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Design, engineering, fabrication and installation for offshore wind components and equipment
Business profile
Liverpool-based design, engineering, fabrication and installation business focussing on steel structures
Manufacture components and equipment for onshore and offshore wind farms, and other infrastructure
Independent UK manufacturer with ~170 employees, looking to further improve offshore wind services and reduce costs to customers.
Support recieved
Business Transformation
Solutions for the offshore wind industry
50% growth since 2021 - in large part due to offshore wind.
Manufactured internal platforms for Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm.
Working closely with Offshore Energy Alliance cluster to promote regional supply chain opportunities.
A closer look at Hutchinson Engineering
Hutchinson Engineering started working with OWGP on the Sharing in Growth Offshore Wind Programme (SiG) in 2021.
The SiG programme helped Hutchinson to analyse and optimise their strategic planning, supply chain and manufacturing processes. OWGP’s advice prompted them to invest in new manufacturing equipment and automation – bringing key manufacturing steps in-house, saving significant time and cost. The SiG programme also helped Hutchinson to improve their productivity through staff engagement, sharpening governance and offering training programmes – giving employees a chance to upskill and contribute more fully to the organisation.
Impact of the support
Achieved 5% and 20% cost reduction for two major offshore wind customers.
Grew staff headcount by 25%, and engaged in a number of new employee training and development initiatives.
Development of Sales Pipeline management and Strategy Delivery tools
Before
Before engaging with OWGP, the business was performing reasonably well, and had achieved some success in supplying to the Offshore Wind sector, but was looking for opportunity to expand further into the sector. The challenge was to identify suitable opportunities that could be delivered from the UK and to improve the businesses’ competitive position.
During
Hutchinson have been part of the Sharing in Growth Offshore Wind Programme since July 2021 and in this time have made significant improvements across multiple areas of their business. OWGP have worked with Hutchinson to set a target of reducing costs to customers by 10% by 2025, and are already on their way to achieving this goal.
After
Hutchinson continue to work with OWGP; their engagement to date has contributed to significant growth in both their capability and reputation in the offshore wind sector. Cost savings have made the Company more competitive, and these savings and efficiency gains have been passed onto key customers in the offshore wind sector. Within the Company, employee engagement in business improvement activity has increased significantly, enabled by targeted training and SiG-Coach involvement. In 2023, Hutchinson joined the Offshore Energy Alliance cluster to promote offshore wind supply chain opportunities across North Wales and Northwest England, taking on a leading role in championing the sector locally.
“Our improvement activities under the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership Business Transformation Programme have enabled us to provide our customer with a cost reduction of 5% over the previous project phase delivered six months earlier, in an environment of rising costs. An excellent example of what can be achieved by the UK supply chain, and we’re not done yet – with further cost reduction initiatives ongoing towards our target of 10% by 2025.”
