Atkins, one of the world's leading design, engineering and project management consultancies, has moved its Rotherham office to Sheffield.
Now part of the SNC-Lavalin Group, Atkins acquired MG Bennett & Associates Ltd in 2008. MG Bennett was formed in 1984 and was based at Whiston in Rotherham, specialising in mechanical and structural engineering.
A continuing part of the company's investment in the local area, over 70 staff have moved into the office in the Sheffield Digital Campus in Sheffield city centre.
Atkins is already working with the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), connecting its clients across the UK with experts at the AMRC to discuss new ways of using innovative off-site construction techniques to improve safety and operating efficiency.
To support the next generation of engineers, Atkins will also be sending ten apprentices for supplementary training at the AMRC Training Centre in Rotherham, making it the AMRC's biggest employer partner.
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Philip Hoare, chief executive of SNC-Lavalin's Atkins business in the UK & Europe, said: "By moving into the heart of the city, Atkins will be even better placed to deliver to clients across the region – bringing the right skills to projects in the North, and the skills of Yorkshire to projects around the world. As the office grows, it will draw on the region's vast talent pool, and help attract more highly skilled workers to Sheffield."
The company has taken a ten year lease of 7,000 sq ft of space on the third floor of the Acero building.
Commercial Property Partners, Colloco and Knight Frank acted for joint owners, Scarborough. Lambert Smith Hampton acted for Atkins.
The Atkins / Bennett team has worked on a diverse range of projects including The Falkirk Wheel and The Kelpies in Scotland, British Antarctic Survey' Halley VI Research Station, and helping Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited (SFIL) in the manufacture of large nuclear reactor parts.
One of the earliest contracts involved designing tunnelling machines used on the Channel Tunnel.
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Dan Jarvis, mayor of the Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Combined Authority (pictured, second right), said: "I was pleased to meet with representatives from Atkins at the opening of their new office in Sheffield, and hear their ambitious plans for contributing to the economic growth of our region with fresh perspectives, skills and talent.
"As a major provider of engineering, design and project management, Atkins will play a key part in creating a global hub for engineering excellence at Sheffield's Digital Campus, which will contribute to our wider vision for a Global Innovation Corridor. This corridor will link sites across the Sheffield City Region that excel in research and advanced manufacturing – such as the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and Doncaster Sheffield Airport.
"Atkins' choice of location also demonstrates that investor confidence in the Sheffield City Region continues to increase, following significant investments from companies such as Boeing and McLaren. Our region is a great place to live, work and invest in, and I look forward to seeing Atkins play an important role in our future success."
Atkin's former base - the 6,800 sq ft Bennett House in Whiston - has already been sold and new tenants include Bike Box Alan, the supplier of airline bike transportation products.
Two high profile employers in Rotherham are offering higher and degree apprenticeships, providing a direct career pathway into sought after professions.
Roles at Atkins and Rolls-Royce are being showcased by the Government as apprenticeships are a central part of current policy.
Degree apprenticeships, launched by the Government in 2015, offer a real alternative to traditional university study. The apprentice combines studying for a high-quality degree with the acquisition of key vocational skills, all whilst earning a salary from day one with tuition fees covered by the employer and government.
Available at levels 4-7, they combine work with study and may include a work-based, academic or combined qualification; or a professional qualification relevant to the industry.
Leading manufacturer, Rolls-Royce operates a highly successful apprenticeship scheme and is taking on new staff in Rotherham and other UK locations through a manufacturing engineering degree apprenticeship.
The world-renowned engineers operate the most advanced turbine blade casting facility in the world on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham. The £110m Advanced Blade Casting Facility (ABCF) manufactures turbine blades for the latest generation of aero engines and is described by Rolls-Royce as "a flagship for ground breaking solutions and a perfect environment to launch your career from."
The four year degree apprenticeship provides the opportunity for A-level students to study towards a manufacturing engineering bachelor's degree and work alongside world-class engineers. Applications are open until March 2 2018.
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Atkins, Europe's largest design and engineering consultancy, is harnessing the next generation with a degree apprenticeship focused on the energy sector.
Atkins global energy team employs engineers that push the boundaries to create cleaner, safer and smarter energy. It operates an office in Rotherham previously known as M G Bennett and Associates and based in Whiston. The section provides engineering, design and consultancy solutions to the oil and gas, nuclear, renewables, electrical generation, transmission and distribution sectors all over the world.
Degree apprentices will support engineers creating ground breaking designs for all kinds of projects and study towards a level 6 qualification. The initial closing date is December 18.
Sue Husband, director of the National Apprenticeship Service, said: "Higher and degree apprenticeships are broadening opportunities for individuals to achieve high-level qualifications to sit alongside invaluable skills they gain from their apprenticeship. Seeing the many opportunities now available is a very exciting prospect. More and more apprentices will be achieving the high-level skills our economy needs to compete; whilst employers benefit from employees with both the practical skills and degree level knowledge required in these professions.
"The apprenticeship job roles now available at higher and degree level continue to grow and it’s extremely positive to see more and more employers advertising apprenticeship vacancies at these levels."
The British Antarctic Survey is getting ready to move its Halley VI Research Station 23 km across the ice and Rotherham-based design engineers are key to this mammoth task.
Halley VI is a series of modules built on the floating Brunt Ice Shelf, 10,000 miles from the UK, an icon for British science, architecture and engineering.
In 2007, Whiston-based M G Bennett and Associates (since acquired by Atkins, Europe's largest design and engineering consultancy) were responsible for designing the hydraulic leg jacking system for each module and producing detailed designs for the structure.
The legs were designed to resist the harsh Antarctic environment including temperatures as low as –50°C, as well as the high structural and wind loads. Added to that, the main problems of constructing a research station in the region are the build up of wind blown snow over time, as well as the gradual flow of the ice out to sea.
The design means that Halley VI can be moved vertically and even relocated – a world first.
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Once a year, the legs can be lifted up and snow piled underneath the feet to enable the level of the entire station to be raised. Previous stations became buried by snow and ice over time and were crushed by the weight and had to be abandoned.
The legs are also mounted on skis so that it is possible to pull individual modules to a new location on the ice shelf and re-assemble them into a station, avoiding the possibility that it could float out to sea on an iceberg.
Now that the station has emerged from months of winter darkness, operational teams are ready to tow the station to its new home. This involves uncoupling the eight station modules and using large tractors to transport each module further inland. Scientific research at Halley will continue in temporary facilities at the existing site and move to the new location next season.
Tim Stockings, director of operations at the British Antarctic Survey, said: "Halley was designed and engineered specifically to be re-located in response to changes in the ice. Over the last couple of years our operational teams have been meticulous in developing very detailed plans for the move and we are excited by the challenge.
"Antarctica can be a very hostile environment. Each summer season is very short – about nine weeks. And because the ice and the weather are unpredictable we have to be flexible in our approach. We are especially keen to minimise the disruption to the science programmes. We have planned the move in stages – the science infrastructure that captures environmental data will remain in place while the stations modules move."
The relocation project will be carried out over three years.
The Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC) and leading engineering consultancy Atkins have agreed to work together on nuclear industry research & development and on support and training for the UK's civil nuclear supply chain.
The £25m Nuclear AMRC is a joint initiative with industry, The University of Sheffield and The University of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute, and is designed to help build and enhance the UK's civil nuclear new build industry.
With state-of-the-art facilities on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the Nuclear AMRC is the focal point for the civil nuclear manufacturing industry in the UK. Part of the government's High Value Manufacturing Catapult, the centre helps to develop capability and competitiveness in the nuclear supply chain through process manufacturing innovation and R&D, driving up quality and reducing cost.
Experts in engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services, Atkins has a reputation for delivering engineering excellence worldwide including in many countries which are considering adding nuclear power to their energy mix.
In 2008, Atkins acquired Rotherham design engineers, Bennett Associates to strengthen its position in the nuclear sector. The Whiston firm has been involved in the nuclear industry for over 20 years and their mechanical engineering designers have worked on systems for the Sizewell B nuclear power station, lifting frames for nuclear submarines and the design and analysis of nuclear shield doors and restraints.
Atkins and the Nuclear AMRC have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to work together for mutual benefit in areas relating to nuclear research & development, UK civil nuclear supply chain development, and the provision of effective support to the UK civil nuclear industry.
"Both groups will contribute expertise, experience and knowhow to their shared aims.
Mike Tynan, chief executive at the Nuclear AMRC, said: "I am delighted to sign a collaboration agreement with Atkins, a successful, experienced and innovative company in the global civil nuclear marketplace. Both of our organisations are committed to excellence in the nuclear industry and are determined to drive a new era of civil nuclear power for the UK. We share a particular interest in the development of the UK civil nuclear supply chain, skills for the future and economic value for the UK through the creation of value in the civil nuclear programme."
Chris Ball, managing director of Atkins' nuclear business, added: "Atkins and the Nuclear AMRC share the spirit of innovation, collaboration and excellence, and we are looking forward to working together. This is a very exciting time for the nuclear industry in the UK and internationally, and by working closely on pioneering projects with partners like Nuclear AMRC, we're making a real difference to civil nuclear power in the UK."
The Nuclear AMRC has also signed an agreement to work with US-based reactor developer NuScale, on the development of a groundbreaking small modular reactor.
It follows on from a recent visit to Rotherham to discuss the development of a combined containment vessel and reactor system that measures around 25 metres in length by five metres diameter, small enough to be transported by a single lorry, and features state-of-the-art passive safety systems which significantly reduce risks associated with current reactor designs.
Recently opened to the public, The Kelpies, two 300 tonne, 30-metre-high stainless steel-plated horse sculptures in Scotland are ultimate examples of art meeting engineering, and key to the project becoming reality is the Rotherham-based team at Atkins.
Atkins, one of the world's leading design, engineering and project management consultancies, acquired MG Bennett & Associates Ltd in 2008. With a team of around 30 people, MG Bennett was formed in 1984 and is based at Whiston in Rotherham. The company specialises in mechanical and structural engineering and has a strong track record in delivering solutions to the nuclear industry.
The Atkins team has been working on The Kelpies with Scottish artist, Andy Scott, from when the idea was first conceived in 2008. Part of the new 350 hectare Helix Park regeneration project in Falkirk, they are the biggest art installation in the country and the largest equine sculptures in the world. Forming a dramatic entrance to the Forth and Clyde canal which crosses central Scotland, the impressive sculptures are hoped to draw 350,000 visitors to the area each year. Visitors are able to follow guided tours and walk inside the sculptures to examine the complex internal structure.
It is the second time that the Rotherham team has worked on a significant project on the canal with M G Bennett & Associates designing the mechanical and electrical equipment for the impressive Falkirk Wheel Boatlift.With The Keplies, Atkins began with the initial feasibility study for Scottish Canals and worked closely with the artist to develop an engineering solution without impacting on the his vision for the sculpture.
The Kelpies were based on mythological water horses which inhabit lochs and rivers in Scottish legend and it was originally intended for them to move as part of the lock displacement system on the canal.
Atkins was tasked with working out how the finished pieces could be constructed and how best to achieve the horse skin appearance that Scott envisaged.
Working from Scott's three metre maquettes at 1:10 of the finished installation, the design engineers developed all engineering aspects of the structure for the manufacturing tender and had to devise design and manufacturing processes for the Kelpie "skin" plates: grouping the original panels, creating the flattened profiles for the plates to be profiled and assessing the individual support locations for connection to the underlying structure.
The structure was completed by Yorkshire-based SH Structures with Outokumpu in Sheffield supplying 990 outer skin panels from nearly 200 tonnes of laser cut stainless steel.
John Bullock, principal engineer at Atkins, said: "The engineering of the Kelpies was extremely technical and involved a number of challenges. For example, the idea that visitors would be allowed inside the horse heads meant that we couldn't engineer normal central support columns to counteract the force of wind that the Kelpies would be exposed to on an open site. Because of this we had to place vertical supports at the front and back of the horse heads close to the horse's "skin" so the visual of the internal structure for visitors wasn't compromised."
Felicity Starr, senior engineer on The Kelpies project for Atkins, added: "I think The Kelpies showcase what can be achieved with lots of imagination and teamwork as well as ingenious manufacturing techniques. It has been incredible being part of something so unique and innovative."
Rotherham design engineers have played a major part in Britain's latest Antarctic Research Station becoming fully operational.
And the design is truly groundbreaking, although groundbreaking is not a phrase you want to hear too often if you are a scientist working in an area where land is calved off into the sea as a vast icebergs at irregular intervals.
Halley VI is a series of modules built on the floating Brunt Ice Shelf, 10,000 miles from the UK, which is set to become an icon for British science, architecture and engineering.
In 2007, Whiston-based M G Bennett and Associates (since acquired by Atkins, Europe's largest design and engineering consultancy) were responsible for designing the hydraulic leg jacking system for each module and producing detailed designs for the structure.
The legs were designed to resist the harsh Antarctic environment including temperatures as low as –50°C, as well as the high structural and wind loads that they will experience.
Added to that, the main problems of constructing a research station in the region are the build up of wind blown snow over time, as well as the gradual flow of the ice out to sea. The design means that Halley VI can be moved vertically and even relocated – a world first.
Once a year, the legs can be lifted up and snow piled underneath the feet to enable the level of the entire station to be raised. Previous stations became buried by snow and ice over time and were crushed by the weight and had to be abandoned.
The legs are also mounted on skis so that in the future it will be possible to pull individual modules to a new location on the ice shelf and re-assemble them into a station, avoiding the possibility that it could float out to sea on an iceberg. The legs were designed in a modular form to make their fitting on site as easy and simple as possible. This was necessary as the legs were one of the first parts of the modules to be assembled and were carried out in Antarctic conditions.
The modules are permanently sitting on hydraulic cylinders which meant that specialist hydraulic valves, as well as a continuous monitoring system, were also developed by Atkins.
No building like this has ever been attempted before so Atkins engineers worked with the British Antarctic Survey during the onsite commissioning to tailor the system to their exact requirements.
Speaking at an event in London to celebrate the opening of the new station, David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, said: "The new Halley Research Station is a triumph of British design, innovation and engineering.
"The UK's world-class polar science community now has a unique, cutting edge suite of laboratories on the ice. The legacy of Captain Scott, together with our strong track record of scientific discovery in Antarctica, is set to continue in this excellent new facility."
The research station was designed by Hugh Broughton Architects and AECOM. It was constructed by Galliford Try.
Atkins and Assystem are to form a strategic alliance to create a 50/50 nuclear engineering joint venture to provide consultancy and engineering services to the rapidly-expanding international nuclear new build market.
The Nuclear Atkins Assystem Alliance will enable both companies to address demand from governments and utilities in countries developing nuclear power as part of their energy mix and will provide services to nuclear new build projects and across the entire nuclear fuel cycle.
Britain's Atkins and France's Assystem are recognised by key participants in the global nuclear power industry for their engineering expertise and the two companies each enjoy more than 40 years experience in the nuclear sector.
Atkins has a reputation for delivering engineering excellence worldwide including in many countries which are considering adding nuclear power to their energy mix.
Assystem has built its engineering reputation in some of the world's safest, most advanced nuclear technologies by working with such market leaders as AREVA and EDF, supporting them on all of their projects in France and abroad.
Headquartered in France, the alliance will combine Atkins' and Assystem's strengths to position both companies to take advantage of opportunities in the international nuclear market estimated to see more than 200 new reactors over the next 20 years.
The companies will continue to serve their home markets of the UK and France as separate entities.
Keith Clarke, chief executive of Atkins, said: "Nuclear engineering is a key part of Atkins' strategy going forward. The alliance with Assystem will give us a strong platform from which to deliver nuclear services to emerging international markets.
"The combination of our collective nuclear expertise will position us superbly to pursue opportunities in a broader array of markets with a wider range of services which go beyond our considerable presence in our own home markets."
Dominique Louis, chairman of the Assystem management board, added: "By combining our capabilities and the experience acquired in the French and British nuclear programmes, which are among the world’s most advanced, Assystem and Atkins will together deliver unrivalled nuclear engineering excellence to governments and utilities."
In 2008, Atkins acquired Rotherham design engineers, Bennett Associates to strengthen its position in the nuclear sector.
They have been involved in the nuclear industry for over 20 years and their mechanical engineering designers have worked on systems for the Sizewell B nuclear power station, lifting frames for nuclear submarines and the design and analysis of nuclear shield doors and restraints.
Design experts at Atkins Rotherham have helped Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited (SFIL) in the manufacture of large nuclear reactor parts.
SFIL required a 5.5m diameter rotating table under their largest press, (10,000 tons) so that parts of up to 300 tons can be rotated beneath the press enabling ingots to be forged into the desired shape.
SFIL is the only UK company carrying ASME certification to manufacture civil nuclear castings and forgings and has a long established history of manufacturing for nuclear power production including power generation systems, nuclear fuel transportation and storage and partnerships in the Westinghouse supply chain.
Experts at Atkins had to design a solution that could endure the temperature of the work piece direct from the furnace at 1,250 degrees C and could withstand the maximum forging load even at the edge of the turntable.
The rotating top surface of the table was designed using segments to allow thermal expansion and movement. Beneath these segments, a thicker circular plate transmits the press loads into the base. It is contained in an insulation layer to reduce the heat transfer.
12 hydraulic cylinders are used to lift the circular top plate and the work piece which can have a maximum combined weight of 400 tons. Four more hydraulic motors can then rotate them on a large slew bearing.
The cylinders continue to lower which disconnects the slew bearing from the top plate preventing any of the 10,000 ton press load being transmitted into the slew ring or the hydraulic cylinders.
The table also includes a large central hydraulic cylinder which provides the capability to lift the forged component off the table surface to allow lifting equipment to be secured and lift the forging away.
With the table in place, the forging operation can take place three times a minute with a maximum of a 90 degree table rotation between each forging. The whole forging process lasts for at most one hour.
Atkins, Europe's largest design and engineering consultancy, strengthened its position in the nuclear sector with the acquisition of Rotherham's MG Bennett & Associates in 2008.
They have been involved in the nuclear industry for over 20 years and their mechanical engineering designers have worked on systems for the Sizewell B nuclear power station, lifting frames for nuclear submarines and the design and analysis of nuclear shield doors and restraints.
A 1920s bridge is getting back into the swing of things thanks to Rotherham engineering consultancy, Eadon Consultanting.
Last month, the Bristol Dock Junction Lock Swing Bridge swung across the Cumberland Basin in Bristol after being out of commission for approximately four months.
The highway bridge weighs 650 tonnes and dates from 1925. It is a riveted construction and has two carriageways, each with a pedestrian walkway. As part of the Bristol City Docks Operating Infrastructure Project, the operating mechanism has been upgraded. The existing system, which uses water hydraulics, is being replaced by a modern oil hydraulic system.
Based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham, Eadon Consulting designed the new mechanical operating equipment and bearings, working as sub-consultant for fellow Rotherham company, Atkins Bennett Ltd.
The old operating mechanism dates back to when the bridge was installed and requires frequent costly maintenance. The new system will be more robust and will mean that the operating mechanism requires less maintenance, and will therefore be more cost effective.
A unique and novel pintle design met the key challenge of dealing with the massive horizontal forces that were being applied to the central pintle support.
The pressure to move the bridge last month was recorded at 7 bar, equivalent to a force of less than 70kN, compared to the previously recorded normal force of over 200kN.
The BAM Nuttal Limited project for Bristol City Council is now nearing the final stages of completion.
Design experts at Atkins Rotherham have designed specialised equipment for a bridge inspection system never before used in the UK.
Consulting engineers turned to Bennett Associates in Rotherham, part of the Atkins group, when they wanted to use an invasive technique to inspect some of the 11,600 individual high-tensile wires supporting the Forth road bridge.
It required the outer wrapping wire to be uncoiled, wooden wedges to be driven into the cables to open them and then sample wires to be removed for inspection and analysis. In the case of the Forth bridge, the work was carried out at five positions on each cable, some of them 80 metres above the road deck.
Once the inspections and sampling at each location was completed, the cables had to be returned to their original profile, re-wound in galvanised wire and have the final protective coatings applied.
Bennett designed the specialised equipment required to compact the cable, apply the wrapping wire and provide safe working for the high-level work.
For the high-level inspections, platforms were suspended from the main cables between the vertical hangers up to 80 metres above the bridge deck to provide weather protection for the staff, machinery and cable interior. They measured 18 metres long x 3.5 metres wide, weigh around 12 tonnes and are designed to be used in wind speeds of 30mph gusting to 35mph.
To return the cable to its original shape, Bennett experts designed a special compacting machine capable of applying a maximum hydraulic load of 95 tonnes at 700bar.
Designers also came up with a mechanised technique that would ensure the wrapping wire would be applied consistently at the correct tension and also ensure that each turn of the wire would lie tightly against the previous one.
This work has also been completed on the Severn and Humber suspension bridges thanks to the design engineers in Rotherham.
Mechanical design experts from Atkins Bennett in Rotherham have solved a major engineering problem using their knowledge of horizontal directional drilling.
Stockton Drilling Ltd called on their expertise when faced with the problem of installing a cable duct for an offshore wind farm in Cumbria that had to go under a railway line and via an environmentally sensitive beach.
Horizontal directional drilling is a technique developed from oilfield technology and enables pipelines to be installed beneath canals, rivers, railways, roads and environmentally sensitive areas without the necessity for unsightly and expensive excavation or trenching work.
A horizontal drill rig is used to drill a pilot hole which is then reamed to a required diameter. Bentonite mud is pumped to the reaming tool creating a "caked" lining before the pipe or cable is carefully pulled through.
Atkins Bennett were responsible for the mechanical design of the duct and developing the route and profile of the drill. They also designed the supporting structure for a jack up barge that provided a working platform out at sea during the complex operation.
The biggest challenge was that the drill exit point was close to the low tide mark, and only exposed for a few hours at a time. In order to minimise the risk and environmental contamination, the experts designed a sleeve that could be installed over the exit point to contain the drilling fluid.
Despite poor weather making the jack up barge inaccessible for several days at a time, the drill was completed and the duct pulled through successfully. The wind farm is in its commissioning phase, and the first of the turbines have already started to generate power.
A 1920s bridge is getting back into the swing of things thanks to Rotherham engineering consultancy, Eadon Consultanting. 
Rotherham
For the high-level inspections, platforms were suspended from the main cables between the vertical hangers up to 80 metres above the bridge deck to provide weather protection for the staff, machinery and cable interior. They measured 18 metres long x 3.5 metres wide, weigh around 12 tonnes and are designed to be used in wind speeds of 30mph gusting to 35mph.
For the high-level inspections, platforms were suspended from the main cables between the vertical hangers up to 80 metres above the bridge deck to provide weather protection for the staff, machinery and cable interior. They measured 18 metres long x 3.5 metres wide, weigh around 12 tonnes and are designed to be used in wind speeds of 30mph gusting to 35mph.
Atkins Bennett were responsible for the mechanical design of the duct and developing the route and profile of the drill. They also designed the supporting structure for a jack up barge that provided a working platform out at sea during the complex operation.
Atkins Bennett were responsible for the mechanical design of the duct and developing the route and profile of the drill. They also designed the supporting structure for a jack up barge that provided a working platform out at sea during the complex operation.
