First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key Visits SMI
Scientific Management International (SMI) welcomed the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key KCB CBE ADC to its head office and state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Andover this past Friday. Following SMI’s win for Most Improved Charter Signatory at the Women in Defence UK Awards in 2024, the First Sea Lord’s visit gave the opportunity for the Andover-headquartered company to demonstrate its vital contributions to national security and defence innovation throughout its 30-year history – and for future Royal Navy programmes.
During the visit, Adm Key, accompanied by Jenny Shaw, CEO at SMI, toured the manufacturing plant and met with engineers, technicians, and other key personnel responsible for delivering cutting-edge solutions to support the armed forces.
The facility, known for its advanced capabilities in the design and manufacture of cabling, connectors, and pressure-hull glands for use in hostile maritime environments, plays a pivotal role in equipping the defence sector with the tools necessary to maintain operational excellence and advantage.
Adm Key said of his visit: “The work being carried out here at SMI is truly remarkable. This facility represents the ingenuity, dedication, and expertise that are essential for safeguarding our nation and maintaining our competitive edge in defence technology. As Patron of the Women in Defence UK Charter, I’m particularly pleased to be visiting an organisation that has made a clear commitment to increasing the diversity of its team – not unlike the Armed Forces as a whole, diversity of thought, background, and experience forms a phenomenal backbone to any organisations’ road to success. After this visit, it’s easy to see the benefits this brings to an organisation so crucial to the defence of our nation.“
The visit included a demonstration of SMI’s patented PlastEthUrm material used in its connecting technology. PlastEthUrm is not only incredibly rugged in hostile environments, boasting over 10,000 installs with no reported leaks, but also fully recyclable – often outliving the very platforms its installed on. The company’s innovation and commitment to sustainability is key in not only its deployment on in-service naval platforms, but also looking forwards at the Royal Navy’s future build programming.
“I’m incredibly pleased to welcome Adm Key in his capacity as Patron of the Women in Defence UK Charter. He presented us with the award that SMI won last year at the Women in Defence UK awards, where we discussed a visit at the time,” added Jenny Shaw, CEO at SMI. “It’s a real privilege for the entire team to welcome him to our facilities and share the work we are doing to support the Royal Navy. Innovation and collaboration are at the heart of everything we do, and this visit reaffirms the critical role of our team in addressing the evolving challenges that the Royal Navy will face in the future, so I’m really grateful to have him here.“
As signatory of the Women in Defence UK Charter, SMI works to address the gender balance in the defence sector, by supporting the 30 by 30 campaign, which seeks to have a workforce of 30% women across all levels by 2030.