Keen to explore new markets, Amari Aerospace explains how not all its metal ends up bound for the skies, as the quality and service it has developed in its core market has helped it to establish a strong presence in the motorsport sector. Solutions reports.

Launched in 2007 as an independent service centre of parent company Amari Metals, Amari Aerospace has built up a healthy business as a supplier of speciality metals for aircraft components, gaining approval from most major OEMS’s along the way. As one would expect, supplying materials for this highly demanding sector is the core focus of the company, but its motorsport account manager Tracy Zorab insists the development of business in other sectors is strategic to the company’s future growth.

Ms Zorab has been involved in the metals industry for over 20 years and joined the Amari organisation 10 years ago. When Amari Aerospace was launched, she was one of just three employees at the new start-up. Now, aside from an ever increasing array of British and American aerospace-grade and speciality metals in bar, sheet and plate form, it can also offer services such as cutting, blocking, surface machining, punching, pre-drilling, scalping, deburring and dot matrix engraving. Amari provides other processing solutions such as laser and waterjet cutting through the Amari family of companies.

Built for speed

The synergy between aerospace and motorsport engineering is long established and the materials specified often share properties of low weight/high strength attributes coupled with good corrosion resistance. This has led to a great deal of motorsport components being designed with aircraft specification materials. With safety a prominent issue, Ms Zorab has seen an increase in the usage of aerospace released metals in the sector and this has now become an important market to Amari. The ongoing commitment to this industry has seen Amari widen its diversity of materials to support car builders and engine manufacturers alike and it has invested heavily in both steels and high temperature alloys in addition to its core aerospace released aluminium products.

“As a fast growing company it’s important to look at niche areas and the aerospace approvals we have gained over the last five years provide reassurance to our motorsport customers,” Ms Zorab explains. “When I joined Amari 10 years ago I started engaging with one particular F1 team and they approached us with a complete bill of materials. Fortunately we were able to support them from our initial stock investment and provide the level of service needed in F1, which is right first time, on time, every time. They are still a key customer to Amari a decade later and our inventory levels look very different today. Surprisingly requirements can vary quite a bit between teams and they don’t all necessarily use the same alloys. Some insist on aerospace grade whereas others will use more cost-effective, commercial specification materials in non safety critical parts”.

She continues: “There is also a trend towards single source supply because it makes sense for them to put their entire material management needs to a preferred supplier. For us that’s an opportunity and a challenge. Racing teams will look at different materials and cheaper options especially when they are moving onto new builds where there might be major design changes that affect supply. It’s quite an incestuous industry and when designers move teams they often have their own preferences and use particular alloys, so that’s something we have to keep on top of.”

More to offer

The challenge for Amari Aerospace now, having engaged with the top tier of the sport, is getting the message out to teams in other racing series’, and it is keen to engage with other racing teams in the UK and around the world.

“In F1, where everything is needed yesterday, I believe it is the quality of our service that has been key to our success,” Ms Zorab adds. “Next day deliveries are standard from Amari Aerospace for non processed items, however more urgent requirements are treated just as critical as an AOG order in the aviation world. Amari will often interrupt cutting schedules to despatch same day where metal is required to be machined into a component that could be fitted to a car that day. Also, we work with companies that can predict their material demand by holding bespoke stock, pre-cut where necessary so that material is always ready to despatch.”

Going further

Motorsport is certainly a growth area for Amari Aerospace, but by no means the largest. Recent years have seen Amari Aerospace’s export business make some important gains – in particular establishing a significant foothold with manufacturing clients from developing economies such as China and India. Having fluent Hindi, Mandarin and Cantonese language skills amongst a very experienced team from manufacturing, stockholding, and metallurgy backgrounds, has been key to building relationships in these markets.

Ms Zorab explains that as industries develop in the East, it is becoming clear that the level of quality provided by Amari Aerospace is valued over more local suppliers. “Some customers simply prefer either a British or European-based supplier as there is often more confidence in established metals distribution companies in the West,” she says. Having built a solid reputation in the industry for reliable service and a quality system recently upgraded to AS9100 Rev C, Amari Aerospace is well positioned to continue planting its roots as deeply internationally as it has in the UK.

Of course, a significant factor in this is the fact that no matter where you are in the world, when it comes to aerospace grade materials there can be no compromise. However, it is an encouraging sign for many companies in the UK that the competitive advantage they have in terms of quality and service are being increasingly valued in a global market eager to mature.

Amari Aerospace
www.amari-aerospace.com