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Sealless Pumps

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Off To A Flying Start At Brands Hatch

The life of a racing driver may seem glamorous on the track, but to prepare a car for tip top performance requires a lot of work behind the scenes. For the second year running, HMD Kontro is delighted to be sponsoring one of our team, Neil Jessop, Test Engineer, in this season’s Modified Ford Series, with his car displaying the company logo and branding.

Neil’s 1978 Mark 2 Ford Escort has been completely refitted with modern racing components. He has had a particularly busy winter, not only in his day job at HMD Kontro, but also in his role as chief mechanic, as well as the driver, for his racing car. Any improvements to the car are all down to Neil himself!

He has been undertaking a lot of work modifying the suspension geometry on the car with a view to finding more grip on the track. This involved fabricating some new parts and buying others with a lot of time spent setting the car up in the workshop. Time constraints didn’t allow Neil to test the car before his first race and so he admits it was a bit of a lottery to how the car would perform.

Just over a month ago, Neil raced at the famous Brands Hatch track and it was a huge relief that the car felt good immediately in the qualifying round. The car had increased grip, which he had hoped for. Neil managed to qualify in third position overall.

 

 

The slightly complicated racing format at this weekend meant Neil started on Pole for his first race, as he had been the fastest car in his class. With some skillful driving, Neil had a great race and finished in second position overall. It took a 700bhp Ford Escort Cosworth from a higher class to beat him. And that doesn’t count!

In the second race Neil was second on the grid and took the lead right from the start. Although he was overtaken after a lap, some expert driving meant he finished third overall, which was another class win.

“Overall a great weekend for me. The car was totally reliable and performed better than I could possibly have expected.” Said Neil.

He has already got off to a winning start and HMD Kontro would like to wish him every success this year and. We look forward to updating you with all his racing news. And of course, don’t forget if you want a great day out, why not go along and support Neil racing his shiny black 1978 Ford Escort Mark 2 classic car. It really stands out with its new livery including red and yellow stripes and white HMD Kontro branding.

 

Here are the links for the onboard footage from both races.

JOSCAR Approved

Cross Sector Accreditation for HMD Kontro

We are pleased to advise that we have been approved to join the Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register (JOSCAR). View our JOSCAR approved certification. The accreditation mark is used by some of the largest purchasers in high end procurement and indicates that we have demonstrated commitment and appropriate credentials.  JOSCAR covers company capability, information security, corporate social responsibility, financial history and ethical operations.

JOSCAR Approved

JOSCAR is a collaborative tool used by the aerospace, defence and security industry to act as a single repository for pre-qualification and compliance information.  Registration on JOSCAR is only available by the invitation of a buyer on the system.

JOSCAR allows prime contractors to confidently trade with pre-qualified suppliers via access to a central supplier database. To obtain accreditation, companies are assessed on a wide criteria and range of appropriate business parameters including product safety and quality, health and safety, environmental and sustainability, IT security, anti-bribery and corruption, counterfeit materials, insurance and third-party certification.

JOSCAR membership improves the efficiency of both the supplier and the buyer by ensuring that companies only use products and solutions of the highest quality and that comply with best practices.

Being a member of JOSCAR provides further assurance that the products and service we provide are of the highest quality and comply with industry standards. For further information, please contact us.

Horizon Art Exhibition

Featuring the works of Gertruda Caitar and Caoimhe McDonnell

Poster Horizon

 

HMD Kontro is delighted to be once again sponsoring an art exhibition featuring the works of our team members Gertruda Caitar and Caoimhe McDonnell.

  • Date: 11-12 December 2021
  • Venue: Hellingly Community Hub
  • Address: The Drive, Hellingly, East Sussex, UK, BN27 4EP
  • Time: 09.30 -21.00
  • Event Opening: 11 December 16.00 – 17.00
  • Admission: FREE

Gertruda Caitar started working for HMD Kontro in July 2018. Currently, her position involves production planning. This includes dealing with projects, predicting how long a project will take to complete, developing a production schedule, detailing tasks and monitoring the project’s progress. In her spare time, she loves to paint.

Caoimhe McDonnell joined HMD Kontro in October 2019 and works in the Aftermarket Department in sales support and customer service and particularly enjoys the international aspect of her work. In her spare time she is an artist and photographer.

Gertruda is an artist who tries to create stories, telling them with colours and passion. Time is not defined in some of the paintings so it’s up to viewers to transport themselves into the story. From dissociated shapes to realistic images, the paintings invite the viewer to discover, to ask, to find out and of course to enjoy. Gertruda uses alternative mediums, which allow different ideas to be expressed, all depending on her mood.

GC Painting Clock

Above: Gertruda Caitar’s Clock Painting 

As an artist and photographer, Caoimhe is attracted to the hidden and unexpected. Her images are not always conventional as she tries to use what she can see to describe what is more difficult to capture. An example would be looking at coastal erosion as a way of thinking about and illustrating national identity. Both can seem very fixed and permanent but, in fact, they are in a constant state of change. Caoimhe usually works in themes and loves to bring what is sometimes overlooked into the centre or to find and share new perspectives.

Gertruda and Caoimhe are good friends although they approach their work differently and have contrasting aesthetic styles. This exhibition is their first chance to collaborate on a project as friends and colleagues.

So why not discover the stories behind Gertruda’s and Caoimhe’s drawings, paintings and photographs? Come along to the Hellingly Community Hub on 11-12 December. You might even find that special present for a relative or friend.

HMD Kontro is proud to be active and involved in the local community around our headquarters in Eastbourne. For more information, please see our other blog posts.

On The Grid

HMD Kontro is delighted to be sponsoring Neil Jessop in this season’s Modified Ford Series. Neil was ready and almost on the starting grid for last season’s series when you could say the pandemic literally threw a ‘spanner into the works’. Not surprisingly, there was no racing last year, but Neil is more hopeful that there will be meetings this year as the UK begins to open up. He is prepared and raring to go and race in the Modified Ford Series in his Ford Escort sporting the HMD Kontro logo and brand.

Neil Jessop Car

 

HMD Kontro Branding Doing The Circuit

The series was established to provide ‘the place to race’ for the huge variation of modified Ford (production) cars that have been developed over the last fifty years. The classic Ford cars which must be pre-2010 race in various categories determined by their engine size. Neil and his Ford Escort will be racing in the 2.0 Litre class B, which also features Ford Sierras and Capris. The shiny black Escort is a 1978 Mark 2 classic car. However, Neil points out that all that remains of the original car is the shell as it has been completely refitted with modern racing components. The shiny black Ford Escort certainly stands out with its new livery including red and yellow stripes and orange HMD Kontro branding.

 

Modified Ford Series

The Modified Ford Series will comprise eight races at famous racetracks including Lydden Hill in Kent, Donnington Park and Mallory Park, both in Leicestershire, the Cadwell Park circuit in Lincolnshire referred to as the ‘Mini Nurburgring’ and Brands Hatch. Neil intends to go to as many as he can although distance sometimes dictates that this is not possible. Although the cars do not have speedometers, they can reach speeds of up to 140mph. Races involve fifteen minutes of qualifying to establish a grid position followed by two fifteen-minute races.

 

A racing love affair that started at Arlington race track

Neil Jessop joined HMD Kontro in 1998, just over twenty-two years ago and today he runs tests on the sealless pumps once they have been produced. Coincidentally, his love affair with cars and racing started at this time. It was at Arlington race track near Eastbourne where he first started racing stock cars and then went on to hot rods, racing on different tracks in the south east. A progression to circuit racing from the oval racetrack followed some ten years later. It was then that Neil started building his own cars including a Silhouette, based on a Peugeot 206, which is all pretty technical stuff involving a tubular chassis with fibreglass panels. However, for a pump test engineer, it’s just what comes naturally!

 

Opportunities with HMD Kontro

HMD Kontro is delighted to sponsor Neil in the forthcoming season of racing and demonstrates another way of how we help our staff. If you are looking to work for a progressive company that manufactures sealless pumps, please see www.hmdkontro.com/recruitment.

Channel Partner Focus – UK: AVTPUMP

AVTPUMP - Channel Partner

AVTPUMP was formed in 1997 and has been a Tier 1 Channel Partner for HMD Kontro and Sundyne for over a decade now. The Company specialises in rotating equipment management, site services, training, supply and repair for a wide range of industry sectors including:

  • Pharmaceutical
  • Chemical
  • Power Generation
  • Food & Beverage
  • Paper & Pulp
  • Water & Waste
  • General Industry

AVTPUMP offers high-quality, local facilities across the UK for new pump specification and supply, pump repairs, pump upgrades, and technical support. All major designs of pump are supported.  However, their specialism for Sealless equipment is key to the relationship with HMD Kontro.

AVTPUMP are not limited in the pumps that can be repaired or restricted by those relationships in place, ensuring they are uniquely independent offering the right pump for the duty every time where the HMD Kontro and ANSIMAG pumps are real problem solvers and meet the reliability focussed needs of the end-user customers.

The Company’s fully trained engineers and technical support staff are on hand 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, ensuring availability, whenever the need arises, to support processes and to ensure that pumps always perform.  A large stock holding of both HMD Kontro and ANSIMAG pumps enables them to be flexible and dynamic in support of customers to provide a quick response.  The extensive spares holding pushes this further with regular cases of repairs in under 24 hours and stock being shipped same day to support on-site requirements.

 

 

The AVPUMP team provide extensive training for both customers and their own apprentice scheme.  One of the apprentices, Liam, can be seen in this video passing his GT pump assessment.

Tony Gales, Managing Director of AVTPUMP, said: “The partnership between AVTPUMP and HMD Kontro has been a long and successful one bringing the highest OEM quality pump products to end-users with the local support needed to ensure the levels of service we expect of ourselves as a team and as required by the industry.”

Safety First as Office Staff are Back in the Building!

Having operated throughout the lockdown period, our EHS Manager, David Watson, has been busy ensuring that the working environment at HMD Kontro is as safe as possible for the phased return of office staff to our Eastbourne headquarters. It’s definitely safety first as office staff come back to work.

All of the teams, including the manufacturing crews, are in their own ‘work bubbles’ and have a shift rotation system for the canteen including breaks and mealtimes. A new canteen, so that office and manufacturing staff have their own dedicated facilities is now fully operational.

Staff safety measures in place at HMD Kontro now include:

  • COVID-19 signage according to directives
  • Hand sanitiser stations at all entrances
  • Screens installed between desks and work stations
  • Enhanced cleaning programmes
  • ‘Clean as you go’ for all multiple use surfaces
  • 2 metre social distancing wherever possible
  • 1 way system in the canteen and other areas
  • Grabber for opening and closing doors

Safety notices are refreshed frequently

Safety signage is frequently being changed and updated with the EHS department working closely within PHE directives. Signage is continually being refreshed with new information so that staff members are constantly being reminded of the safety directives in place, which is considered vital so that staff do not become complacent.

‘Clean As You Go’ for all multiple use surfaces

 Areas with a high footfall such as the photocopier and water stations have cleaning materials adjacent so that they can be cleaned before and after use. An enhanced cleaning programme has also been implemented whereby there are two more thorough cleaning practices for multiple use areas including the canteen.

 The Raptor Claw – For safe door opening and closing

 As an added extra action, all staff have been equipped with a unique grabber, which conveniently attaches to their work lanyards and can be used to open doors and switch lights on and off. It’s being affectionately labelled as the ‘Raptor Claw’ by the staff, but it means door handles etc. do not have to be touched, thereby helping to prevent the spread of infection.

Gradual return of staff to the office

The phased return, with most staff expected to be back working in the office by mid October, begins with an orientation session with the EHS department. This goes through actions implemented for the team’s safety, including the rota system for the canteen, the one-way system and basic hygiene including frequent hand washing and sanitising.

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