Underwater seafloor robots aren’t my usual territory, even in the world of manufacturing. But a visit to Saab’s new campus in Fareham quickly showed how seriously the company takes its work and how much the people behind it genuinely enjoy what they do.
Inside the three-building site, home to Saab Seaeye’s subsea robotics division and Saab UK’s radar manufacturing operations, we met engineers working on everything from all-electric ROVs to advanced radar systems. As Tim Broom, Director of Operations at Saab Seaeye, put it: “Our products are used in numerous markets, predominantly offshore energy, oil and gas and renewables, but also in the defence industry and marine science as well.”
Walking through the facility, engineers talked us through how ROVs are deployed to inspect fish farms and apprentices showed us their workstations with the confidence of people who know they’re contributing to real-world problems.
This visit also happened to be our colleague Rebecca’s first factory tour. With Joe waylaid by train chaos, she stepped in, camera in hand, to film our interview with Tim.
What could have been a typical manufacturing visit ended up being far more engaging. Saab is deeply technical, but there’s a very human side to the business: people who are proud of what they build and clear about why it matters. Thanks to Rebecca, we were still able to capture plenty along the way!
Read the full article from our Q3 editions, here.
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