopes will not involve too much disruption.

With a focus on people, new markets and new technology is looking to seek out new opportunities in new markets. Having joined the EIC in 2007, while looking to appoint a technical sales manager, the company looks set to achieve that goal and continue expanding.

click here to view the corporate brochure on Damper Technology