AMP - Advanced Manufacturing Park

At the pinnacle of sporting competition, shaving off hundredths of a second can mean the difference between a medal and disappointment.

South Yorkshire-based Bromley Technologies work closely with world-class athletes to drive new innovations and opportunities in the winter sports equipment market.

Founding brothers Kristan and Richard Bromley have combined their backgrounds in materials science and engineering, with a passion for bobsled sports.

Kristan is Britain's most successful competitor in the sport of skeleton bobsled racing. In 2008 he made history by winning an unprecedented triple crown of World and European titles – the first man ever to do so in the sport's 100-year existence.

His engineering expertise has been used to support the British skeleton team which has resulted in a haul of more than 40 medals in Olympic, World and European competitions.

To support Bromley in the manufacture of crucial parts for its racing skeleton bobsleds, the company turned to fellow Advanced Manufacturing Park resident Dormer Tools for advice and expertise.

Mike Maddock, Bromley chief operating officer, said: “As sleds travel at up to 40 metres per second, quality, accuracy and reliability are key requirements. Failure at those speeds is not acceptable.”

Using their in-house machining capabilities normally reserved for live testing and customer surgeries, Dormer set about machining the crucial parts using a range of high performance solid carbide drills and milling cutters, as-well-as cobalt alloyed high-speed steel forming taps and material specific Shark-Line taps.

Not only were the components manufactured to very strict tolerances from tough materials, but they were produced in time for Kristan to take the completed sleds to Norway for pre-season testing.

So successful was the collaboration that Bromley Technologies has asked Dormer to look at ways to improve the machining of additional key components. With Kristan's sights set on competitions in 2010 and beyond, the support and advice from Dormer will be an integral part of future development.

Maddock added: “Hopefully Dormer will get involved with more of our products and help develop efficient machining strategies and techniques to suit the materials and designs we employ in our components.”

John O'Donoghue, Dormer's UK general manager says: “Both companies are at the forefront of innovation and our collaboration will continue on future projects to our mutual benefit.

“We are on the same wavelength when it comes to pushing the technological boundaries in our respective fields of expertise, so it gives us great pleasure to see our improved machining methods manifest themselves in performance improvements for Bromley Technologies.”