2024

For those reading this who don’t know our history, AMS was created by Rob and Katie Higham back in 2017 as an offering for consultancy support in additive manufacturing. This was managed alongside full-time roles, Rob as senior lecturer at University of Bolton and Katie as social worker across children and adult services. Those who know Rob will know additive manufacturing, specifically metal additive, runs through his veins. Rob is passionate about all things additive and really is a specialist with the passion and drive to ensure the success of AM. This is what lead to Rob deciding to take the plunge, apply for an Innovate UK funding stream and develop an idea to a proven study. In 2023 both Rob and Katie quit the day jobs and went full time at AMS. They have worked tirelessly and passionately since then to get AMS to where it is today and are determined to continue this growth trajectory to take AMS further in 2025 and beyond.

First Step

So what happened in 2024 I sense you asking … well January saw us fighting with our then landlord to fix the leaking roof on the 975sq.ft unit we had recently started renting but were unable to move into on a very old, run down industrial estate in Burscough. We finally got it sorted and moved into our first official premises. We quickly realised this wasn’t the place for us to bring our vision for AMS to life and found somewhere new. In July we moved into our brand-new facility on a new business park here in Burscough. Our building is 5000sq.ft and is ready for our expansion plans. We have already brought in our SLM280, numerous powder lab equipment thanks to Made Smarter funding and began tendering for further AM machine capabilities.

Events

We have enjoyed a wide variety of events this year from MACH to TCT3Sixty, RAPID to Formnext, EMPA conference to ADS Toulouse. We have strengthened our connections and partnerships across the board and well as met with new connections and relationships. We have enjoyed various events with the North West Aerospace Alliance, a real highlight being the annual conference where we got the opportunity to tour Concorde! We also thank them for support AMS with a trip to ADS Toulouse and a spot at the ATI Destination Zero Conference.

Lancashire

We continue to be proud members of the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, attending many events throughout the year but the standout really has to be the Be Inspired Business Awards at which AMS were awarded Micro Business of the Year and highly commended as Innovative Business of the Year.  This was a fantastic event which brought a great sense of pride to us all at AMS for the external recognition for the outstanding work we are doing.

Standards

Throughout the year one of our main focuses has been on accolades and quality to ensure we are able to prove to our customers and partner our excellence in the field. We have been working tirelessly to meet the standards for ISO9001 which was anticipate will be awarded in January 2025, we have completed the Green Rose programme through RedCat and Chamber Low Carbon and been assessed by ESG assessors in July. At AMS, sustainability and our wider impacts are at the core of our values and therefore we ensure we take our responsibilities seriously and will continue this journey in 2025 by working towards ISO14001.

Team

Our people here at AMS are valued the most and we consider both skillset and mindset essential to the success of our company. We therefore invest in our people, their wellbeing and their growth. Joe successfully completed his first year of his apprenticeship and moved on to his second year. September saw the arrival of our second apprentice Reece who is settling well into his role and Katie has successfully completed module 1 of a Level 7 Chartered Management Institute course in strategic leadership and management. Katie is also part of a new cohort for Boost Lancashire’s Women’s Growth Catalyst Programme which she will complete in early 2025. Some highlights from our well-being events throughout the year include Joe using a golf club like a snooker cue at mini golf, the pleasure Julie took from successfully solving the crime in Sherlock Holmes at our games day and Davey learning to share his lunch willingly when his food looks good.

It has been a lot of hard work this year but also a lot of fun. Everyone at AMS sends heartfelt well wishes to you all for a successful 2025! We can’t wait to see what it brings for us here in the AMS family and our wider community!

AMS are delighted to announce our JOSCAR supplier accreditation.

What is JOSCAR?

JOSCAR (Joint Supply Chain Accreditation Register) is a supply chain portal that helps alleviate the administration pain that can come from the buying and selling of goods.

What does this mean for us?

JOSCAR allows us to be as open and transparent so that our customers can be reassured that we are committed to being the best production partner available. Alongside this, we are working towards ISO9001. We’re looking forward to share these details in the coming months.

What are the benefits of JOSCAR?

As a small production business, we are always looking at ways to help ease the burden of supply chain disruptions and minimise the barrier of entry for connecting to suppliers and buyers. JOSCAR creates this environment, allowing us to showcase our talent in production without having to worry. JOSCAR has a large focus on the defence and aerospace sectors.

I’d like to get JOSCAR accreditation, where do I start?

Well if you wanted to know a little more without having to go through the application form, then drop us an email and ask away, or if you wanted to get started on the application, please follow this link here.