News: Bromley technology makes a difference at Winter Olympics

Bromley Technologies, which has a facility on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, has been hailed for its cutting edge innovation that made an impact at the recent Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Founded as an indirect spin out from a BAE Systems sports technology initiative, Bromley Sports specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with a state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

Rothbiz reported on the eve of the games that founders, Kristan and Richard Bromley, would be back in search of Olympic glory with different roles. Former skeleton World Champion Kristan coached Dutch debutante, Kimberley Bos whilst Richard was working with South Korea's Sungbin Yun, the favourite to claim the host nation's first Winter Olympic medal in sliding sports.

And in addition, British number one, Dom Parsons took to the Pyeongchang track using a world-leading Bromley sled.

Based inside the AMP Technology Centre and supplies sleds and equipment to around 50% of skeleton World Cup sliders. It can count over 150 medal successes to its product/customer's names.

Advertisement

At the games Sungbin Yun took the gold with Parsons secured Britain's first men's Olympic Skeleton medal since 1948 when he held on to the bronze, by just 0.11 of a second.

Parsons competed with one of three Bromley X22 prototype sleds designed by four time Olympian "Dr Ice" Kristan Bromley.

The X22 prototype sleds were manufactured by Bromley using graphene enhanced carbon fibre composite material for the sled "pan" (base-plate / underside fairing) which was aerodynamically designed to specifically suit Parsons' size and riding style. The graphene enhanced composite gave desirable structural properties whilst delivering minimal aerodynamic drag.

Now that I can say it, a huge thank you to my sponsors @BromleySports !!
A medal wouldn’t have been possible without you! #KingsOfSpeed#TechnologyMasters

— Dom Parsons (@domparsons) March 2, 2018

Bromley has been collaborating with Cheltenham-based Versarien since May 2016 to incorporate Versarien's graphene enhanced carbon fibre into its skeleton sleds.

Kristan Bromley, CEO and innovation director of Bromley (pictured right), said: "Graphene enhanced composites enable the structural properties of sports products to be pushed to new levels. In particular they allow increased strength to weight ratio and tougher impact properties to be achieved over conventional advanced composite materials. In elite sports where small margins often define winning performances, these enhancements can make the difference between winning and losing."

Advertisement

Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien, added: "We are delighted to have been able to assist Dominic Parsons achieve Olympic success. Utilising our graphene enhanced carbon fibre technology Bromley have been able to make significant enhancements to their already world leading sleds. Success in elite sport provides an immediate endorsement of using our graphene technology.

"We look forward to continuing to work with Bromley and we are seeing considerable interest in our graphene technology from other sports where it could provide significant benefits."

Bromley Technologies website
Versarien website

Images: Versarien

Read more...

News: Bromley brothers back at Winter Olympics

Bromley Sports, which has a facility on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, is again hoping to have a big influence at the Winter Olympics.

Founded as an indirect spin out from a BAE Systems sports technology initiative, Bromley Sports specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with a state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

This year, British number one, Dom Parsons will take to the Pyeongchang track using a world-leading Bromley sled. And former skeleton World Champion Kristan Bromley is using his considerable Olympic experience to coach Dutch debutante, Kimberley Bos.

Advertisement

"Dr Ice" (so-called due to his PhD in Materials Engineering) decided to learn to ride Skeleton sleds to create more testing opportunities and efficiency for the sled R&D.

The winner of the World Cup title twice, in 2004 and 2008, also featured at four Olympic Games, in Salt Lake City in 2002, Turin in 2006, Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014. His partner Shelley Rudman also competed at Turin and Vancouver.

Special experience first time as a coach at the Olympics with my athlete @kimberleyb0s #openingceremony #PyeongChang2018 #WinterGames2018 pic.twitter.com/YhC3Y8wlCG

— Kristan Bromley (@kristanbromley) February 9, 2018

Co-founding the business with his brother, Richard, Bromley Sports is based inside the AMP Technology Centre and supplies sleds and equipment to around 50% of skeleton World Cup sliders. It can count over 150 medal successes to its product/customer's names.

Richard will also be in Pyeongchang. He is working with South Korea's Sungbin Yun, who has emerged as a favourite to claim the host nation's first Winter Olympic medal in sliding sports.

With Bromley as his coach, Sungbin Yun won the overall 2017/2018 BMW IBSF World Cup in the men's skeleton with five wins and two silver medals, giving him enough to top the overall season standings.

Richard Bromley (pictured top, encouraging Sungbin Yun) told Press Association Sport: "After the Sochi Oympics had finished and Kristan and Shelley were due to retire, I was open to working with any nation and I have asked to take a look over Sungbin's set-up.

"Sungbin won a couple of medals straight away and the South Koreans came up with an offer to make me their head World Cup coach all the way to the Olympics.

"Sungbin had only been sliding for two years before Sochi, but there was something about him. He could push and he could drive and you don't often see diamonds like him who really understand the sport and have such a good feeling.

"He's a young and good-looking lad and a rising star for sure. He's bringing a lot of attention to the sport in South Korea and that is great because it will bring more athletes through the grass-roots and up to World Cup level."

The men's event gets underway tomorrow, with the women set to start sliding on Friday.

Bromley Sports website

Images: IBSF

Read more...

News: Bromley Technologies at the cutting edge

Bromley Technologies, the innovative firm based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, is looking at the use of graphene as it aims to become the most advanced sliding sport product manufacturer in the world.

Founded as an indirect spin out from a BAE Systems sports technology initiative, Bromley Sports specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with a state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

Veteran slider Kristan Bromley, co-founded the business with his brother, Richard. It is based inside the AMP Technology Centre and supplied 22 nations at the 2014 Winter Olympics, including Britain, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Korea. It can count over 150 medal successes to its product/customer's names.

The firm ships between 100 and 200 bespoke sleds to athletes around the world, and is currently moving into the recreational arena, having designed and developed a patented sled for an exciting new snow activity, Baseboarding.

Bromley recently signed an MOU with Versarien plc, an AIM quoted advanced engineering materials group, which will see the two companies collaborate on the development of graphene enhanced carbon fibre products using Versarien's graphene nano platelets.

Versarien's 2 Dimensional Products division was founded in 2012 at The University of Manchester, where graphene was first isolated. It is focused on the development and production of graphene platelets and the acceleration of commercial applications for graphene and graphene products.

Graphene is light, 200 times stronger than steel, but it is incredibly flexible. It is the thinnest material possible as well as being transparent.

Advertisement

Bromley Technologies has particular expertise in carbon fibre composite structures and it is intended that Versarien will collaborate in the design and testing of a wide variety of graphene enhanced composite structures, using Versarien's patented process which involves mechanised exfoliation in which a strong shearing force is applied to the surface of the graphene layers.

The initial focus is expected to be on products in the elite sports area, where the early adoption of new technology to gain a performance advantage is common place. These products are also expected to showcase the use of graphene in carbon fibre composite structures more widely.

Dr Kristan Bromley, CEO of Bromley Technologies, said: "The opportunities that Graphene technologies offer within the sports industry are disruptive and extremely exciting. We are delighted to be working with Versarien plc in exploring these opportunities. Our mission at Bromley Technologies is to develop high performance sports products that help athletes win medals on the world stage.

"With a focus on developing new Skeleton innovations for use at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, we are positioned as a business to continue to push boundaries and in doing so tap into a new era of technology."

Yun Sungbin (pictured in action), a rising star in Skeleton, will be in contention for Olympic gold in his home country of South Korea. Using a Bromley sled, Yun ended the recent World Cup season ranked no. 2, winning six medals including an historic silver medal at the IBSF world championships in Austria.

Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien plc, said: "We are delighted to be working with Dr Bromley and his team. I am particularly excited by the prospect of the addition of Versarien's graphene technology to products being developed for elite international athletes, delivering significant performance gains in sports where success is measured in fractions of a second. Elite sport also acts a clear proving ground and demonstrator for cutting edge technologies that can then be applied to mass market applications."

With more than 60 carbon fibre and stainless steel components in the skeleton sled, and the prospect of mass producing Baseboards, Bromley is bringing manufacturing in-house.

Bromley Sports website
Versarien website

Images: IBSF / Youtube

Read more...

News: Innovation in Rotherham

3D-printed silicone, electric-powered aerospace actuators, waterless washing machines, energy efficient irons and new snow sports products are just some of the innovations being developed by companies in Rotherham.

Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) is the UK's innovation agency, working with people, companies and partner organisations to find and drive the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy. Since 2007 it has invested over £1.5 billion in innovation, matched by a further £1.5 billion in partner and business funding.

30 Rotherham companies have secured funding in recent years, from £5,000 Innovation Vouchers, to hundreds of thousands for those involved in much larger consortia.

The Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham is the hotbed of the region's innovation with financial support for companies such as Xeros, the AIM-listed firm that is commercialising its patented system using a unique method of special polymer beads rather than the usual large amounts of fresh water to clean clothes. The company secured £250,000 from Innovate UK for a project to help develop its system for the domestic market.

14 companies on the AMP have secured funding including Fripp Design for their 3D printer that prints in full colour silicone, a world's first, that will revolutionise the rapid manufacture of soft tissue prosthetics.

Other recipients include Bromley Sports for the development of Baseboards; Materialise UK Limited for a number of projects focusing on additive manufacturing; and Performance Engineered Solutions (PES) for an ongoing project for the Development of Lightweight Composite Suspension Components alongside Tinsley Bridge Limited and the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).

The university centre continues to play a crucial role in innovation and Innovate UK projects where it is involved focus on affordable lightweighting, satellite systems for aircraft and autonomous control systems for unmanned surface vehicles (USVs).

At Swinton, household domestic appliance giant Morphy Richards is the lead participant in the Sustainable Capillary Iron Project. The £300,000 project is hoping to develop a more sustainable, energy efficient, longer life iron, that uses less energy and water. The proposed new iron will consider relocating manufacture to the UK.

Based at Vector 31 at Waleswood, Arnold Magnetic Technologies Limited has been a part of a number of Innovate UK funded projects. A leading global manufacturer of high performance magnets, magnetic assemblies and precision thin metals, Arnold has worked with Sheffield-based Magnomatics Limited on projects for magnets in variable transmission for heavy-duty vehicles and on the MAGSPLIT power split device that is suited to hybrid and electric vehicles and is currently being evaluated by a number of global automotive customers as part of The Proving Factory initiative.

Arnold is also working as part of a £3m project led by Safran called AEMTA (Advanced Electrical Machines Technologies for Aircraft). The aim is to utilise electric power for aerospace systems such as actuations, high pressure pumping, landing gear and wheel applications, and power transfer. It also aims to establish the UK for future supply of advanced high added-value products for the "More Electric Aircraft" concept.

Innovate UK website

Images: Xeros

Read more...

News: Bromley announces retirement

Former skeleton World Champion Kristan Bromley has announced his retirement from competition but his sleds, designed and built on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, mean that he will still have a big impact on the World Cup and Olympic circuit.

Bromley made history in 2008 when he became the first slider to claim the Triple Crown by winning the World Championships, European Championships and overall World Cup titles in the same season.

The 43-year-old, who was national number one from 1996 to his last international season in 2014, also secured the overall World Cup title in 2004 and further European Championship golds in 2004 and 2005, as well as a European silver medal in 2009 and a World Cup bronze in 2000.

He featured at four Olympic Games, in Salt Lake City in 2002, Turin in 2006, Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014, finishing fifth in Italy nine years ago.

On his achievements in the sport, Bromley said: "Winning the treble didn't sink in at the time but that was the season I was the most proud of. It was the first time in the history of the sport that anyone had won all three competitions in the same year and it came at a time when pretty much everybody had written me off.

"The overall World Cup title is the special one for me. From a purist's point of view, it's the hardest and probably the most prestigious event to win. The Olympics and the World Championships are special but to say you are world number one in your sport over a whole season is the one I coveted the most.

"The 2008 overall World Cup title is my favourite achievement simply because it was a hard fight all the way through: it went right to the wire in the last race and all the best sliders from the previous five years or so were in that competition. To bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on a medal in Turin and to dominate again was a big achievement for me.

"I'm very proud of what I've achieved, including representing my country at over 100 World Cup and championship events and four Olympic Games, but now is the right time to move on to other things."

Those "other things" include building Bromley Sports into the most advanced sliding sport product manufacturer in the world.

Founded as an indirect spin out from a BAE Systems sports technology initiative, Bromley Sports specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with a state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

"Dr Ice" (so-called due to his PhD in Materials Engineering) decided to learn to ride Skeleton sleds to create more testing opportunities and efficiency for the sled R&D.

Co-founding the business with his brother, Richard, Bromley Sports is based inside the AMP Technology Centre and supplied 22 nations at the 2014 Winter Olympics, including Britain, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Korea. It can count over 150 medal successes to its product/customer's names.

The firm ships between 100 and 200 bespoke sleds to athletes around the world, but is currently moving into the recreational arena, having designed and developed a patented sled for an exciting new snow activity, Baseboarding.

Andi Schmid, performance director at British Skeleton, said: "Kristan enjoyed an incredible career on the international stage and very few athletes can rival him across all sports, let alone skeleton.

"He has had a massive impact on skeleton in this country, and the rest of the world, both in terms of his own sliding and the impact of the Bromley brand.

"To be in and around the medals for close to 20 years is quite remarkable and to win all three titles in one year was an incredible achievement that very few people will ever be able to match. He was, and still is, the model for all other British male sliders."

Bromley Sports website

Images: Bromley Sports / Mackney Photography

Read more...

News: Bromley brings manufacturing in-house

Bromley Sports is investing in "the best of the best" to bring more of its manufacturing in-house at its facility on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham.

Kristan Bromley, Britain's number one skeleton racer for the last 20 years, co-founded the business with his brother, Richard as an indirect spin out from a BAE Systems sports technology initiative. Bromley Sports specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology and currently supplies 22 nations preparing for the next Winter Olympics, including Britain, Norway, Russia, Switzerland and Korea.

The firm ships between 100 and 200 bespoke sleds to athletes around the world, but is currently moving into the recreational arena, having designed and developed a patented sled for an exciting new snow activity, Baseboarding.

The new adrenaline sport, which is best described as bodyboarding on snow [or headfirst sledging], where participants slide down a groomed run on a specifically designed board. The low profile design keeps the rider close to the snow with a low centre-of-gravity and the Baseboard brings together all of the technology that has helped Bromley's customers win so many medals - 3D design, polymer composite materials and aircraft grade alloys.

With more than 60 carbon fibre and stainless steel components in the skeleton sled, and the prospect of mass producing Baseboards, Bromley says it was important to bring the whole operation in-house.

To achieve that, they invested in a Doosan DNM 650 VMC, retro-fitted with a Nikken fourth axis rotary table, driven using VISI's CAM software with multi-axis machining capability, meaning they can develop complex tooling as well as machining prismatic style components.

Dr Kristan Bromley, CEO of Bromley Sports, said: "Previously, we'd sub-contracted most of the machining work but we realised that we were missing a trick so to speak with innovation, and not maximising the development process.

"By bringing tooling, design and manufacture in-house we can develop products faster, we can innovate more efficiently, we can create new designs and develop new iterations of those design faster and more efficiently. It's really given us another string to our bow as a business in getting our products out there for our customers to buy."

The equipment sets Bromley up should its Baseboard concept take off as expected. It is currently available to ride at the Whistler Olympic Park in Canada.

Kristan added: "We are changing very quickly as we move into the Baseboard domain and the recreational sled domain. We are looking at five to ten thousand of parts in the next two to three years. We are very much going from a highly customisable product at low volumes to more of a mass market.

"Our mission is to become the most advanced sliding sport product manufacturer in the world."

Bromley Sports website

Images: VISI

Read more...

News: Bromley's career on ice

Veteran slider Kristan Bromley may not make the early rounds of the Skeleton World Cup due to injury but his sleds, designed and built on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, will be there.

Founded as an indirect spin out from a BAE Systems sports technology initiative, Bromley Sports specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with a state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

The business was co-founded with Kristan's brother Richard and athletes using Bromley sled and runner technology won over 35 medals on the international FIBT/IBSF race circuits during the 2013/2014 season. Medals range from World Cup to Americas Cup competitions.

Bromley, whose partner, and reigning World Champion, Shelley Rudman, will miss the 2014/15 season in order to have their second child, admitted that it was strange not being with the British team at the start of the season, the first time he's been absent in 20 years.

Last week Canada's Elisabeth Vathje secured her place on the World Cup circuit, which includes a season of races at venues such as St. Moritz in Switzerland, Königssee in Germany and Clagary, Canada.

Vathje rides the new Bromley X18 Skeleton race sled, developed by the company through the Sochi 2014 Olympic cycle and benefiting from the latest race technologies to be launched and offered by the company.

Sleds combine powder coated, super-tough, heat-treated steel frames with glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) belly pans and stainless steel bumpers. Runners, which are tailored to each track and ice conditions, are made from official FIBT/IBSF regulated steel shipped direct from the designated Swiss factory.

Also benefiting from the Bromley X18 sled is Dominic Parsons, GBR's current no. 1 male athlete and Sochi Olympian. Bromley Sports recently signed a deal, which runs until October 2018, to support the British athlete with sled, runner and track side technology innovations in support of his World Cup, World Championship and Olympic goals over the next Olympiad.

Dominic is currently studying for a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bath and should work well with Kristan Bromley, himself a four time Olympian and winner of the "triple crown" in 2008, who has a PhD in Materials Engineering.

Parsons was officially selected for British Skeleton's World Cup team for this season, following his success at last week's selection races in Winterberg, Germany.

Dr Kristan Bromley, CEO of Bromley Sports (pictured, right), said: "The aim this season is to support Dom in making the transition from his previous equipment to the new Bromley sled. It can take the best part of a season for an athlete to adjust to racing a new sled. Dom has made an accelerated start to this process and is ahead of schedule. However our goals for this season still remain focussed on this transition process and help Dom to reach the level which we believe he is capable of achieving. We wish Dom the best of luck in the first World Cup races."

Dominic Parsons, GBR Skeleton athlete (pictured, left), added: "I'm very excited about the support programme with Bromley Sports over the next four years. My first experiences with the new equipment have been very positive. I still have a long way to go to fully master the new equipment and I can't wait to start competing on the World Cup with the new X18 sled and Bromley engineering support."

Bromley Sports website

Images: Bromley Sports

Read more...

News: Bromley back with Baseboards at Whistler

Whistler Olympic Park has become North America's first location to offer the Bromley Baseboard Experience.

Basebording was unveiled at the World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler, Canada last year and is centred on a patented board design and over four years of development by Olympic medal winning sports company, Bromley Sports.

From their base at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, Bromley, specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with its state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

During Spring Break 2014, guests will have the opportunity to experience the new adrenaline sport, which is best described as bodyboarding on snow [or headfirst sledging], where participants slide down a groomed run on a specifically designed board.

The low profile design keeps the rider close to the snow with a low centre-of-gravity. The combination of the curved base design and parallel runners allow for a highly manoeuvrable, agile board that creates an intuitive riding experience capable of exceeding speeds of 100 km/h.

Roger Soane, CEO of Whistler Sport Legacies, said: "We are thrilled to be North America's first location to offer the Bromley Baseboard Experience. It is a great addition to our sport offerings and it's highly addictive.

Carson Hamm of Bromley Sports sees the Bromley Baseboard Experience as a good fit for Whistler Olympic Park, adding: "The Bromley Baseboard Experience complements the existing activities by providing an exhilarating gravity-fed activity that everyone can enjoy."

Bromley Sports supply current World Champion Shelley Rudman and Kristan Bromley, company co founder and CEO, himself a triple Olympian and "triple crown" winner in 2008.

The business was co-founded with Kristan's brother Richard and athletes using Bromley sled and runner technology have won over 35 medals on the international FIBT/IBSF race circuits during the 2013/2014 season. Medals range from World Cup to Americas Cup competitions.

Richard Bromley, co-founder and structural dynamics and systems director at Bromley Sports, said: "We are delighted that are products have had such a positive impact for the athletes and teams on the world circuit.

"We continually strive to produce better value to our customers whether its the latest race sled model delivering the fastest times or grass routes solutions that support athletes at the beginnings of their careers. We listen very to hard to what our customers are telling us and we endeavour to process this valuable feedback into our next generation of products.

"We are continually surprised at the talent of all the athletes on the circuit. They are raising their game and we intend to do the same."

The Baseboard brings together all of the technology that has helped Bromley's customers win so many medals. High performance polymer composite materials have been used to create a board structure that is lightweight, strong, durable and cost effective. It also features durable runner components that are interchangeable and a front handle that uses an aircraft grade alloy made from lightweight 6000 grade aluminium alloy.

Bromley has been testing the Baseboards at their partner resort in Lillehammer, Norway and hopes to fill a gap in the snow sport leisure market and partner with resorts around the world to replicate the business model seen in successful snowtube parks.

Bromley Sports website

Images: Bromley Sports

Read more...

News: Bromley on track to build fastest ever sled

Bromley Technologies is on track to manufacture its fastest ever sled for use in the forthcoming World Cup season and subsequent Olympic competition.

Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, Bromley specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with its state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

Bromley now supply skeleton sleds and runners to athletes from 23 nations, from countries including Canada, Australia & Japan. In addition, the company has completed large international contracts involving mapping and simulating skeleton sled tracks - at speeds up to 90mph.

With a PhD in Materials Engineering and a former career as an engineer at BAE Systems, Kristan Bromley, a triple Olympian and "triple crown" winner in 2008, established the company with his brother Richard. The latest advanced manufacturing techniques are being used to create a sled for Kristan, and partner Shelley Rudman, also a GB Olympian and the current World Champion (pictured in action above and below, far left).

The British Skeleton Selection Committee recently confirmed the selection of Kristan and Shelley for the Great Britain World Cup and Intercontinental squads for the upcoming season. This will be Bromley's 18th consecutive year of competition and fourth Olympics.

Expert tooling supplier Nikken Kosakusho Europe is one company supporting the development of the new sled.

Kristan Bromley, CEO of Bromley Technologies (pictured with the GB squad, fourth from the left), said: "Bromley Technologies has been able to push the boundaries of performance even further than we initially hoped.

"Testing in Norway early in October clearly showed us that our goal of manufacturing the fastest skeleton sled in the world is on track thanks to the backing we have received. We are really looking forward to travelling to Sochi in early November and the opportunity to learn more about the 2014 Olympic track.

"Nikken's support is once again playing a key role as it has shipped vital equipment that enables me to make modifications before and after every run I am able to complete on the new Olympic course."

With headquarters on the Barbot Hall Industrial Estate and a technical office and demonstration / testing facility at the AMP, Nikken enjoys a global dominance of the rotary table technology market and supply manufacturers operating in the aerospace, defence, motorsport, automotive and medical sectors.

Gary Williamson, UK general manager of Nikken Kosakusho Europe, said: "Through our continual discussions with Kristan, we realise at Nikken just how important our assistance is. This directly mirrors the experience that our customers have as they consistently rely on our expertise to deliver quality solutions that will give them a competitive advantage in their particular sector.

"We wish Kristan every success over the coming weeks in Sochi as he prepares for the forthcoming World Cup season which starts in Calgary at the end of November."

Bromley Technologies website
Nikken Kosakusho Europe website

Images: British Skeleton

Read more...

News: Nikken Kosakusho supporting Bromley in Olympic bid

Expert tooling supplier Nikken Kosakusho Europe is supporting former World British Skeleton Bobsled Champion, Kristan Bromley as he pursues his dream of Olympic Gold in 2014.

With headquarters on the Barbot Hall Industrial Estate and a technical office and demonstration / testing facility at The Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, Nikken enjoys a global dominance of the rotary table technology market and supply manufacturers operating in the aerospace, defence, motorsport, automotive and medical sectors.

Nikken is supplying an essential component allowing Kristan to devote his attention to manufacturing the best possible skeleton bobsled for the 2013 / 2014 World Cup Season that is rapidly followed up by the Olympic skeleton bobsled competition in Sochi, Russia.

Also based on the AMP, Bromley, specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with its state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

They supply current World Champion Shelley Rudman and Kristan Bromley, company co founder and CEO, himself a triple Olympian and "triple crown" winner in 2008. Over the past few years their Team GB skeleton athletes have secured over 20 World cup medals.

Tony Bowkett, group managing director of Nikken, said: "Nikken's support for Kristan through Bromley Technologies makes perfect sense. Currently, our latest X-Treme milling solution is delivering outstanding performance for the leading players in the aerospace sector as it revolutionises their production environment.

"As a global company, Nikken has worked hard to deliver world-record breaking results that no other available solution can match. Furthermore, we are continuing to develop X-Treme, constantly pushing new boundaries and setting new standards. Kristan has consistently shown that he too can deliver amazing results through hard work and constant development.

"I am certain that Nikken's support for Bromley Technologies will help Kristan to reach an incredible fourth Winter Games for Great Britain and ultimately realise his personal dream of winning a medal in every world competition. At Nikken we consistently strive for the pursuit of excellence and Kristan's personal challenge perfectly mirrors our corporate goal."

Kristan added that the support "will enable Bromley to continually push the boundaries of performance and aim towards our goal of manufacturing the fastest Skeleton sled in the world. Thanks to Nikken's incredible support and generosity, I am confident that we will focus our developments over the last three years on creating a step change for the 2013/2014 season in what everyone knows is the most extreme and thrilling event at a Winter Games.

"Ever since I started the sport, my goal was to try and win a medal in every major competition. I have continually challenged myself every year and I have been fortunate to have had a 16 year career where I have achieved most of these goals. It's been a long road, but I have a chance left to achieve Olympic gold, that's the dream."

Kristan and Shelley are pictured entering the "Hall of Champions" at their training base at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield (EIS Sheffield).

Nikken Kosakusho Europe website
Bromley Technologies website

Images: SIV Ltd

Read more...

News: Bromley brings Baseboarding to the world

As if preparing for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and designing and manufacturing skeleton sleds and runners for athletes from 23 nations wasn't enough, Kristan Bromley has now invented a new sport.

Basebording is set to be unveiled at this month's World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Canada and is centred on a patented board design and over four years of development by Olympic medal winning sports company, Bromley Sports.

From their base at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, Bromley, specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with its state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

They supply current World Champion Shelley Rudman and Kristan Bromley, company co founder and CEO, himself a triple Olympian and "triple crown" winner in 2008. Over the past few years their Team GB skeleton athletes have secured over 20 World cup medals.

The business was co-founded with Kristan's brother Richard, and now "Dr Ice" (so-called due to his PhD in Materials Engineering) has designed the Baseboard to create optimal ride dynamics on snow. A sort of cross between skeleton bob and sledging, the low profile design keeps the rider close to the snow with a low centre-of-gravity. The combination of the curved base design and parallel runners allow for a highly manoeuvrable, agile board that creates an intuitive riding experience capable of exceeding speeds of 100 km/h.

The board brings together all of the technology that has helped Bromley's customers win so many medals. High performance polymer composite materials have been used to create a board structure that is lightweight, strong, durable and cost effective. It also features durable runner components that are interchangeable and a front handle that uses an aircraft grade alloy made from lightweight 6000 grade aluminium alloy.

Kristan Bromley, CEO of Bromley Sports said: "The Baseboard is born out of the passion that every child experiences during the thrill of sledding down a snowy hill. Bromley has built on that passion and thrill with the development of Baseboarding by expanding it to appeal to broad age range, demographic and ability level.

"Developed to overcome weight, toughness, and control challenges of traditional snow sleds, the Bromley Baseboard defines a new standard in snow sport performance."

Bromley has been testing the Baseboards for the last two seasons at their partner resort in Lillehammer, Norway and hopes to fill a gap in the snow sport leisure market and partner with resorts around the world to replicate the business model seen in successful snowtube parks.

Bromley added: "The Baseboarding concept and business model has been specifically designed to drive footfall and create high turnover revenue streams in confined indoor and outdoor snow zone areas.

"The Baseboarding concept opens a whole new category of action snow sport. From free-riding groomed runs, to head-to-head racing through a Baseboard Park, the Bromley Baseboard might just be the biggest thing to hit the winter sport industry since the snowboard or shaped skis."

Bromley Sports website

Images: Bromley Sports

Read more...

News: Bromley to work on pioneering Paralympic skeleton sleds

Bromley Technologies Ltd, has won a contract to partner the International Skeleton & Bobsleigh Federation (ISBF) based in Switzerland in undertaking pioneering research and development work to design and manufacture the sport's first generation of Paralympic Skeleton sleds.

From their base at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, Bromley Technologies specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with its state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

They supply current World Cup champion Shelley Rudman and Kristan Bromley, company co founder and CEO, himself a triple Olympian and "triple crown" winner in 2008. Over the past few years their Team GB skeleton athletes have secured over 20 World cup medals.

Richard Bromley, co founder and Director at Bromley explains the importance of securing this contract: "It's an exciting time for international skeleton sport as the ISBF begins a journey to realise its vision of expanding into the Paralympic domain. We are delighted that the ISBF has chosen Bromley as a partner to realise the technological side of this vision.

"This is a big challenge and opportunity for us to be part of this pioneering stage. We pride ourselves on developing innovative performance equipment with a strong customer support ethos, and we are looking forward to extending this ethos into the Paralympic sports with the ISBF."

The agreement follows another strong year of growth for the company in the manufacture and sales of its flagship sled range for able bodied athletes. Bromley now supply skeleton sleds and runners to athletes from 23 nations, from countries including Canada, Australia & Japan. In addition the company has completed another large international contract involving mapping and simulating skeleton sled tracks - at speeds up to 90mph.

Bromley Technologies has seen two years of growth in the difficult economic climate and in a market that is particularly difficult for a company from Britain - not one of the traditional wintersports nations.

Kristan Bromley, said: "We believe our success is down to maintaining a focus on finding a competitive edge through innovation of our products, whilst pursuing a focussed and streamlined business plan.

"The Bromley brand has a growing presence within the action sports world and currently exports over 95% of its business. As a company we're in the final stages of developing a new snow sport product that will see Bromley enter the mainstream action sport markets."

Bromley Technologies website

Images: Dormer Tools

Read more...

News: Bromley Technologies up for innovation award

Rotherham-based Bromley Technologies has been named as a finalist in the innovation category at The Star's Business Awards 2010.

Set up by brothers Kristan and Richard Bromley and run with chief operating officer Mike Maddock, Bromley Technologies is based at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).

The company has three world, European and Olympic winners as its public faces - Kristan Bromley, the skeleton's first ever World and European champion, 2006 Olympic silver medallist and current world number two in the skeleton, Shelley Rudman, and Nicola Minichiello, part of the first British women's pair to win the World championship in 2009.

All three represented Great Britain at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

The company specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with its state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

Their philosophy is to centre athletes, sports practitioners and enthusiasts at the heart of the innovation process and surround them with an extremely high calibre team of engineers, technologists and scientists with proven track records in the Olympic, Formula One Motorsport and aerospace environments.

Bromley will be up against Sheffield's Zoo Digital for the award, sponsored by Business Link, that will be announced on September 27.

Bromley Technologies Ltd will be sharing some of the secrets of their international sporting success in a global web seminar later this month.

A web seminar, in association with American company Mentor Graphics, will see Professor Kristan Bromley, CEO of Bromley Technologies illustrate how advanced engineering design and simulation software has helped the company become one of the world's top suppliers of elite winter sports equipment to professional athletes.

Using Mentor's Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software has enabled Bromley to have a direct influence on the aerodynamic usability and reliability of their skeleton bobsleds. This has shortened the design lifecycle and lead to optimal, more robust designs, all within extremely demanding competitive sporting timescales where the difference between winning and losing can be measured in fractions of a second or a few millimeters.

The webinar will take place at 7pm UK time on September 30.


Bromley Technologies website
Star Business Awards website
Mentor Graphics website

Images: mentor.com

Read more...

News: Local businesses gain an insight into innovation and entrepreneurship

Over 70 local entrepreneurs and innovators gathered at the AMP Technology Centre in Rotherham last month for a key networking event which highlighted the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in the adrenaline fuelled world of high speed sport.

The Advanced Manufacturing Park was the venue for the latest meeting of the E3 Entrepreneurs Forum, a network which exists solely to help entrepreneurs help other entrepreneurs, by making contacts, building relationships, supporting each other, stimulating ideas, winning business together and celebrating success.

The theme for the evening was related to innovation and entrepreneurship through technology, and guests listened to presentations from Kristan Bromley, three-time Winter Olympian and CEO of AMP-based Bromley Technologies Ltd, and rising Karting star, Russell Danzey from Sheffield.

Kristan and the Bromley Technologies team has taken its research and innovation in the field of world-class winter sports equipment development to the next level. The company's technological expertise has expanded one of the world's top equipment manufacturers into a high performance product development and engineering design consultancy.

The company is moving forward both in terms of its plans to develop new innovative sports technology products but also allowing commercial clients to access the team's knowledge and facilities through its Performance Engineered Solutions (PES) consultancy service.

Paul Taylor, Director of Creative Space Management which managed the AMP Technology Centre on behalf of Yorkshire Forward said: "The ethos behind all the companies located in the Technology Centre is based around the principles of innovation and entrepreneurship, although the companies are working in the fields of manufacturing and technology these principles are not exclusive to this sector.

"So we were pleased to be able to host the E3 Entrepreneurs Forum here at the Technology Centre, and potentially in some small way help nurture that entrepreneurial spirit in the area, whilst also showcasing the range of meeting and conference facilities that we have here."

Bromley Technologies website
AMP Technology Centre website

Images: amptechnologycentre.co.uk

Read more...

News: Bromley wins innovation award

Kristan Bromley of Bromley Technologies in Rotherham, has won the Innovation Award at the Yorkshire 42 under 42 Awards.

Insider Media hosts the business awards to help reward and recognise upcoming entrepreneurs. As well as winning the Innovation Award sponsored by Yorkshire Forward at the black tie dinner at the Royal Armouries, Leeds, Kristan was also shortlisted in the Yorkshire International Business category.

Set up by brothers Kristan and Richard and run with chief operating officer Mike Maddock, Bromley Technologies is based at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).

The company specialises in athlete-focused engineering technology, with its state-of-the-art test facility that helps finesse sporting talent.

Their philosophy is to centre athletes, sports practitioners and enthusiasts at the heart of the innovation process and surround them with an extremely high calibre team of engineers, technologists and scientists with proven track records in the Olympic, Formula One Motorsport and aerospace environments.

Kristan said: "It was a total surprise to win this award, and a great honour, particularly given the level of competition. The companies' success has really been a team effort and my fellow directors Dan, Mike and Richard share in the plaudits of the award.

"It has taken a number of years for us to establish the company as a leading player within the winter sports field, and to earn the reputation for leading edge technology and innovation, but it has been worth it.

"To be recognised for our innovation was particularly satisfying. Whether as athletes or business people you are continually looking for an edge over the competition, and technology and innovation offers a lucrative source to create that edge."

The company has three world, European and Olympic winners as its public faces - Kristan Bromley, the skeleton's first ever World and European champion, 2006 Olympic silver medallist and current world number two in the skeleton, Shelley Rudman, and Nicola Minichiello, part of the first British women's pair to win the World championship in 2009.

All three represented Great Britain at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Bromley Technologies website

Images: Bromley / AMP

Read more...

News: Bromley urges Britain to value engineers

One of the world's top winter-sports athletes has called for greater recognition for engineers – and greater encouragement for young people to join the profession.

Former Skeleton Bobsleigh World Cup champion, Britain's Professor Kristan Bromley also urged greater collaboration between sport and engineering, science and technology.



Bromley said: "Engineers and their contribution to this country, whether in sports or the economy in general, need proper recognition. They're not paid enough in the UK. Entrepreneurial engineers can break this mould and define their own destiny.

"We also need much more effort to encourage young people to think, "This is for me - this is exciting, this is a career." Sport is a way of exciting young people to do that. But one of the problems I see is that sport itself doesn't understand engineering. It expects outcomes to just happen in the tight schedules of sporting competition. Engineering and research have a problem fitting in."

He made the comments at Bromley Technologies' base, the Advanced Manufacturing Park Technology Centre in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, at an event showcasing the company's activities.

The company has three world, European and Olympic winners as its public faces - Kristan Bromley, the sport's first ever World and European champion, 2006 Olympic silver medallist and current world number two Shelley Rudman, and Nicola Minichiello, part of the first British women's pair to win the World championship (2009). All are preparing for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Set up by brothers Kristan and Richard and run with chief operating officer Mike Maddock, Bromley Technologies has three divisions - Performance Engineering Solutions - the engineering design consultancy, Sports - the sports products and sporting experience business focussing on the sports leisure market and Future Technology & Innovation - the engine room driving innovation at the front end of the market.

Maddock said: "They all contribute to our core values, the pillars of our business - performance, innovation and cutting-edge technologies."

Earlier this year they launched the Skeleton Education Challenge, an interactive and fun education experience that uses the extreme winter sport of Skeleton Bobsleigh, world class athletes and a game simulation platform to inspire young people at the key decision stages in their career to become the next generation of scientists, engineers and technologists.

Bromley Technologies website
AMP website
Rotherham

Images: bromley-aet.com

Read more...

News: Sleds developed in Rotherham win medals at European championship

Two of the UK's top Bob Skeleton pilots achieved medal success at last week's 2009 European Championships in St Moritz, Switzerland thanks to sleds developed and constructed by Bromley Team Innovation at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham. Shelley Rudman secured gold in the Women's competition and moved to the top of the FIBT World Cup rankings following her win on Friday. Despite nursing a broken finger, Shelley also managed to break the track record. Twenty four hours later defending FIBT World Cup champion, Kristan Bromley followed his partner's example with a silver medal in the Men's competition, marking a great weekend for the British pair. Kristan is a Design Engineer, with a further Doctorate in Materials Engineering, whilst his brother and business partner, Richard is a Structural Dynamics and Systems Engineer. This unique mix of expertise in science, engineering and sport, has led to the company's mission of becoming world leading innovators of performance sports products. Kristan commented: "We are looking to expand our product range outside of the bobsleigh sports into multi sport markets, whilst offering a 'one stop shop' for leading brands to push the performance boundaries of their products in order to become and maintain a market lead position. "The AMP is the perfect location to achieve this, as this world class technology park's facilities provide advanced solutions to ensure we gain a repetitive advantage over our industry." The tour now moves on to Whistler in Canada, the track for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Bromley website

AMP Technology Centre website

AMP website
Rotherham

Read more...

News: Rotherham based athletes begin World Cup season

The new winter sports season began in the aptly named resort of Winterberg, Germany last weekend, with Kristan Bromley and Shelley Rudman both gaining top ten finishes. Based at Bromley Perfomance Sports on the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham, Kristan is the defending FIBT World Cup skeleton bob champion. The company he founded with his brother in 2000 has become one of the world's top sled developers, winning 40 medals at European, World and Olympic level. Before the season began, Bromley Performance Sports were close to confirming contracts to supply 70% of the nations in this year's World Cup skeleton bob competitions. Bromley is nicknamed "Doctor Ice," as he earned a PhD form the University of Nottingham for his thesis entitled: "Factors affecting the performance of skeleton bobsleds." Bromley finished in a three-way tie for seventh at Winterberg, with partner Shelley Rudman finishing tenth in her first competition since the birth of their daughter, Ella-Marie. The World Cup moves onto Altenberg next weekend, the track where Bromley finished first to secure the World Cup crown last season.
Bromley Performance Sports
FBIT website
Rotherham

Read more...

News: Bromley wins European bob skeleton championship

Britain's Kristan Bromley has won his third European bob skeleton championship in five years by placing second to American Zach Lund at the World Cup event in Cesana, Italy. Bromley becomes European Champion at the same time as being well placed in the World Cup standings. With three races to go he is currently second, just seven points behind leader Eric Bernotas. Bromley places a lot of his success down to his technologically advanced equipment. Bromley's company, Ice-Sport-Tech and the Pro Race Team develop innovative sport products from their headquarters within the ITC at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham.
Ice-Sport-Tech website
BBC online article
The Star article

Read more...