12 January 2023

Quartzelec, the UK based international provider of engineering services and a global expert in rotating machines, kicked 2023 off by hosting Mark Pawsey, the Member of Parliament for Rugby since 2010, at its headquarters in Castle Mound Way, Rugby to explore how to expand trade opportunities in the global power and energy sectors.

Meeting with Keith Evans, Quartzelec’s Operations Director plus other members of the Rugby team, Mark Pawsey was looking to be briefed on how to better harness the potential of hydro energy along with other current activities, so to be better informed and hopefully secure a ministerial meeting, particularly as the UK moves towards a decarbonised energy sector.   

“Rugby has a great industrial heritage and Quartzelec, with its roots in operations including GEC and ALSTOM, is a part of that history. It was fascinating to walk round their factory in Rugby and see the considerably sized copper coils manufactured here as well as the scale of the rotating machines, which are such a key part of the energy sector, being engineered locally. I am also grateful to Keith and his team for their time and for giving me such a comprehensive explanation of how these rotating machines work, and the vital skills that go into maintaining them.” 

Mark continued: “Ensuring that Rugby’s retains its engineering skills is a priority for me and so it was very useful to discuss with Keith and Quartzelec both the opportunities for the sector thanks to the decarbonisation agenda, but also the challenges that businesses such as theirs face. I will be raising these issues with Ministers so that we can continue to support this crucial sector of our economy.” 

Keith Evans added: “We took the opportunity to showcase our unique, purpose-built facility here in Rugby which is the flagship of our organisation and we are incredibly grateful to Mark, who was so generous with his time, in meeting our team and understanding their immense talent and expertise. We are a growing business with an intimate knowledge of the entire power chain and our specialist expertise and manpower within our group enables us to engineer and deliver effective solutions. We of course face challenges along the way and Mark was good enough to listen to our thoughts and will share them within his relevant working forums within Government.” 

In addition to a network of successful workshop facilities in the UK, Quartzelec also has an international presence with established operations in the Middle East and Asia plus continues to make positive inroads into the North American export market.  Following Brexit and the aftermath of COVID, European operations have been proving to be increasingly challenging and Quartzelec has been contemplating various new commercial scenarios to help improve and increase its overseas trading opportunities. This also includes factoring in a number of associated and often complex manpower, payroll, tax and insurance issues, so this opportunity to discuss potential political and further economic solutions was also welcomed.  

#UnparalleledInEngineeringServices

Follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn