The Organisation:

Linwave Technology specialises in the provision of custom-made Microwave and Radio-Frequency solutions designed to perform in harsh environments.  They supply customers worldwide, in the following sectors: Defence; Medical; Sat-Comms; Marine; and Industrial.   Their specialism is the ability to take a customer’s problem – in the Microwave & RF field – and translate that into a fully-functioning, reliable solution.  They can do this because of the significant experience and skills of the Linwave team.

The Challenge:

Ian Duke – the MD – knows the high standards his customers require and being an advocate of continuous improvement knew he had to develop the business to allow it to meet the future needs of customers. As the business was already operating within the Defence sector, Ian chose to get involved in the National Aerospace & Defence Improvement programme SC21.

The Approach:

Ian approached The Excellence Partnership because of our expertise in SC21 and asked us to help him develop and implement a company-wide improvement programme based on our Operational Excellence framework.  It covered all areas of the business and enabled Linwave to:

• Rethink its vision, mission, values, and strategy.
• Restructure the organisation, and recruit and develop people into key roles to support the strategy for growth.
• Create a sales and marketing strategy and plan, to grow the company in both existing and new sectors.
• Develop and implement a more effective new product introduction process, based on the principles of APQP.
• Coach a cross-section of people to understand and apply the principles of lean thinking in the manufacturing and engineering departments.
• Develop and implement new systems and processes to improve the way the business managed its supply chain.
• Develop a comprehensive technology roadmap, allowing the business to plan for growth in relation to customers’ future demands.

The Outcome:

This improvement programme has helped Linwave:

• Better understand the value it offers customers.
• Develop an overall business strategy, supported by strategies in sales, operations, and technology.
• Provide focus to all stakeholders on its vision and objectives.
• Create a new organisation structure with succession plans for key roles.
• Develop a more efficient and effective operation.

Linwave has now been purchased by the international technology group Alaris.  This has given Linwave access to new markets overseas.  The improvements Linwave have made to its operation have also been shared across the group.

Ian the MD said “Working with The Excellence Partnership has been great for our business.  They are practical people, who gave us what we needed, and I particularly liked how they challenged us. This programme has allowed us to rethink and restructure our whole operation and enabled us to get to exactly where we want to be, on our trajectory for growth.”