Lindhurst Engineering

Lindhurst Engineering was born when three local men decided to set up in business in 1985.

Key Facts

• Founded: 1985
• Location: Sutton in Ashfield, Nottingham
• Number of Employees: 40
• Turnover (FY 2010/11): £3 million
• Funding: Private
• Clients: Mining, construction, rail, aerospace, theatre, low carbon technology, art, manufacturing

Getting started

It began by providing innovative solutions for the local coal mining industry, using applied skills in fabrication and electrical and mechanical engineering to problems presented by challenging geology at the coal face. In many ways, the timing could not be worse: history was soon to prove that the days for the local mining industry and much of the local supply chain associated with it were numbered. If Lindhurst was to survive, it had to diversify by applying its ethos of innovation and core skills to a new set of challenges.

On the right track

The first major venture away from mining was in 1990, producing bespoke machines for the production of pre-stressed concrete railway sleepers. The project was a great success, leading to repeat orders and the Lindhurst machines are now used by CEMEX to supply 50% of the UK market. The technology was soon adapted, providing brick making machines for the construction industry and the reputation built up by Lindhurst led to further contracts within these sectors.

In 1999, the adaptability of Lindhurst Engineering became evident when a contract was won to provide the Millennium Dome with electro-hydraulic systems to power the largest moving stage ever built.

Taking off

The reputation for excellence now firmly established by Lindhurst led to an approach from Rolls Royce Aerospace, who were involved in manufacturing hydraulic systems for the new A380 Airbus. Lindhurst was commissioned in 2004 to develop the hydraulics testing systems to meet the unique demands presented by the world's largest passenger airliner.

This expertise in hydraulics was soon applied in the world of art when Lindhurst became involved in the award-winning 'Turning the Place Over' project as part of Liverpool's status as European City of Culture 2008. This unique project involved cutting out an elliptical section of the facade of an empty building and reattaching the exterior walls of the frontage to a structural frame which moved out to an angle of 50 degrees and rotated through 360 degrees every minute, above the street below.

A green future: The sky's the limit

In 2009, Lindhurst became involved in a research project with Nottingham University and Arla Foods UK (one of the UK's largest milk producers). The challenge was to produce energy and waste organic matter from dairy slurry. The project involves the application of laboratory technology to commercial applications to accelerate the chemical processes which produce methane and organic waste from diary slurry. Lindhurst is now working with its partners to research development into microbial fuel cells to develop a network of micro-energy/waste plants at farms across the country, helping to reduce production costs and carbon emissions for a greener future.

Despite the challenging conditions of the global economy, Lindhurst is hoping to expand through continued diversification, including continued involvement in the expanding Green Sector and by applying its track record of imagination and proven skills to the problems posed by future projects.

Why Nottingham?

As a company based in Sutton in Ashfield, being part of the Nottingham business community has proved vital to the success of Lindhurst Engineering.

Being in a former mining community, Lindhurst had ready access to the right people - people with a background in heavy engineering and with a track record for innovation, flexibility and hard work.

As a company whose products need to move the length and breadth of the country, Nottingham's central location and excellent road, rail and air transport infrastructure has also proved instrumental in maintaining competitiveness.

Being an innovative company, Lindhurst has also been able to access partnership funding from Nottingham University which has enabled research projects such as the microbial fuel cell project to move forward.

Finally, Lindhurst has also been able to enjoy the benefits of extremely competitive land and premises costs at its district council-owned site in Sutton in Ashfield.