News

Five units of Land Rover skidding have been supplied to DSEME (Defence School of Electronic & Mechanical Engineering) for trialling with their Class 1 Recovery Mechanic students and upcoming exercises in the UK and Germany.

The skidding is used in a Land Rover recovery to pack out between the SV(R) (recovery vehicle) and the Land Rover bumper. Historically timber has been used to perform this function.

Manufactured out of high-density polyethylene, this development is intended to make the recovery lift more repeatable, quicker and safer.

EKA have taken receipt of a Unimog from Daimler UK for prototyping.

The joint venture between EKA and Daimler UK will be unveiled at DVD 2024… the suspense is real!

EKA representatives visited the global defence exhibition Eurosatory 2024 in Paris this week. Productive conversations were held with KNDS, Daimler and others.

Rotzler APEX

We were also excited to be involved in the launch of the new Rotzler control system APEX, and will be eager to incorporate its enhanced features it into future projects.

As work on the A2 variant of the M270 MLRS is in full motion, representatives from EKA have travelled to Texas, USA to take part in a multinational working group.

The British Army’s entire fleet of the M270B1 MLRS will be upgraded to the A2 standard and EKA are working on the upgraded Repair and Recovery Vehicle which will have a greater capability than the B1 version. EKA are excited to have the opportunity to present their designs to partner NATO nations.

With a view in further supporting the symbiotic relationship between EKA and REME, we invited the Corps Col Colonel I J Phillips to visit our Towcester workshop to discuss sponsorship opportunities of various REME sporting teams. We look forward to announcing details in the near future.

Col Phillips pictured with EKA’s serving REME reserve recovery mechanics and vehicle mechanics.

It’s Lucy’s 21st today and Kacey has gone full ‘Blue Peter’ on her.

“I wanted to take this ‘TIME OUT’ to wish you a happy birthday! This is something not to ‘WISPA’ about but to shout about. You are the ‘KINDER’ person who deserves the best birthday in the ‘GALAXY’ I hope this makes you ‘TWIRL’ about with Joy! I hope this gift was a little ‘BOOST’ to your day!”

At EKA, we have invested in an Artec Ray Scanner, the fastest and most accurate long-range 3D scanner with laser technology for precise capture of large objects such as vehicles and buildings. Producing 3D scans of the highest quality, Artec Ray scans with submillimeter distance precision and best-in-class angular accuracy. As a result, data capture is noticeably cleaner than that from other 3D laser scanners and speeds up data processing significantly, making it a cost-effective solution for our clients.

Brian Dean had the job of attending Cyprus for a week to help 1 Royal Anglian and WO2 Sam Scarrott with their SV(R). As always Brian’s laying of hands fixed the issues and now the SV(R) is backing doing what it does best. Well Done Brian!

As part of a JARTS (Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Squadron) exercise, 5001 Sqn was requested to provide SV(R) support. The scenario included a Typhoon that had suffered a bird strike and collided with a Lynx while making an emergency landing. 5001 Sqn’s SV(R) was used to firstly roll the downed Lynx, utilising both the main recovery winch and the crane, to ensure the airframe suffered no further damage.

EKA Limited, along with some of the staff, were able to take Bob Brennan out for a retirement meal. Unfortunately, Martin Cooper and Jevan Fletcher couldn’t be present but we all wish Bob the happiest of retirements. There was rumour of a ‘moist eye’ when Bob made his speech – but I suspect it was iron filings.

As the Design Authority and OEM for the SV(R) Top Hamper, no matter the cause or condition our equipment is returned to us we can repair and overhaul it. We pride ourselves on engineering excellence and through-life support of our equipment. This TR200 has been returned for a complete overhaul, despite substantial damage will be repaired and bought back into service.

EKA recently completed the installation of three TR030/7 Fire Winches to Scania P320 chassis for our customer, Emergency One. These chassis will now be completed and bought into service with South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

Bob has been with EKA since 1999 and has undertaken a wealth of roles from Field Service Engineer to Director, and quite rightly has decided after a lifetime of hard work both within REME and post that the time has come to slow down. EKA of course could not let Bob go and he has very graciously undertaken a retained consultant role – allowing EKA to draw on all his skills and knowledge whilst also allowing him to take his foot off the throttle a little.

EKA is a proud supporter of Severn Freewheelers Emergency Voluntary Service. This is a charity that provides a free motorcycle courier service to hospitals so that blood and other products can be moved urgently. The volunteers answer over 500 calls a month and the bikes have covered more than 1,700,000 miles since the charity’s inception.

Our Supportability Manager, Martin Cooper, and Engineering Manager, Matthew Evans, recently visited Red River America – to present a project they have recently been working on.