Barden Corporation (UK)
Barden make super precision ball bearings that are used in equipment which ranges from aeroplanes and space exploration vehicles, through to advanced medical robots and the machinery which makes iPhones.There are many different types of bearing in industry today. Chances are, if it moves, it has a bearing in it.
Most people think of ball bearings as little steel balls, but they are something much more complex! A ball bearing is made up of two steel rings – a large outer ring and a smaller inner ring, known as a ‘bore’ – which have balls between them. This allows the rings to rotate around each other, moving the part of the machine they are attached to. They can spin very fast, much faster than the bearings in a fidget spinner!
Barden supplies to some of the biggest manufacturers in the world – their customers include big companies such as Thales, Safran and Atlas Copco. Barden also supplies plenty of smaller companies who make world class products.
Example STEM Job Roles at Barden: Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Technical Commercial roles, Precision Toolmaker, Metal Fabricator, Welder, CNC Machine Specialist (eg, Laser Cutting, Turning)
Apprentices have been recruited as Mechanical Fitters, Electrical Fitters and a Toolroom Apprentice. Currently the company has an employee currently undertaking an Apprenticeship in HR.
Work Experience: Placements to Year 10 pupils are offered in different areas of the business, including Engineering, IT and Admin roles. Applications for work experience requests are accepted from January to April each year. These are generally held for a week in July. The company has also facilitated placement years for undergraduate students in IT and Engineering.
Did you know?
The smallest ball bearings made by Barden have balls which are less than 1mm diameter!
Barden bearings are used to power dentist drills. They spin at almost 500,000 rotations per minute!
Barden was founded in 1942 by two men in America called Theodore BARth and Carl NorDEN. The company they set up made components for the Norden Bombsight, a piece of equipment used on planes in the second world war to help accurately aim munitions.
The first ball bearings were developed thousands of years ago. Ancient Egyptians used a type of bearing to transport the stone which was used to build the Pyramids.
There are Barden ball bearings in space! They are used by satellites to position themselves and by space vehicles on Mars to help them collect rock samples. There are even Barden bearings on the International Space Station!
Top Facts
350 Employees in Plymouth
Approx 600 Employees Globally
Barden is based in Estover, Plymouth, UK. This is where they design and make all of their products. Their partner company is HQW Precision, which also makes high precision ball bearings in Kürnach, in Germany.
