In search of an antidote to the recent and rather baffling UK Budget that missed the mark on jump-starting the flatlining economy, as luck would have it, along came not one but two conversations with members of one of Scotland’s engineering success stories.
A chat with Zak Thomson, design engineer at Emtelle in Hawick and our own 2025 young engineer of the year winner, was always bound to lift the gloom.
Nothing raises your optimism more than witnessing the young engineers who reach the finalist list through their sheer talent, resilience and innovation, reinforcing the feeling that if this is our industry’s future, then we have every reason to be optimistic. Hearing their personal and project journeys is a privilege, but separating a winner from the group is a real challenge.
Zak achieved that separation by doing what his company says comes naturally to him: listening to Emtelle’s customers and then driving the organisation to find a solution where none exists, or the current one isn’t the full answer.
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In a world where we all expect flawless internet without restriction, finding ways to install their end-to-end fibre optic solutions efficiently to the building that requires it is key. In industry speak, this means designing a low-cost reliable method of installing longer distance “final mile fibre to the premises”, and this simple summary of need defined the challenge clearly for him.
To avoid expensive and bulky equipment Zak’s solution combined changes to the texture of the cable allowing it to be "pushed", rather than blown by compressed air, to its final destination by a simple driver unit designed to be powered by any handheld battery drill. Designs for the REVOLink3 cable and DropDrive pushing machine are now patent pending and have achieved an industry-first pushing distance of 300 metres.
I asked Zak what the recognition of success for his project meant for him, and beyond his consistent and continuing modesty, he admitted that he had been surprised and delighted at the reaction and praise from family and friends, along with the recognition and celebration through social media and the local Borders-based press.
“It means a lot to me because my path into engineering wasn’t the clear and straight path that I saw some others follow. I knew that I enjoyed practical, hands-on working, but my first try wasn’t the match for me. An engineering apprenticeship with sister company Mainetti led to a transfer to Emtelle and I haven’t looked back since.”
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These examples of game-changing engineering successes that bring economic and societal benefits are gold-dust for our goal of celebrating the excellence that exists in Scottish engineering and manufacturing, and rarely get the attention they deserve. This story – like all those finalists that came beside and before – celebrates the individual excellence, as well as reflecting the reality that this always comes hand-in-hand with organisational excellence too.
Warming to that theme, I also talked to Emtelle’s chief executive Tony Rodgers, currently based in the United Arab Emirates as Emtelle’s global expansion now includes their newest 25,000 square metre innovation and manufacturing facility based there. It brings their total manufacturing footprint to seven facilities across the UK, Denmark, Germany, USA and UAE, an impressive continuation of their commitment to invest in their people, plants and equipment.
I opened the conversation by offering my congratulations for their newest expansion. I also commented that I had been impressed during a previous visit to their headquarters in Hawick to hear of the involvement of the team based there – including another young engineer finalist Ryan Byers – in their projects to expand to the US and UAE.
Did Tony recognise the benefit to the accelerated experience of the team based here as a result?
“The expansion in global operations has driven our continued business growth, allowing us to be competitive in key markets through location, cost competitiveness, and speed of project delivery – thanks to the pace at which projects can be delivered outside the constraints of the UK," he said.
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"But the beating heart of Emtelle is still firmly in our operations based in Scotland, in the concentration of our R&D, engineering and manufacturing resources. And yes, that brings opportunity for the team to lead those projects, but they do so because they are our experts – whether that’s Zak working to meet our customer’s aspirations, or Ryan looking after our manufacturing estate across those locations.”
Tony also shared that the outlook for Emtelle going forward is one where they are ready to reap the rewards of their investment and capacity: “Grid infrastructure renewal and upgrade represent a really strong opportunity for our solutions, and the scale of investment that has been outlined for the UK makes that clear.
"But the UK is not alone in that need to upgrade and renew, and other markets where we have strength such as the USA also have their own programme of investment that we are well placed to compete for.”
Awards for Emtelle are not just for their young engineers. This year they were shortlisted as finalists in two categories of the Made in Britain Impact Awards – one of which was "inspiring leader of the year" for solutions director Colin Kirkpatrick, who just happens to be Zak’s line manager. And unsurprisingly, at the top of the organisation Tony Rodgers himself was a recent winner of EY’s international entrepreneurial leader of the year for Scotland.
It's an impressive journey for a company founded in Jedburgh in 1980 that continues onwards and upwards thanks to an outstanding team and clear, talented leadership.
Paul Sheerin is chief executive of Scottish Engineering.
