Strengthening Regional Defence Collaboration at Rolls-Royce
Luke Parker, Managing Director of Acres Engineering Ltd, recently attended the latest East Midlands Regional Defence & Security Cluster (EMRDSC) Full Members Meeting, hosted at the Rolls-Royce Learning and Development Centre in Derby.
The session brought together key stakeholders from across the regional defence and security ecosystem, providing a valuable forum to share updates, strengthen relationships, and align on future opportunities within the sector.
The agenda reflected the scale and importance of the UK’s defence landscape. Updates from EMRDSC and Special Interest Groups were followed by insights from the Defence Office for Small Business Growth, reinforcing the increasing emphasis on enabling SMEs to play a more active role in national defence programmes.
A series of presentations from across Rolls-Royce divisions, Submarines, Civil Aerospace, Defence, and Power Systems, offered a comprehensive overview of current priorities, challenges, and supply chain requirements. For SMEs like Acres Engineering, these sessions are particularly valuable in understanding where capability, capacity, and innovation can best support major OEMs.
For Luke, the event was not simply about listening, it was about positioning. Acres Engineering continues to strategically align itself with defence and national infrastructure sectors, and engagement at this level ensures the business remains connected to evolving requirements, procurement pathways, and partnership opportunities.
The opportunity to visit the Rolls-Royce Heritage Centre following the meeting added further depth to the day, providing a powerful reminder of the legacy, engineering excellence, and long-term thinking that underpins the UK’s defence and aerospace industries.
Reflecting on the event, Luke commented:
“Events like this are critical for SMEs. They give us direct visibility of where the sector is heading and allow us to align our capabilities accordingly. More importantly, they reinforce the role that regional manufacturers can play in supporting programmes of national significance.”
As Acres Engineering continues to grow its presence within defence, engagement with organisations such as EMRDSC and industry leaders like Rolls-Royce remains a key part of its strategy, ensuring the business is not only ready to support future demand, but actively contributing to it.
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Acres have a range of standard products but also support clients with custom machinery and medium-high volume products such as trolleys, stillages etc.
We have manufactured lots of different tables / workstations / workbenches for various industries.
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