From hauling mining gear at high altitude in Chile to floating a wingless Concorde down the Thames, ALE is an innovative company really going places. It's a proud British success story that could inspire a new generation of engineers

Engineering and technology are worth almost £800bn a year to the UK economy, according to the latest annual report from Engineering UK, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes the two sectors. Calling for "less financial engineering, more real engineering", the organisation believes that while the creaking financial world during the recession highlighted the importance of both sectors, it also revealed that more work needs to be done if Britain is to hold its own in the global marketplace.

It is concerned, for example, that 49 per cent of seven- to 11-year-olds still think it would be "boring" to be an engineer, despite co-ordinated attempts across engineering groups, government and industry to convince them otherwise. But heavy transport and lifting company ALE could be used as an effective bait. Known as Abnormal Load Engineering before being rebranded this year, it has a much lower public profile than the companies usually wheeled out, such as Rolls-Royce, Dyson and BAE Systems, but its work is anything but dull.

ALE has built the world's largest multi-purpose lifting machine, the AL.SK190, which is capable of lifting a record-breaking 4,300 tonnes. It has floated a wingless Concorde down the river Thames and up to a new home at the National Museum of Flight in Edinburgh. And it recently won its biggest contract, working with a consortium on a multimillion-pound project to help deliver components for the construction of two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers—HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. ALE will be moving structures of around 11,000 tonnes across the country over a period of five years. To put that in perspective, those structures would be the size of, say, a football stadium.

Use this company as a case study for the opportunities in engineering and which child who fondly remembers his digger and dreams of being a crane driver wouldn't fail to be inspired again? They may also be interested to know that while lifting, transporting, installing, ballasting, jacking or weighing extremely large, heavy loads may not sound sexy, big money is involved and there are opportunities to travel. This privately owned, proudly British business has operating centres in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, the Middle East and the Far East and is a €150m (£135m) turnover company. It's a hidden gem but also an example of a successful and innovative UK company.

Mark Harries, ALE's executive director and son of founder Roger Harries, admits that the company based in leafy Staffordshire has shied away from shouting from the rooftops about its achievements. Since the business was founded in 1983 as an engineering consultancy, he says, it has been busy growing "bit by bit, month by month, some of it through acquisition, some organically, and some by winning key contracts". It's now the world's leading heavy transport and installation contractor.

The main motivation behind the rebrand, says Harries, was to put a unified face on the business so that all employees could feel part of the operation-40 per cent have come to ALE through acquisition. When the firm purchased Brambles Heavy Contracting in 2002 it doubled in size. But a fresh image also means publicity and ALE is learning how to tell the world outside the heavy-lift industry what the business has become.

Not that ALE has ever had problems attracting recruits. Who wouldn't want to work for a business, asks Harries, where the projects are "dramatic and exciting"; where in your twenties you can be deployed to learn your trade abroad, and where you're given the chance to become a leader with the autonomy to make your own decisions once you've earned the board's respect?

As Sandy White, an employee at ALE for nearly 15 years, confirms, the jobs are hands-on and diverse. Now a general manager, he joined the business after finishing his engineering degree. "There are a wide variety of projects," he explains. "I did a six-month placement in the Middle East. I've worked on a project moving copper mining equipment at high altitude in Chile that pushed our equipment to the limits. There's never an average day and the middle managers are empowered and trusted to make key decisions." It's satisfying, he adds, finding solutions to problems and seeing jobs through to completion. "One of the good things about ALE, particularly as an engineer, is that jobs don't sit in a drawer for years. You turn them around in three months sometimes. You get a buzz when you get another job done."

The big challenge, says Harries, is finding recruits with the skills that such a niche business requires. The firm has resorted to training graduates in-house, investing three to five years in them before they've acquired the abilities to carry out the work. What that means, adds Harries, is that directors have to believe that the business will need that volume of resources in the future. "Every business has its peaks and troughs, but you've got to keep your core skill base regardless of the upturns and downturns."

Harries expects the volume of work this year to shrink by around 25 per cent, but he's not concerned. It gives the company a chance to develop ideas and buy more plant, ready for the upswing. And one of the reasons the firm is so successful, he believes, is because it doesn't have to rely on the fortunes of one economy. "Even though we're dependent on a relatively niche sector, we've managed to spread our business globally. When you've got a global spread you can move your resources around," he explains. "The credit crunch is a classic case in point. The UK is slow, but the Far East will come back strong."

Despite the recession, Harries says ALE is prepared to make brave, even risky, decisions because they're the ones that also keep the business innovative. Take that massive crane. When ALE decided to build the equipment, there wasn't even a job for it. "We were building blind," recalls Harries, "but we had a feeling that was what our customers wanted. We asked two manufacturers to make one for us, but they refused so we invested in excess of €25m (£22.7m) to make it ourselves."

Ronald Hoefmans, an ALE board director and engineer based at its R&D centre in the Netherlands, was part of the 10-man European team that designed the SK190. He picks up the story: "We wanted it to be the biggest crane in the world. We were a bit ahead of the market. We were doing it so that our clients could build bigger pieces-cranes were always the limiting factor in a project. Now there is a bigger crane and clients can build bigger."

His next project is likely to be in equal demand. He and his team are designing a system to jack up entire oil platforms, which weigh up to 40,000 tonnes. Innovation is key, he says. "If a client comes to us with a problem we always create a solution around it. We are capable of designing equipment, fabricating [making] it and then doing the job for a client, so it's a complete solution."

ALE is a healthy, growing company, says White, because it's not afraid to move into unknown territory. "That crane, I think that's the biggest achievement for the company," he says. "Expansion had been gradual, by reinvesting in the people and the equipment that we were familiar with. To build the SK, I felt it put a mark on the ground."

Business owners must take those brave steps every now and then and be willing to push the boundaries when the firm reaches a crossroads, maintains Harries. Acquiring Brambles was daring, he says, but it made a key difference, giving the company critical mass and driving momentum. "It shows that we're prepared to go places," he says. Although ALE has 700 employees around the world (200 of those in the UK), Harries says it remains fleet-footed and focused. And even though there are three members of the same family on the board, it is no longer described as a family business. "Just because you have blood relations, that doesn't make them the right people to take over. We have a responsibility to our staff. You have to make sure that it's the right person to guide the business forward."

He's unequivocal about another matter. The business is not for sale. He refers to the loss of Cadbury to Kraft. "We probably get an offer to be bought every three months," he says. "It's important that we try to keep British companies British because if you don't have that ownership and control in your home market, you'll always be seen as some sort of subsidiary."

So where does Harries see ALE going next? In terms of new markets, he says Brazil and Australia are enticing, China less so-"they're sharp, contractually, and you can easily run into a lot of overrun costs". Having mainly been a supplier to gas- and coal-powered stations, he adds, the future is in offshore wind farms and the nuclear sector.

ALE is engaged in the Greater Gabbard project, which is set to be the largest offshore wind farm in the world. It's transporting, storing and handling the components used to build the 142 wind turbines off the Suffolk coast. "That's a big area of growth for us," Harries points out.

In the meantime, the company is working on being less shy. "We haven't been entering awards, but we're trying to follow through the innovation and lifting awards that are available," says Harries, adding: "But none of us are that comfortable with self-promotion."

Once its marketing machine cranks up a notch, expect to see a lot more of ALE and its directors and, perhaps, a few more inspired school-leavers knocking at its door.