ALMA recently took its first steps to completion with Barum & Dewar's bespoke design and manufacture solutions being used to safely transport various ALMA satellite and telescopic sub-assemblies to the plains of Chile. and the final components are being shipped to South America with the help of Barum & Dewar containers to finish calibration of the revolutionary telescope ready for scientific observations in 2011.

ALMA's primary function will be to observe and image, with unprecedented clarity, the enigmatic cold regions of the universe. These regions are optically dark, yet shine brightly in the millimetre portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Photo Credit ESO/C. Malin

Barum and Dewar continue to produce bespoke aluminium containers to house BAE Systems world renowned sea mine disposal system, Archerfish. Barum and Dewar first designed and qualified the shipping container for Archerfish over five years ago.

Archerfish is a technically advanced piece of equipment used as an expendable neutraliser to dispose of sea mines. Up to four times faster than conventional remotely-controlled mine disposal vehicles, Archerfish brings benefits of simplified logistics and reduced through-life costs.

BAE Systems Archerfish Product Manager David Jackson,

Ensuring Archerfish remains undamaged during transit and storage is vital to the operational effectiveness of the mine disposal system and the Barum and Dewar container plays an important part in that process.

The protective packaging that Barum and Dewar designed had to safeguard the Archerfish vehicle including its twin mid-body propulsors which are vital in providing its exceptional manoeuvring capabilities. This capability enables it to traverse the target to obtain images from a variety of angles providing the controller with detailed identification information prior to positioning the vehicle to dispose of the mine when the vehicle's warhead is detonated. Barum and Dewar also had to ensure that the container was robust enough to prevent shock or vibration during transit from affecting its fibre-optic link – the vital mode of communication throughout its mission between the platform and vehicle. To reacquire the target, Archerfish activates its short range sonar and video link, transmitting sonar imagery and video pictures back to its controller for inspection and identification.

Barum and Dewar Ltd, Managing Director, David Frame:

For more than five years Barum & Dewar's in-house designed and manufactured aluminium containers have been providing a safe storage and transportation solution for BAE System's highly capable Archerfish equipment. The latest contract reaffirms Barum & Dewar's position as one of the UK' premier suppliers of complete packaging solutions and a key partner to many Prime Defence Contractors.

Barum & Dewar's on-going collaboration with SSTL will see the launch of the NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X satellites into orbit later this year.

The project on behalf of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) will be launched by a Dnepr vehicle from Yasny, Russia on 29 October 2010.

NigeriaSat-2 is the most advanced small satellite ever to be launched, defining new standards in Earth observation and avionics, for this reason Barum and Dewar were chosen to provide a packaging solution with shock and environmental protection.

Barry Laffar, Senior Mechanical AIT Engineer, Surrey Satellite Technology:

The latest flight case is one of many supplied by Barum & Dewar for SSTL satellite missions, including the largest so far, GIOVE-A, launched for the European Space Agency in 2005. We have an excellent relationship with Barum & Dewar, working with them from initial concept through to manufacture. They consistently provide good quality products delivered on time and to an agreed budget.

NigeriaSat-2's mission objectives include providing high resolution maps of the entire area of Nigeria every four months, together with monthly monitoring of Nigerian crops for food supply security.

Barum & Dewar have worked with clients within the aerospace sector for over 10 years and have developed a clear understanding of the needs and requirements associated with this market. Our knowledge and experience are used to design and manufacture highly engineered transit and storage containers for satellites, radar systems and propulsion carts.

Barum and Dewar remain the preferred supplier of container solutions to many of the UK's leading aerospace companies who have come to recognise our record of delivering best in class solutions time and again.

Photo credit : SSTL

B&D is now able to offer greater levels of foam capability following the creation of B&D Foams Ltd a sister business to B&D. Increasing demand for custom foam cushioning and the desire to further improve speed of response has lead B&D to consolidate its foam conversion in a new dedicated facility in Southampton.

From concept to reality, Barum & Dewar's technical team can support your requirements with competitive prices whilst maintaining the highest quality bespoke and custom foam solutions.

Barum and Dewar continue to be one of the UK's premier suppliers off bespoke packaging solutions. Accounts include major UK blue chip clients who require practical, effective and technically competent packaging solutions. Specialising in the design, manufacture and supply of complete packaging solutions, Barum and Dewar offer one of the widest ranges of deployable, re-usable, rugged, water-tight, secure and dependable protective cases and containers in the UK.

An environmetally sealed and shock-mounted container measuring almost 2m cube is something well within B&D's capabilities - normally we would not have such a tight timescale. However our design team immediately worked on the design and soon manufacture was underway. Final testing and client approval all went well and the container was delivered on time.

Congratulations are due to all at Barum & Dewar for their efforts on this project. Five further containers are now underway for the same satisfied client.