Trent Instruments

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Trent Instruments's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Trent Instruments is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.trentinstruments.co.uk

53TRENT INSTRUMENTS |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

New Nottingham facility

Bridget, Mark and Malcolm Buckley,

co-directors of Trent Instruments

Based in Nottingham, Trent Instruments is a company

whose purpose is to supply horn systems and pressure

instrumentation to rail (and generic) industry. Alongside

this is the genuine goal of providing high-quality products at

competitive prices – all, moreover, on time, to specification

and with excellent technical support on top. In pursuing this

goal, they are now a leading supplier of locomotive horns and

associated products. It is for this reason they were appointees

of the UK & European agents and distributors for Nathan

Airchime. Since 2015 they have been situated in a new,

purpose-built facility at Genesis Business Park, and are pursuing

a new strategy of “planned growth”. To explain this and the

company more generally are the directors, Malcolm, Bridget and

MarkBuckley.

Who we are and reasons for our success

At Trent Instruments, our vision is quite simple: to be a market leader in rail

warning horn systems – here, in Europe and beyond. This is a goal we are well

on the way to achieving given our status as a European distributor for Nathan

Airchime and our partnership with rail market leaders such as Bombardier, Hitachi

and Unipart. The four main products and services we provide are instrumentation,

railway equipment (new, repair, overhaul), design and verification. We are, in

effect, an all-encompassing solution.

Trent Instruments

FACTS ABOUT

TRENT INSTRUMENTS

»Co-directors: Malcolm, Bridget

and Mark Buckley

»Established in 1996

»Based in Nottingham

»Services: Manufacture of

horns for the railway industry

»No. of employees: 13

»www.trentinstruments.co.uk

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

54 | TRENT INSTRUMENTS

Moreover, in doing all of this, we have

accumulated no liabilities, preferring

instead to finance ourselves in a

manner of structured growth. This

means we are in total control of our

destiny. Our impressive growth over the

last year is a testament to the efficacy

of this model. Two further reasons for

this success are, I believe, as follows.

One is that we’re very conscious of the

standards we have to work with, and

through our research and development

team we try our genuine utmost to

produce the best quality products.

For us this goal is uncompromising.

Part of this commitment to excellence

involves articulating this into a culture

and making our team aware of it –

something made easier by the fact

we’re so tightly knit.

We are blessed with a talented

management team, which supports

the board. Our experts include Phillip

Gaughan – sales, Martin Kerry –

quality, Jason Mountford – production

and Mike Lawson – engineering.

Because of the ever changing

specifications we must cater to, it’s

necessary to have a dynamic team

of this sort. To help us achieve this

kind of team, we have regular design

and performance reviews and KPI

meetings. This is to ensure that

everyone is being timely, as well as

quality assessment reviewed, which

includes the followingsubjects:

»Customer focus

»Leadership

»Engagement of people

»Process approach

»Continuous improvement

»Evidenced-based decision making

»Relationship management

The second reason we succeed

is our alliance with major train

companies, with whom we have close

relationships. We’re heavily involved

in their projects, and even provide for

them in our facilities a state-of-the-art

testing room for horns, which is quite

unique within our industry.

The broader context and the

long-term view

Of course, our success also has basis

in the fact that our sector more

broadly is currently buoyant, with our

order book being especially full at the

moment. However, this comes with

challenges and growing pains too.

Nathan horns modified

for UK market

We are blessed

with a talented

management

team which

supports the

board

“

55TRENT INSTRUMENTS |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

To surmount this, we’ve invested a

lot of time and effort into capacity

planning. This is something we have

been complimented on by our clients,

among whom are Hitachi, DB Cargo,

Bombardier, Siemens and Unipart Rail.

In light of this, it’s also necessary to

plan for the long-term. In this respect,

we have in place a vision for the

next half a decade. As part of this

effort, we are currently looking at

potential acquisitions that would help

strengthen our supply line through

vertical integration. With the prospect

of leaving the European Union on

the horizon, we are also casting our

sights further afield for opportunities

abroad. Indeed, since Brexit has

been on the cards, we have seen an

increase in interest and enquiries.

We feel there is a tendency in British

political culture to exaggerate how

difficult trading is in the absence of

close economic union. For instance,

we routinely import from the US,

seamlessly and quickly, despite not

being tethered together in some sort

of economic union.

In addition to this, we are always

engaged in the effort of expanding

our portfolio, which is something

we firmly believe we can cope with

given the limited pool of outlets in

the industry. We are never content

with resting on our laurels, though;

further opportunities always exist.

For example, in recent times we have

done more than just supply the rail

horns; we have also begun taking

responsibility for the entire system

in which the horn is embedded.

This means we now provide control

panels, air from reservoirs and

signalling systems for the driver.

This makes us, in effect, a solutions

provider in addition to a vertical

manufacturer.

We have great team behind us. We

try to look after our employees, who

in turn look after our customers.

It would be remiss to leave out of

this article the important family

element, as each of us have important

contributions to make – together, as

a family, we form a core unit of the

business. Our son, Mark, for instance,

has developed an example-setting

capacity planning system, and is the

future of the business. Bridget and I

started the company a long time ago

and provide invaluable business and

financial experience.

To speak broadly, though, our

success will always be tethered to the

quality of our product. Our future

will consist of always improving and

refining our products and services; in

short, continuing along our already

successful trajectory. With Mark’s

technical prowess and experience

of being in this company his entire

adult life, we are confident in the

long-term growth and success of

TrentInstruments.

Our success

will always be

tethered to

the quality of

our product

“

Horn control panel

inspection

www.trentinstruments.co.uk

This article was sponsored by Trent Instruments. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from The Rt Hon Theresa May MP.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

This foreword from the then Prime Minister appeared in the 2018/19 Parliamentary Review.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister