As the Red Arch (RA) team has continued to grow in 2022, we were delighted to welcome Engineering Director, Simon Fletcher, to the team back in April. Simon hit the ground running and has been kept busy on projects and getting to know the business over the last few months, so we thought we’d catch up with him to learn more about his background, what work he enjoys doing, and to get his take on his experience with us so far.
How did you get here?
I’ve spent the last 20 years in the automotive industry working as the global Exhaust System Technical Specialist for Ford Motor Company and latterly Jaguar Land Rover.
Having had ‘end-to-end’ responsibility for exhaust and after-treatment systems from concept to delivery, and then on to the end of legislative control in the global marketplace, I’ve been called somewhat of a leading authority on exhaust systems, so joining RA seemed a perfect move to challenge me and apply my expertise further.
Why RA?
RA has a great working atmosphere; truly collaborative in nature across all disciplines, something I value greatly in an organisation. In joining RA, I have been able to bring my OEM experience to a small and agile operation with a view to further developing RA’s vision.
What most attracted you to your new role at RA?
I have had exposure to RA as a business in my previous role. What always struck me was that the team were professional, knowledgeable and competent. The business always listened to the needs of the customer and was able to translate that into a high-quality product that delivered what was needed. RA was particularly adept at reacting to customer development requests, turning those into hardware in very short timescales.
With my extensive history in system product development, the opportunity to lead and guide a great team was a perfect fit for me. Having been with RA for some time now, it is evident that the team works cohesively and delivers outstanding support to their customers.
What are you enjoying working on at present?
It is rewarding to be involved with advanced materials such as carbon fibre and titanium, which bring their own unique challenges in the production of components and systems. I am currently developing processes and methods to deliver titanium anodised finishes to meet customer aesthetic requirements. It was difficult to find an external provider that could work to RA’s exacting standards, so we chose to take on the challenge ourselves to guarantee customer satisfaction with the product.
Similarly with carbon fibre, RA has developed ‘autoclave-free’ processing of the material, which delivers significant cost and productivity benefits over ‘traditional’ methods.
Technical considerations aside, it’s always rewarding to interact with our customers and to continue to impress them with our high levels of technical ability, responsiveness and support.
I am enjoying how configurable and flexible the RA facility is to work in, and appreciate the demonstrable investment that today makes it a state-of-the-art production plant with the capacity to produce over 20,000 exhaust systems and more than 100,000 components every year.
What’s next for you?
As a Six Sigma Black Belt practitioner, I am enjoying applying my focus on process improvement in new ways with RA. One of my more immediate goals is to expose more of the team to problem-solving methodologies in order to deliver real and demonstrable benefits across the wider business. I take pleasure in being part of the friendly team that is the backbone of this truly innovative company, practicing what it preaches and being driven by both market trends and customer requirements.
Clearly an ongoing focus for me is building on the success of RA’s talents and capabilities as we continue to meet the exacting needs of prestigious customers like BMW, MINI, Jaguar Land Rover, Lotus, Overfinch, Rolls Royce, and Aston Martin.