North East engineering firm awarded for impressive growth

~ Belt tension specialist wins Automotive, Aerospace & Rail Award ~

Integrated Display Systems (IDS), which operates as Clavis, has been announced winner of the Automotive, Aerospace & Rail Award at this year’s Made in the North East awards. Based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the company designs, manufactures and installs belt tension measuring equipment and other products for the automotive sector.

The Automotive, Aerospace & Rail Award was awarded to Clavis thanks to its achievement of large contracts with vehicle manufacturers, such as Renault, Volvo and Ford, in their production facilities around the world.

Having experienced outstanding growth over the last three years, Clavis continues to  reinvest much of its profit into its local North East facilities, which were completed in 2019. This has included a total overhaul of its build and move facility allowing for improved production capabilities — including a recently installed CNC Lathe, CNC Miller, Turret Mill and XYZ 560 Mini Mill.

Clavis’ award win also noted its impressive Gusto POPP Clamp Release Tool, a ground-breaking innovation for the automotive sector that has solved a prevalent challenge for vehicle manufacturers. The tool provides a traceable guarantee that POPP clamps — devices used to clamp fluid transfer hoses in automotive applications — are closed, avoiding catastrophic problems with vehicles.

The tool is already used globally including in nine Ford plants around the world, three European Renault facilities, two Volvo sites and a BMW factory based in the Netherlands. The Gusto is also being trialled at several other manufacturing locations around the world for Nissan, Audi, Volkswagen and Toyota.

Clavis Team Photo

 

“We are extremely proud to have been announced winner of the Automotive, Aerospace and Rail Award at the Made in the North East Awards,” said Andrew Punton, managing director at Clavis.

The win is the latest in a series of notable award achievements for Clavis, having previously been awarded six Queen’s Awards for Enterprise. Aside from the Gusto, the company also designs, manufacturers and installs large and small belt meters, production line belt tension equipment like the FourierBMS, and hand brake setting equipment. 98 per cent of the company’s turnover is a result of export.

“IDS is well-known in the automotive sector, but winning this award in our home region means a great deal to our team. It’s also down the support of our customers all over the world who rely on our products, like the Gusto and the FourierBMS belt tension gauge, in their quality assurance and production line assembly.”

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions, the awards ceremony organised by Insider Media was held virtually on the Insider Made in North East Online Forum on March 19, 2021. The complete list of winners can be viewed on the Insider website.

More information on Clavis can be found on the company’s website.