Hutchinson Engineering sponsors Ulster Formula Student

Mark Hutchinson, Managing Director, the Hutchinson Group (right) is pictured with Ulster Formula Student team members (L to R); Peter Donnelly, Gareth Montgomery, Jonny Mullan, Design Engineer, H360, Ryan Roberts, William Rollins and David McFarland.

This come ahead of appearing at the Silverstone circuit in the Formula SAE competition in 2016, which is hosted by the prestigious Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Kilrea-based engineering firm, Hutchinson Engineering, part of the Hutchinson Group, has donated over £1600 worth of laser cutting and fabrication services to the UFS team.

The team, based at the Ulster University Jordanstown campus, designs a fully legal race car to compete at the Silverstone circuit each year from scratch, and currently holds the 1st place position in Ireland.

Mark Hutchinson, Managing Director, the Hutchinson Group is pictured with David McFarland, Team Leader, Ulster Formula Student.

David McFarland, UFS Team Leader explained: “For 2016, I want to push the boundaries of what we have accomplished in the past, and most importantly, retain our position as first in Ireland.

“The team wants to bring an innovative design to the 2016 car, strengethening aspects that worked well and rework those parts that need refining – which is where Hutchinson Engineering come in.

“The team at Hutchinson Engineering have been fantastic as they have provided great support so far, advising on different techniques to use in the manufacturing of the chassis of the vehicle.

“As a team, we have learned a lot from working with Hutchinson Engineering, and I hope that our new working relationship will strengthen our position in the race and maintain our competitiveness.

“All in all we are very excited for the Silverstone race next year and we are delighted to have Hutchinson Engineering on board as a sponsor.”

Mark Hutchinson, Managing Director, Hutchinson Engineering said: “We are delighted to be supporting the UFS team in any way we can, and I’m very happy with the progress that has been made on the project so far.

“We saw this as another opportunity to further strengthen the bonds between the Hutchinson Group and local academic institutions.”

The Hutchinson Group works with the Northern Ireland Technology Centre, Queen’s University through the Knowledge Transfer Partnership Programme and the Advance Forming Research Centre (AFRC) of the University of Strathclyde.

All of these academic institutions have formed strategic partnerships with the Hutchinson Group with both gaining much experience.

“It is one thing to guest lecture, or to advise students, but it is another to get actively involved with this type of project and help with the engineering process.

“I hope that the students take away valuable learning points from this collaboration and that it serves them well in the future – I’ve no doubt it will!” continued Mark.