Two Workington SMEs have come together to create the North West Energy Coast Alliance.
McMenon’s operations have a 75-year engineering and manufacturing heritage, including exporting to more than 50 countries. TIS Cumbria has more than 25 years of experience in the nuclear sector.
The idea of the alliance developed during a meeting to discuss a nuclear project. They decided to combine to allow them to take on the bigger firms.
In an early success for the alliance, it has been included on Sellafield’s Programme and Project Partners’ Goods/Services Agreement Framework Suppliers.
Anand Puthran, CEO of McMenon, said: “SMEs are the heartbeat of the local economy and joining the two together to allow us to compete with the bigger firms seemed a natural progression.
“We are two independent SMEs based in West Cumbria and we want the community to benefit from our success in terms of opportunities, skills, engagement and employment.”
Tony O’Pray and John Bragg, joint owners of TIS Cumbria, said: “We’re delighted that the NWEC Alliance has been named as a key partners on the PPP framework at Sellafield for the next three years.
“The commitment of the alliance between TIS Cumbria and McMenon Engineering over many years has matured, enabling our two West Cumbrian SMEs to sit equally beside our elite Tier 2 manufacturers in the UK.”
Duncan Elliott, PPP managing director, said: “It’s great to see two local SMEs uniting in this way and I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in the joint-venture.
“The PPP approach is all about collaboration, innovation, transformation and harnessing opportunities, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing with this partnership. We look forward to working with the alliance to deliver our major nuclear decommissioning projects alongside all of our supply chain partners.”
The alliance has been joined by NIS Ltd, Hyde Group, Ansaldo Nuclear, James Fisher Nuclear, Carr’s Group, and West Cumberland Engineering on a framework to deliver fabricated and manufactured equipment packages for Sellafield projects.
Luke Richardson, head of social impact for PPP, added: “A core aspect of our strategy is the impact we can have in West Cumbria.
“This story showcases a fantastic example that local businesses can win work with PPP but more so, the power and benefit of local SMEs collaborating. The combined businesses of McMenon and TIS presents a joint alliance able to deliver the works we need on site but equally brings together two responsible employers who can deliver further impacts because of this contract win.”
