| Princes Anne visits Howden at Craigton |
Bob Cleland, Chief Executive of Howden last week hosted Princess Anne at the company’s compressor-manufacturing plant in Craigton, on the south side of Glasgow, and showed off the group’s recent £4.5m investment in new technology.  Cleland said Howden was also moving into the aftercare market this year. He said: "That will offset the expected reduction in orders in 2009 and 2010, at least compared with our 2008 order book. "But I'm hoping for real growth from 2011 - again, I'm cautiously optimistic - as the world markets recover from the downturn and as we grow the aftercare side of the business." Aftercare, which includes repair, servicing and overhaul operations, can be hugely profitable for many engineering companies, and is a crucial business model component for the likes of Rolls-Royce and Boeing, which sell engines relatively inexpensively in exchange for lucrative long-term maintenance and overhaul contracts. |