VORS launched to make most of £1 billion opportunity

Richard Spears, marketing manager at PP C&A

Three Midlands manufacturing and design specialists are joining forces to make the most of a £1 billion opportunity in medical, life sciences, defence and security. Outsourcing expert PP Control & Automation (PP C&A), electronics design and software developer ByteSnap Design and contract electronics manufacturer Kasdon have launched VORS (Versatile Outsourcing in Resilient Systems) to give the MoD, primes and major OEMs the opportunity to accelerate time-to-market, reduce risk and ensure sector compliance.

By delivering an integrated, end-to-end design/development, manufacturing and assembly service, the trio believe the collaboration can attract domestic and international orders where supply chain resilience is a priority. VORS, which collectively employs more than 280 people and has annual revenues of over £45 million, will streamline project management with a single, accountable partner across the entire product lifecycle, including prototyping, new product introduction (NPI) and full-scale production.

PP C&A’s Richard Spears, one of the driving forces in the initiative, said: “The collaboration really started when the Government announcements on defence spend, and investment surfaced. We were obviously keen to explore the opportunity and understand the requirements to gain market share and quickly recognised that this sector demands a specific capability set and product and system development that is highly regulated.

“Both Kasdon and ByteSnap have significant track records in this field and complementary electronics and design expertise that would help us, as a manufacturing outsourcing partner, deliver the complete lifecycle for new customers. The website has only just officially launched yet we are already in talks with several companies that could be worth over £5 million for the collective.”

Stringent demands
While medical, life sciences and defence and security all operate in distinct sectors, they share remarkably similar behaviours and expectations when it comes to selecting and working with manufacturing partners. The stringent demands, compliance requirements, and innovation pace of these regulated and high-stakes markets are requirements that VORS believes it can meet.

Significant investment in automation and quality accreditations (including ISO 13485) across the three businesses places the collaboration in a perfect position to deliver products that perform flawlessly in defence and safety-critical or life-dependent applications.

Steve Stockley, managing director of Kasdon, said: “Resilient systems is a fitting term to use for articulating the demands on products developed by OEMs in these markets. In all four sectors, systems are deployed in high-stakes, often harsh or unpredictable environments. They must withstand real-world stress. They demand long lifecycle performance, need robust supply chain security, and have high regulatory and safety expectations – this is VORS in a nutshell you could say.”

ByteSnap Design’s Dunstan Power director, said: “Several sector initiatives and directives are now focusing on closer working relationships with SMEs. For example, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has committed to enhancing engagements through its Defence Small and Medium-size Enterprise Action Plan.

“This plan aims to simplify procurement processes, improve access to opportunities, and increase the MOD's procurement spend with SMEs. The MedTech Funding Mandate (MTFM) is something similar for the medical sector and focuses on the uptake of selected innovative medical devices, diagnostics, and digital products by the NHS.

He concluded: “VORS is perfect for both initiatives and close engagement will form part of our marketing action plan. I’m really pleased that three Midlands-based specialists have come together to harness these opportunities and, if successful, this will definitely create new employment in our region.”