Companies: SCE   

Kevin D'Silva, chairman of carbon fibre reinforced ceramic product designer Surface Transforms, remains upbeat about prospects despite losing out on producing brake discs for the new Airbus 'super jumbo' A380 aeroplane.

Already in a three-year brake disc development programme with Dunlop Aerospace, D'Silva admits that political and corporate pressures to accelerate the Airbus project meant it could not fulfil testing in time.

The resulting £150,000 loss of licensing income in 2005 will cut group revenue to below the £429,000 achieved in the year to last-May. Nevertheless, the company has £3 million cash and does not anticipate coming back to the market.

Surface has an agreement with a US aircraft brake systems supplier and is pursuing opportunities to supply brake systems to the motor industry and to design rocket nozzles and motors for the aerospace components sector. The company expects to generate cash within two years and wants ultimately to be bought by a bigger player.

Fans hope D'Silva can work the same magic as he did with medical diagnostics business Ferraris, where he built turnover to £65 million, and medical industry products supplier Kynoch, where revenues rose to £15 million in five years. He is also involved in two private companies, surgical robot producer Armstrong Healthcare and equestrian MRI scanner producer Hallmarq Vetinary Imaging, which was recently rumoured to be eyeing AIM.

Surface Transforms	AIM	£2.09m	11.00p	-1.50p
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Other company articles:
Surface Transforms in F1 deal			30/06/2008
Uranium play takes AIM			15/08/2006
D'Silva keeps smiling			01/03/2005
Surface Transforms			04/08/2004
Tech watch – by Elliott Davis			05/05/2004