Responsive Engineering welcomes Royal visitor at Armstrong Works

October 24, 2014

Armstrong Works, Newcastle’s iconic engineering site and home to Reece Group’s portfolio of innovative engineering companies including Responsive Engineering was given royal approval yesterday (23rd October) by the HRH The Duke of Kent.

His Royal Highness was welcomed by John Reece, chairman of the Reece Group who updated The Duke on the recent history of Armstrong Works, purchased by the Reece Group in 2012. The property is now undergoing a £10m redevelopment program which over the next two years will transform the site into a world class design and manufacturing facility.

During a tour of the premises The Duke was made aware of the capability and expertise of the Reece Group companies – Pearson Engineering, Responsive Engineering, Pipe Coil Technology, Reece Innovation and Velocity – which operate globally across the oil and gas, subsea, defence and construction markets.

After being shown Responsive Engineering’s fabrication division which has over 70 welding bays with capability for a range of metals, His Royal Highness took the opportunity to speak with some of the 50 apprentices employed in the business, after which the Royal Party went on to view the company’s other divisions that operate over 40 machine tools and have a range of laser, plasma and water cutting equipment.

Speaking about the visit, chairman of the Reece Group, John Reece said: “It has been a privilege to meet the Duke of Kent and demonstrate what a vibrant and pioneering engineering and manufacturing environment we are continuing to develop at Armstrong Works. The north east’s capabilities in these sectors are often overlooked and we have shown clearly that this region can hold its own nationally and globally in manufacture and engineering innovation.

On departure, His Royal Highness was presented with a set of steel coasters featuring The Royal Crest which earlier, The Duke had seen being intricately surface cut on one of Responsive Engineering’s state of the art laser precision cutting machines.