“MECHANICAL ENGINEERING SUCCESS”

Alan Good
Andolite Ltd, UK

THE career path from apprentice to Process Development Manager might reflect the progression of many successful engineering professionals, but it was the make or break circumstances of 2005 which forced Alan Good to rise to a greater challenge.
 

Alan began his career as an apprentice for the Hoover company and gained experience as a toolmaker before moving into a production engineering role at the company’s drawing office. It was here that he first began to apply his natural skill for developing technical designs with an elementary drawing board.

Alan’s mechanical engineering skills opened the door for him to take on a new and exciting position at Ultra Electronics where he specialized in the design and manufacture of electronic and electro-mechanical products. It was however during the internal re-structure in 2005 when Ultra Electronics was forced to re-align their operations that his position was made redundant.

The turn of events motivated Alan to take the plunge to fulfill his ambition of running his own business. “I purchased Andolite Ltd in August 2005 and applied my mechanical, electrical and management expertise to advancing the company from a mediocre manufacturing and installation firm to a highly reputable and rapidly growing engineering organization.”

Andolite Ltd manufactures a range of standard and customized products. The majority of the organization’s orders are initiated by event venue and theatre consultants who require customized large scale lighting grids, lighting installation and electrical distribution boxes. The product development team uses AllyCAD for the initial design work before the products are manufactured.

“We find AllyCAD far more intuitive and easy to use than other packages and we are able to adapt existing templates and designs very quickly to meet new order specifications. Occasionally clients also send in AutoCAD DWG files and the program is able to import these so that we can make the necessary improvements,” explains Alan.

When asked about the challenges of managing the company, Alan remains fairly nonchalant and is clearly taking the role in his stride. “There are always new challenges as our clients have their own custom requirements, but by adapting our existing designs we can invariably provide solutions in a short time-frame,” he says.
 

A recent project involved the manufacture of power boxes which were to be located on the deck of cruise liner ships. “In this instance we developed the fixtures with stainless steel and aluminum instead of steel to accommodate the corrosive environment.”

Alan is confident about the future of the organization as it grows in capacity and reputation. More recently Alan has extended the lighting infrastructure side of the business and has opened up a new factory premises to accommodate the growth.

His advice to aspiring engineers is simple: “There are great opportunities for those with engineering and business aptitude. My recommendation to aspiring engineers is to take the plunge and not to hesitate too long.” Judging by his own success, Alan has managed to create an opportunity and contribute to the industry of mechanical engineering in a positive and impactful way.
 

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