February can be a tough enough month at the best of times, but you have to look especially hard right now to find a note of optimism in our engineering businesses.

The imminent impact from the changes to employer national insurance contributions looms large alongside the inflationary pressure on pay coming from national living wage increases; energy costs remain a vertical incline in the quest to be competitive outside the UK; and meanwhile, each morning starts with guessing where tariffs are headed today.

Scottish Engineering are privileged to run the Rail Cluster for Scotland, an initiative supported by Transport Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland, which is tasked with connecting small to medium-sized businesses in Scotland to opportunities in rail in Scotland and across the UK. As part of that cluster work, a recent visit to one of our engineering good news stories based in Kilmarnock was just the thing to cheer me up.

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Almost five years ago to the month, Wabtec Rail Scotland announced the closure of their operation at the iconic Caledonia Works, a site that has been manufacturing and repairing trains since the late 1800s under the name of Andrew Barclay and Sons. Wabtec stated the closure was due to a reduction in the volume of work rendering the business no longer sustainable, with the site put up for sale as Wabtec consolidated its operation to its base in Doncaster, impacting one hundred jobs in Ayrshire as a result.

I remember the announcement well. Although it came at the same time as the world was pausing for Covid, in this case, the announcement stated that the global pandemic was not the cause.

Engineering closures make my heart sink anyway, but this was the second closure of large-scale rail rolling stock engineering in Scotland in one year.  The danger of another slice of our industrial capability being only open to view in a museum seemed an unwelcome but possible outcome.

Today’s reality – as witnessed on my recent visit - couldn’t be further from that scenario.

Around the middle of 2020, Brodie Engineering took over the former site, expanding their operation by adding to their existing base at the Bonnyton works, the two sites being located either side of the railway line to Troon. Brodie’s leadership team acknowledge that Wabtec had enabled conditions for a good start for them, from the care for the site, to decisions around infrastructure that made sure the site was quickly ready to carry on with rolling stock engineering.

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Since then, it’s a been a steady stream of contract awards and growth that has allowed them to retain and develop their staff through apprenticeships, graduates, and work experience and placements for pupils and students. The team have repaired, overhauled and refurbished rolling stock for a variety of operators, with work ranging from major repair of accident damage through to the extensive inspection and overhaul of DRS Transporter Wagons.

One of those customer relationships has been the gateway to a particularly successful partnership, as around this time last year rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook purchased 49% of Brodie Engineering. Porterbook stated at the time that Brodie is the “only active rail engineering business in Scotland, specialising in heavy maintenance, refurbishment and overhauls”.

It’s been a smart strategic move by Brodie’s leadership team, leading to wider opportunities for fleet overhaul and repair through Porterbrook’s broad UK reach, and this was underlined by the award last autumn of a multi-million-pound overhaul contract for Northern Rail’s Fleet of Class 158 diesel multiples units.

And so, a potential path to closure has five years later not only been avoided, but arguably that asset to the UK’s rail capability has been strengthened, expanded and ultimately protected. This reflection is more relevant than ever, as last week Wabtec unfortunately announced that they have entered a period of consultation with staff over proposals to close the Doncaster site that Kilmarnock’s work was moved to.

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Why has Brodie’s path been successful, following a track to success rather than the expectation of decline that my heart-sinking reaction feared?

The answer for me as always is leadership. Brodie Engineering was founded in March 1996 by Gerry and Debbie Hilferty, and they remain directors and majority shareholders of the company.

Their ambition, matched by their wider team, to step in to the opportunity when it arose takes vision and determination. From there, the continued success reflects the leadership to build and maintain a company culture where people want to work, and a collaborative approach that makes external organisations want to work with you.

It’s an approach reflected also in their unwavering support to the UK’s Armed Forces, with their commitment to employment of service leavers and reservists leading to recognition as a gold level Employer Recognition Scheme Award from the Ministry of Defence. This award recognises their support to people working to defend the UK and is the highest badge of honour an organisation like theirs can achieve.

Providing local people with long-term career prospects and retaining and building the much-needed skillsets in a sector where there are skills challenges is at the core of Brodie Engineering’s people strategy. A healthy local supply chain is fundamental for a reliable and efficient railway and Brodie Engineering is in a strong position to support future opportunities across Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Paul Sheerin is chief executive of Scottish Engineering.