DSEI 2023: GTR Composites celebrates 8 years of defence sector composite component supply to Martin Baker.

GTR Composites, a division of the UK-based technology group Global Technologies Racing Ltd, is celebrating over 8 years of support to Martin Baker with their global range of ejection seating products. An integral member of Martin Baker’s global supply chain, GTR Composites have been assisting in modifying their legacy composites component portfolio. This has been achieved through a substantial amount of research, design, development and manufacturing including utilisation of the modern suite of materials provided by SHD Composites Materials.
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Martin Baker has placed a significant number of high-value orders with GTR Composites that have seen the delivery of over 6,000 individual composite parts for close to 20 different ejection seating design variants for their customers all over the world (Picture source: Martin Baker)

This announcement coincides with the DSEI 2023 exhibition taking place 12-15 September in London, where GTR has a team available for meetings. Over the period, Martin Baker has placed a significant number of high-value orders with GTR Composites that have seen the delivery of over 6,000 individual composite parts for close to 20 different ejection seating design variants for their customers all over the world.

With a long history and rich pedigree embedded in the top echelons of motorsport, GTR are well- established in the defence sector. To date, GTR has earned a successful track record in designing, manufacturing and delivering critically precise composite components for specialist use. As well as the Martin Baker business, of particular note in the defence sector are composite aircraft components for AW101 Merlin helicopter; composite housings for flotation and life raft systems on the Sikorsky S92 helicopter; and the manufacture of a majority of the composite protected crew pods for fitment to the UK MoD’s Foxhound protected vehicle. This latter project saw GTR manufacture over 250 units eventually becoming the sole supplier of this specialist composite component to the General Dynamics Foxhound vehicle programme. At the time, this programme was an Urgent Operational Requirement, so an incredibly rapid response was required whilst maintaining the very best quality, in order to save lives in Afghanistan.

GTR’s high-precision composite manufacturing capability is second to none. Selected to manufacture critical components by companies ranging from the world’s most high-technology race car teams to critical medical equipment manufacturers, the skills, quality and attention to detail embedded into GTR’s processes are more than a match for precision aerospace and military applications. With over 250 highly skilled staff on-site, GTR’s production facilities include x10 in-house autoclaves ranging in sizes up to 3m in diameter and 5.5m in length. This allows GTR to handle both micro components and larger vehicle-sized assemblies.

Simon Kingdon-Butcher, Co-founder, Owner and Director at GTR said: “We’re delighted to celebrate this milestone with our valued defence sector client, Martin Baker. For many years we’ve been successfully proving ourselves in our core sector of high-performance motorsport and automotive whilst at the same time, delivering some programmes to other sectors such as defence and our work with Martin Baker is a prime example of that. I thank them for their continued business and their trust in us to deliver”. He added: “We’re not exhibiting at DSEI this time, but we have a team on the ground available to attend meetings, should anyone wish to know more about what we can do to help. Given the trends being set in current global conflicts, we’re particularly interested in the area of drones and other unmanned systems so if that’s you, please do let us know and we’ll be happy to arrange an appointment. Weight saving through high technology component design and manufacture is absolutely in our lane and we think the unmanned defence capability area, in particular, is in need of our services right now”.

Defense News September 2023