Dynamic small company at Hub lands major aeronautical integration contract

Pictured here is Nick Meyer, Aeronautical Engineer for TMI Dynamatics demonstrating their Truck Simulator.

Simulation and control specialist - and a tenant in the Maxum Business Incubator at the Hub - TMI Dynamatics, have been sub-contracted by Denel and Swedish company, Saab, to conduct external stores aeronautical integration for the South African Air Forces's new fighter aircraft, Gripen.

According to Managing Director, Thivash Moodley, TMI Dynamatics' relationship with Saab and Denel spans a period of around five years when Moodley was selected to participate in the Skills and Technology transfer programme between the two companies. South African engineers were trained to perform specialist-engineering tasks on the Gripen in order to support the aircraft locally. Progress on the current contract has already seen the company complete the preliminary studies for a set of upcoming flight tests in which external stores will be released from the aircraft.

Moodley says that TMI will also be responsible for correlating the separation simulation models with the flight test data recorded. Simulations will be used to clear the entire safe separation envelope for the external stores integrated onto the aircraft.

TMI's current simulation centric process and tools are not only being used to perform aeronautical integration tasks but also to develop interactive training systems and automated systems. Their extensive experience in real-time simulation and control is being applied in the aerospace, automotive and defence industries.

In an industry where reputation is everything, Moodley believes that acquiring a contract such as this will go a long way towards securing TMI's 'foot in the door' as a reliable simulation and control service provider. "The local industry will begin to see TMI as a leader in real-time simulation and control specialisation", he says.

Moodley sees these kinds of developments as a boost not only for his own company, but also for the South African industry as a whole. "South African companies are increasingly being internationally recognised as efficient 2nd, 3rd and 4th tier suppliers", he added. According to him, the aerospace industry in South Africa is going through a period of rapid growth and thanks to government initiatives such as some of those of the dti, the processes, skills and understanding within the industry are growing even more.

Although indications suggest that TMI will double its workforce over the next year, Moodley does not want to grow too rapidly, as he sees a lot of value in being a small company. "I think small companies have an important role to play on large high-tech projects. There is a lot of value we can bring to the table because we have an advantage in terms of quicker turnaround times, increased quality and performance and, of course, lower overheads. The benefit to cost ratio of utilising small companies instead of large companies is similar to that of using simulation rather than flight-testing", he says.

Not a company to simply rest on its laurels, Moodley adds that TMI is already involved in talks with other big industry players - especially in the automotive industry - and is investigating the possibility of getting involved in the set-up of automated factories and dynamic vehicle testing systems.

For more information on TMI, contact Thivash Moodley on +27 12 844 0310.

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