Contract to maintain helicopters tops July

by Chris Graham

A £39m order for repair and maintenance of military helicopters was the top contract among sixty awarded by the Ministry of Defence mainly to British companies last month.

Serco Defence, Science and Nuclear of Hook, Hampshire and Rolls Royce PLC will provide repair and maintenance services for helicopters and support arrangements for GEM MK204/205 aero engines mainly at bases in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath. The contract has been let by GB-Yeovilton, Helicopter Engines (HE), Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S). The Serco Group provides extensive engineering and maintenance support to UK military aviation, including to the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force, working on over 16 military aircraft types. Serco also provides logistical support services at RAF bases across the country, including Brize Norton, Lyneham and High Wycombe, the Headquarters of Air Command

Three UK companies share a £12.6m contract over 16 months to supply bulk Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to various MOD sites in the UK. The greater part of the order, worth £9,844,466 goes to BP Gas of Avonmouth, Bristol. Calor Gas, Warwick, will supply LPG to the value of £2,528,898, and Shell Gas Ltd, Chesterfield, will supply LPG to the value of £304,822, making a grand total of £12,678,186. The order has been placed by GB-Glasgow.

Defence Support Group (DSG), GB-Telford has awarded a contract for the supply of Light Protected Patrol Vehicle (LPPV) spares worth £10m to £20m to Force Protection Europe Ltd, Leamington Spa, Warwicks.

A Belgian firm, Seyntex NV of Tielt in West Flanders, has won an £8m contract for canvas items, metalworking and tarpaulins awarded by MOD Abbey Wood, Bristol. The contract, for a period of two years with the option to extend for up to a further period of two years, is for the provision of component spares in support of Improved Tented Camp (ITC) accommodation. Spares include canvas, metal and PVC type goods. The total value of the contract is £8,140,657.

Legal firm Morton Fraser LLP of Edinburgh, has won a four-year, £6m contract for the provision of wide-ranging legal services in Scotland for the MOD. Awarded by GB-Edinburgh, the contract is for legal advisory and representation services on a non-exclusive basis. Morton Fraser has 33 partners, 35 associates, three directors, three consultants and a total of over 250 staff working from offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.

Claverham Ltd of Bristol has gained a £3.8m contract to supply aircraft parts. Awarded by GB-Bristol, the contract is for the supply of 27KF Lynx, VC10, Hawk, Gazelle & Scout components, repairs, spares and post-design services worth a total of £3,841,000.

GB Bristol has announced the award of a £1.9m contract for radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment, radio transmission apparatus with reception apparatus, post-design services, spares and repairs for submarine and surface ships aerial outfits, but has not stated the company concerned. The total final value of the contract is £1,998,000.

Orchard Cellmark Ltd, t/a Cellmark Forensic Services, of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, has won a contract worth £1.6m for medical analysis services. The contract, awarded by GB-Andover, is for three years, with the option to extend for a further year. Cellmark will provide a forensic scientific support and reporting service to the Royal Military Police in pursuance of investigations worldwide. There is a high probability that the service will also be utilised by the Royal Navy Police and the Royal Air Force Police. The forensic service requires a 24/7 consultation capability and must have the ability to deploy experts to any scene worldwide (including Germany and Cyprus) within an agreed timeframe determined on a case-by-case basis, but no longer than 24 hours from the original request. This may include an actual or potential requirement for contractors to deploy on Operations (ie Afghanistan). There is also a requirement to have staff security vetted to a minimum of Counter Terrorism level. The total final value of the contract is £1,640,834.

GB-Bath has awarded a two-year contract worth £1.8m to Prometheus Medical Ltd, Hope under Dinmore, Herefordshire, for devices and instruments for infusion, Intraosseous Infusion EZ-IO System and associated parts. The final value of the contract is £1,802,909.

An American firm has won a five-year, £1.5m contract for safety barriers. Engineered Arresting Systems Corporation, of Aston, Pensylvania, has gained the award from GB-Bristol for the provision of nylon purchase aircraft arrestor tapes for use on airfield fixed aircraft arrestor gear and portable aircraft arrestor gear.

Ketech Systems of Bilborough, Nottingham has gained a £1.4m contract for nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological protection equipment with the manufacture and supply of residual vapour detectors (RVDs). Awarded by GB-Bristol on behalf of the Chemical, Biological, Radiation & Nuclear (CBRN) Delivery Team, equipment sponsors for chemical detection and monitoring equipment, the RVDs are to detect the presence of nerve and mustard agents via use of a wet-chemistry based kit. The contract has three main parts: design revision and documentation update (including Safety Case); manufacture, testing and packaging of detection kits, with the provision to supply consumables; refurbishment/repackaging of kits as they life-expire or are partially used and returned. The value of the contract is £1,498,583.96.

GB-Bath has awarded a £1.3m contract for medical equipment to BCAS Bio-Medical Services Ltd, High Wycombe, Bucks. Medical & General Supplies (M&GS), DE&S, require airworthy medical equipment, multi-purpose monitors and external pacing/defibrillation devices. The total final value of the contract is £1,344,212.

Hindle Cockburns Ltd of Leeds has won a £1m contract for valves "defined by function", OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) Non-First Level Valves.