We are extremely fortunate at Advanced Electric Machines to have an incredibly talented and hardworking group of people on board. The people in our team are exceptional, and bringing them in has been a key aim of our recruitment strategy since the company’s inception. It is our goal to create a workplace where our people can apply their talent, creativity and passion to help us produce the most sustainable electric motors in the world.
Over the last few years, we have been working hard behind the scenes to adopt a strategic recruitment policy that has centred around bringing in the right people. In September 2020, we took on our first apprentice, George Cram, who was delighted to be given the opportunity to study at Sunderland College and work alongside top class engineers. The engineering department has steadily grown, with university graduates coming from across the country to play their role in our history. Caspar Tatham is one such graduate, who joined the business as a Graduate Mechanical Design Engineer and cited our drive towards sustainability as the decisive factor in his decision to come on board.
With the company only having burst into existence just over five years ago, our team is still growing. In 2020, the size of our team grew dramatically, doubling from 16 to 32 people, while now we’re at more than 50. Every single member of the Advanced Electric Machines team is carefully picked, with no stone going unturned in the pursuit of a harmonious and resourceful workforce.
One of our key appointments over the years was Claire Burgess, who joined the team as the Chief Financial Officer in January 2021. Claire’s role is to drive the growth of the business, focusing on financial investment to propel our rare earth free electric motors into the global market. As with many of our new starters, Claire pointed out the “game-changing” nature of our “fully green and recyclable” offering as a huge pull to the company. For us, it is essential to have a team that are truly passionate about making the right changes in our industry.
Alongside Claire, we have brought in a number of other senior members of staff recently. For example, Mark Johnson was appointed to the role of Power Electronics Director. Mark is an internationally recognised expert in the field of power electronics and he is on-hand to support us in the provision of the most sustainable electric motors worldwide. Also new to the team is Lee Woodcraft – Special Projects and Aftersales Director – who will be an integral part of our efforts to drive the forward planning of the business on an international level. Steve Simmonds has also become an integral part of our engineering team since joining us last year as Product Development Director, Steve is responsible for leading all of our customer and partner projects.
Our progress as a business is also reflected in the growth of our exceptional production team. The team is led by Richy Bruce, and has grown from consisting of three members to a strong unit people over the last 12 months. This progress has seen the team go from building single prototypes a week to now building increasing volumes every single week to meet the ever-growing demand from our customers.
We are delighted with the team that we have in place. Every single member of staff has a crucial role to play in our journey, and we’re passionate about bringing in the right people to continue to take us forward.