The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (www.imeche.org) has appointed Chris Kirby as the new general manager of its NDT and Corrosion Inspection Training business — Engineering Training Solutions (ETS).

The institution bought Argyle-Ruane Ltd in 2012 and changed its name to ETS. The business has been enjoying a period of rejuvenation and resurgent growth in the last six months, and it is now achieving a 25% year-on-year growth in the UK.

It has also opened a training centre in the Gulf region and invested in customer service, ‘state of the art’ NDT equipment and on-line learning.

Mr Kirby has a background in NDT, having founded NDT Solutions Ltd and built it into a world leader in advanced ultrasonic test equipment with clients including Airbus, Boeing, Ford and Volvo.

He sold the company in 2005, and has since been involved in spin-outs from the University of Sheffield, including Magnomatics Ltd, which now has 30 employees.

ETS — the leading NDT and corrosion inspection training organisation in the UK — has trained over 100,000 engineers in the UK and overseas; they typically inspect oil and gas platforms, large civil structures, aeroplanes, nuclear power plants and chemical plants to ensure that they are structurally sound and safe to operate.