HUBER+SUHNER Phoenix Dynamics at 30: a powerhouse of engineering talent and expertise

Aerospace Defense Fiber Optics Industry Low Frequency People and Culture Radio Frequency
04.12.2024

Written by 

Darius Mistry

Content & Trade Media Relations Manager
HUBER+SUHNER Phoenix Dynamics headquarter located in Newcastle, United Kingdom

In September 2024, HUBER+SUHNER Phoenix Dynamics celebrated 30 years of operation. We caught up with David Grocott, Managing Director, to understand more about what makes this team tick, and its vital partnership with our clients and the aerospace and defense industry.

What does a 30-year milestone mean to you, and what would you say has stayed consistent in that time?

For a company of our size to be active for the past 30 years and become such a significant player – particularly within the aerospace and defense industry, this is a huge achievement. We’ve remained current and relevant, while at the same time adapting and making huge shifts and diversifications as required. 


As cliched as it might be to state out loud, we really work in partnership with our customers and engage with them at their level. If they have a problem, they come to us for solutions. Whether it’s a technical or commercial issue, we will find the answer, either a new design or an improvement on something that’s come before. Once we’ve built that trust with our customers, and they’ve stayed with us for several years! 


That’s been a common consistent theme about us, regardless of which direction the company has been heading. I'm personally very proud to have been here for 15 of those 30 years! 

David Grocott, Managing Director of HUBER+SUHNER Phoenix Dynamics

What are the key values that have shaped HUBER+SUHNER Phoenix Dynamics through these years, and how do you foster them amongst the team at large?

I personally have a strong belief in the culture of a team, the culture of the company. It was one of the early things in which we found a lot of common ground with HUBER+SUHNER early in our talks about joining forces and merging competencies.


If I were to summarise it in a statement, I’d say that we work together. We help each other. Nothing is too much. There’s no such thing as ‘not my problem’ or ‘not my responsibility’, and that's how we deal with each other internally as well as how we deal with customers. This gets reflected through tougher times as well. No matter how challenging a request or project might be, we operate with the same respect, the same dedication and quality of service.


We know we can trust each other, and we work together brilliantly. As we have grown from an organization of 10 people in a small unit, to nearly 50 in our current premises in Newcastle, we have learnt to lean on each other and others as that's how a team grows stronger.

Could you describe a moment of critical change or turning point for the company that has significantly shaped its future?

In terms of significant changes, I’d have to go back to around 2010, when we first got into design engineering solutions for a significant contract in which we supplied test kits for the US Department of Defense. At the time, this was an incredible feat for a company of our size, and we had increased visibility from that point forward. It opened new doors and newer horizons for us as a company and we’ve never looked back since.


That being said, it might be easy to say that we predominantly serve the needs of the global aerospace and defense industry, but that isn’t really by design. What we do is design, prototype, manufacture, validate and test ruggedized products for mission-critical and extreme environments.


So, if we wrote down some names on a whiteboard of companies that require our products and services, you would read the names of some key players in aerospace and defense. 


But you'd also have motorsport, mining, deep sea and naval applications as well! We’ve worked on civil projects and industrial projects where components and solutions to withstand harsh environments have been a small but critical element of the project. Our products therefore can be applied to any industry that’s interested in reducing risk to their employees. For example, within mining, they’re integral to emergency lighting or air purification systems functioning as required.

How do you continue to foster that collaborative culture through the years, and how is that reflected in the people that work here?

One of HUBER+SUHNER Phoenix Dynamics highly trained operators assembles safety critical wiring system
Harsh environment assemblies for aerospace and defense form the core of HUBER+SUHNER Phoenix Dynamics heritage

I always try to be as open as possible, and to accept and encourage feedback. I think that one of the things that we have focused on, something that’s become more relevant in the last 30 years, is a huge shift towards more risk assessment, health and safety. 


We've seen more requirements from some of our more industrial or commercial customers, as global legislation changes occur. More of them are picking up risk assessment requirements and having to negotiate legal obligations, because if anything goes wrong, they're going to be the ones left holding the can.

We in turn ask important questions of our own people, such as "what qualifications do we expect our own force to have?”


We take that very seriously and are also trying to be more forward thinking, to be equipped with standards that don’t just meet today’s requirements, but also looking at the ones that we may need in the next four or five years.


We are constantly looking to the future and we are excited about what it holds!

If you would like to learn more about HUBER+SUHNER Phoenix Dynamics solutions and capabilities, do visit the website: