Aerospace engineer will hear for Paris Air Show

MJ Sections employs 170 at its base in Netherton and its second site, at Halesowen, manufacturing sheet metal and machined components for civil and military aircraft.

Before heading over the Channel this summer, commercial manager Steve Cresswell and sales manager Craig Fullwood will be guest speakers at the Midland Aerospace Alliance Conference in Wolverhampton on Thursday.

Held in the city for the first time, at the GTG Training Centre at Wednesfield, it will see representatives from aerospace companies across the region meeting to discuss the big issues facing the industry.

While some of the companies taking part will be international businesses such as Rolls-Royce, UTC and Moog, MJ Sections is part of the network of SMEs that supply them.

Founded in 1979 by local businessmen Malcolm Jordan and John Harding (the M and J in MJ Sections) the company supplies sheet metal fabrications in a range of alloys of all shapes and sizes and machined parts including piston rings, brackets, rolled rings, rolled sections, tubes & assemblies.

Since its humble beginnings it has seen steady growth, but In recent years heavy investment in facilities has seen MJS's shopfloor capacity expand from 2,400 sq m to 3,800 sq m in 2008 from the development of a new factory, to 6,500 sq m in 2013 from the acquisition of a new factory in Halesowen, and in 2014 a further 1,000 sq m, from the acquisition of the last remaining factory units on the Marriott Road industrial estate where it is based.

The company believes part of its success has been the result of continuously evolving in-house processes, allowing the MJS to to react quickly to ever-changing customer demands.

A significant recent example was the installation of a heat treatment facility, which has allowed MJS to transfer a major sub-contract process to an in-house operation. This also created new jobs while cutting lead times..

has created employment and added more new technology to their capability. In turn it has helped MJS reduce both costs and lead times.

With its newly added capability, MJS is aiming to expand its customer base with a trade mission, exhibiting for the first time at the Paris International Airshow in June.