AUWE…ARE….DRA….DERA…If these names are familiar to you then you are probably aware of the roots of Atlas Elektronik UK (AEUK).

The words stem from the very beginning of the company, which was formed in the 1950s on Portland.

Since then, the company and its workers have cultivated a close partnership of trust and teamwork with their customers, and it is this partnership and history that has made the company as successful as it is today.

Evolving from a traditional research and development base, the company now has a balanced portfolio of innovation, services, technology demonstration and customised production, test and integration facilities for high value defence products.

Formerly part of the QinetiQ organisation, the underwater defence business was acquired by the ATLAS Group in 2009. In the past three years AEUK has grown the turnover of the business by over 40 per cent and the percentage of exports have grown from 15 per cent to nearly 40 per cent. This has led to the creation of 40 skilled engineering and production jobs in 2013 alone.

Significant investments have been made into the expansion of the production facilities at the UK headquarters based in Winfrith.

Next year will also mark the 20th anniversary of the company’s arrival at the Winfrith site.

Whilst operating in challenging times within the maritime sector, significant opportunities remain to exploit the company’s capabilities and provide world class systems, products and expertise to the global market.

The UK remains AEUK’s home market and primary customer. However, there are numerous opportunities to secure contracts in the export market and a large proportion of business now comes from overseas. AEUK has a growing portfolio of products and services, from port and harbour security, unmanned mine warfare systems, advanced sonar solutions for ships and submarines to novel electric drive technology for submarine platforms. AEUK is also the leading supplier of innovative technology in the maritime domain.

An achievement of the company in the past year was when it scooped the Company of the Year Award in the 2013 Dorset Business Awards.

The employees of tomorrow

ATLAS Elektronik UK recognises the need to work with schools, colleges and universities to ensure the availability of future employees with an interest in the technologies that AEUK specialise in.  
One example of this is the AEUK Graduate Scheme which was established in 2012 to support the initial recruitment of five graduates. 
The programme provides additional training, mentoring and support for graduates whilst assisting them in professional chartership.
Each year, the graduates are given a project to complete and 2012 was no exception. 
The team was given a 1:10th scale model of the Atlas Remote Capability Integrated Mission Suite with the aim of developing a low cost control system for the model.
The model, dubbed MARCIMS (Model Atlas Remote Capability Integrated Mission Suite), was fitted with a remote and autonomous control system design, and assembled by the team from low cost, off-the shelf components.  
The product was an intelligent model boat with the potential of being used across a number of the company’s projects.
Participation in a long term project helped introduce the graduates to all aspects of the company and exposed them to the AEUK professional environment and the intricacies of running real projects.
Projects are aimed at providing business worth and in some instances providing technical demonstrators which could act as a testbed for future technologies and as a foundation for future graduate development. 
In addition to the graduate scheme, AEUK are fostering relationships with local schools and colleges, with a view to future employment opportunities.
AEUK is proud of its STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer-ing and Maths) scheme which recognises students from local schools by awarding them for their academic achievements in these subjects. 
The company is now part of the Year in Industry Scheme, which has enabled three students to work with them for the past year, before taking up their places at university and in recent months has hosted visits from Weymouth College BTEC Engineering students.

ATLAS Elektronik UK offers an attractive package for employees including a generous leave allowance, pension scheme, bonus scheme, employee assistance programme and the cycle to work scheme.
 The company supports its employees with families and offers a flexible working policy, family travel insurance, childcare voucher scheme and an annual families’ day. 
For current and future opportunities visit www.uk.
atlas-elektronik.com/careers

New generation of unmanned mine detector

THE Atlas Remote Capability Integration Mission Suite (ARCIMS) is the next generation remote controlled and autonomous unmanned boat.
The boat is capable of detecting and detonating underwater mines, therefore removing the man from the dangerous minefield. 
The system uses an 11m remote controlled boat capable of being launched and operated from the shore or from a ship. 
AEUK has delivered two ARCIMS variants into naval service. The first is an unmanned minesweeping system that emits signals into the water to detonate mines in a controlled manner. 
Two systems have been accepted into service by a Foreign Navy.   
The second variant is named the Royal Navy Motor Boat (RNMB) Hazard, which incorporates an automatic Launch and Recovery system for a range of underwater vehicles which is now in operation with the RN Maritime Autonomous Systems Trials Team (MASTT). The underwater vehicles collect images of the seabed and upload the information to the operator using wireless links. MASTT was visited by Admiral Sir George Zambellas Chief of Naval Staff and First Sea Lord earlier this year to witness a demonstration of MASTT’s capability.