Ben Howlett, Member of Parliament for Bath, recently joined Philip Dunne, Minister for Defence Procurement at the Ministry of Defence, for a tour of BMT Defence Services in Bath.
BMT Defence Services, based on the Lower Bristol Road, provides design and technical support for warships and auxiliary vessels within UK and international defence.
It is one of the few external organisations to be named by the MoD as a Delegated Naval Authority.
The Minister visited their offices today to find out more about their research programmes, graduate and apprenticeship schemes and their plans for office expansion.
Ben said: “It was a pleasure to join the Minister on a visit to BMT today. BMT is a world-leader in defence research and development and Bath’s biggest single employer.
“It was great to be able to show off how much cutting-edge work in defence is being undertaken here in Bath to the Minister. The Minister’s visit also underlines the importance of BMT to British industry and defence and how crucial it is to keep businesses like this here in Bath.
“I was very happy to show the Minister plans of the new partnership agreement between BMT and the Council as part of the Innovation Quays Project.
“The development will see new and larger premises for BMT that will help secure their future here in Bath for many years to come.”
Muir Macdonald, Managing Director of BMT Defence Services commented: “We are delighted that the Minister for Defence Procurement put time in his busy schedule to see us in Bath. Philip Dunne MP met many of our people and engaged in conversations ranging from how we design the ships of the future to how we develop our people in our Submarine Academy.
“The Minister donned a virtual reality headset to see how we bring the latest computer gaming technology to help our customers stay safe at sea. From our headquarters in Bath he learned about the work we do around the UK as well as overseas.
“A particular highlight was lunch with our graduates and apprentices to share in their enthusiasm for the future and to see how they work in local schools to stimulate young people into science and maths.
“It was an uplifting day for all of us and we know the Minister left with the impression that we have some extraordinarily talented people who think differently and innovatively, as we all help to keep the nation secure.”
