Advanced Chemical Etching (ACE), which celebrated 25 years in business this year, became the only UK-based company to receive the RTX Premier Award for Business Management performance from Collins Aerospace, highlighting its ability to achieve 100 per cent on-time delivery and right-first-time scores during 2024.
The accolade also highlights ongoing excellence in business management, innovation, customer service and a strong commitment to sustainability as the sector moves to greener manufacturing.
Ian Whateley, managing director of ACE, said: “We have been working with Collins Aerospace and other RTX businesses for more than 20 years, supplying specialist, small-quantity production components for use in R&D and other ground-breaking projects.”
ACE’s Ian Whateley (left) receives the RTX Premier Award for Business Management performance
Advanced Chemical Etching, which employs 70 people in Telford, makes anything from simple washers to highly complex precision components for a wide variety of applications, including battery interconnects, fuel cell bi-polar plates, battery grids, cooling plates and heating components.
Aviation – alongside electrification, automotive and medical – continues to be one of the firm’s most important sectors, with 20 per cent of its turnover heading into this market.
Chris Ball, executive director of ACE, added: “We can supply into many areas, including heat exchanger plates, hydrogen fuel cells and full electric engine parts for commercial aircraft and UAV platforms.
“There are also components like ice protection heater elements, precision shims/gaskets, and interior lighting – all produced for our aerospace clients from our world class manufacturing facility in Telford and at our sister site ACE Forming in Kingswinford.”
Launched by Alan Rollason, David Latham and current executive director Chris Ball, ACE has come a long way since it started life in a small 4,500 sq ft unit with just six employees and a first order – worth £500 – going to Pascall Electronics on the Isle of Wight.
Today, the company ships components to more than 33 different countries and works with customers in automotive, aerospace, medical, renewables and electronics.
It has recently taken on two extra people in the inspection department to cope with a five per cent increase in demand, with turnover up to £9 million in 2025.
