Piran Composites is a Cornwall-based (United Kingdom) design engineer and manufacturing company that is focused on producing high-quality and innovative advanced composite materials for the Aerospace and Defence industry.
Established in 1997, Piran first made a splash in the Marine industry: supplying products, composite repairs, expert skills and labor to the RNLI and private yachts alike.
Piran’s advanced composites are formulated from different materials which, when combined, form a greater sum than their individual parts. This innovation is evident in their work with BAE Systems on the PHASA-35 unmanned, solar powered, pseudo-satellite: an aircraft that took its first maiden flight just two years following its initial conception. They are now involved in the next stages of development – undertaking the production of the complete, carbon fiber aerostructure.
With this future tech enabling HAPs to fly at stratospheric heights around 60,000 feet, Piran Composites have become front-runners in this new and innovative technology. The company’s rapid expansion has seen them open a second premises at the Aerohub site (Cornwall’s Enterprise Zone) at Cornwall Airport Newquay as well as also secure a contract with space communications gateway, Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd., to build antennas. Piran is taking advantage of the county’s strong manufacturing scene and highly progressive Space Cluster.
The benefits of Piran’s move are two-fold: it enables them to increase their aerospace operations and encourages a huge investment into Cornwall’s infrastructure. They’ve already created 30 new jobs in the last 12 months. As much of the future tech available is not yet manufacturable in high volumes, Piran Composites intends to capitalize on the huge market potential, continuing to recruit further to build a highly skilled team.
To accelerate their output, Piran have acquired precision machinery, a five axis CNC machine and an autoclave — these will enable the firm to reach new levels of manufacturing. These specialist machines offer unique and skilled training to staff in areas otherwise unavailable in Cornwall.
In addition to the company’s engineering and manufacturing innovations, Piran Composites are working to increase their research and development output from the heart of Cornwall, giving the UK a firm footing on the Aerospace map. With the UK government’s intentions clear, Piran Composites recognizes the need to localize supply chains and build infrastructure in order to advance future tech.
Mawgan Searle, Director, Piran Advanced Composites, said, “To be a part of this hugely growing sector in Cornwall & the UK is fantastic. When industries like the Aerospace & Space industry start to grow so rapidly, and you can be at the forefront, it’s truly something to behold. We are very fortunate to have been able to attain such specialist equipment like our 5 axis CNC machine & autoclave, as this has enabled us to increase our production output tenfold. Along with our purpose-built clean rooms and incredibly hard working team, we’re excited to see what’s next as we continue to expand.”
