News Industry In brief…
The winners of the 2012 Best Factory Awards will reunite at the Best Factory Conference in Kenilworth next from 19-20 March, to share with others in the industry how they transformed their factories into showcases of lean excellence.
www.bestfactoryawards.co.uk
ABB, the power and automation technology group, received an order for 2,400 robots from BMW Group. Over the next three years the robots will be installed at factories in Regensburg and Leipzig, Germany, as well as in Tiexi, China. The ABB robots will mainly be used for materi- al handling tasks, as well as gluing and spot welding processes.
www.abb.com
The National Apprenticeship Service has launched a film to encourage young people to explore the range of apprenticeship opportu- nities available in manufacturing and engineering. In the film, four former and current apprentices working in different roles across the sector, recount their experience and talk about how an apprenticeship benefitted them.
www.apprentice.tv
Iriss, which has its EMEA operation based in the UK, has confirmed that The Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo Company, has been appointed as stock-holding distributor of its entire range of polymer windows for the Saudi Arabia area.
iriss.com
Manufacturers report rebound
Manufacturers reported a rebound in orders and continue to expect moderate growth in output over the next three months, according to the CBI Monthly Industrial Trends Survey for February.
Anna Leach, CBI head of eco- nomic analysis, said: “The rebound in manufacturing orders and expectations for output growth provide some further signs of improvement in the out- look for the UK economy. However, export order books are likely to remain relatively weak until global conditions, espe- cially in the Eurozone, improve more markedly.”
www.cbi.org.uk 4 Innovation key to competitiveness
Jaguar Land Rover, the UK manu- facturer of premium vehicles, has recommended the Government continues to support measures to enhance innovation and engineer- ing skills to ensure Britain’s future manufacturing competitiveness. Mike Wright, executive direc- tor at Jaguar Land Rover, encour- aged ministers and business leaders gathered at the 2013 BIS Manufacturing Summit to make innovation the Government’s key economic priority in the future to offset challenges facing UK man- ufacturers.
In an opening address, Wright said: “It is investment in innova- tion that will make the difference to growth.” Wright cited Jaguar Land
Rover’s track record over the past two years – creating more than 9,000 new jobs and investing almost £10 billion in the UK supply chain – as evidence of the
wider economic benefits flowing from a focus on technology and innovation at globally-successful UK companies. But he high- lighted the ongoing challenge of supplier finance incentives and the shortage of graduate engi- neers as well as the fact that the UK stands at only 17th in the OECD for R&D support as a per- centage of GDP. “We recognise Government has been working on these issues but if we are to rebalance and grow the UK economy, we need a continued focus on Government investment support for R&D, improved sup- plier access to finance, and sup- port for more engineering studies and skills-training.
“If our suppliers cannot access the right skills, technology and finance, then they may not be able to invest as much in the UK as we would all like,” he added.
www.jaguarlandrover.com
£21m for manufacturing research
Four new research centres, which will develop new ways of manu- facturing in electronics, laser use in production processes, medical devices and food production, have been awarded £21 million in fund- ing from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of a £45 million package of investments in manufacturing research announced by David Willetts, uni- versities and science minister. Willetts said: “The UK has a proud history of manufacturing but to build on this success indus- try needs access to the very latest science and technology. This £45 million package will see our world-class research base investi- gating innovative new manufac- turing equipment and techniques.
This will support our industrial strategy in a range of sectors, dri- ving growth and keeping the UK ahead in the global race.” The new centres, which will begin work later in the year, will involve academics from 15 uni- versities across the UK and over 60 project partners from industry. EPSRC’s chief executive, Professor David Delpy said: “EPSRC Centres of Innovative Manufacturing are building on previous investments we have made in the research base and combining academic innovation with industry knowledge. They are in areas that are strategically important to the UK and the work there will push research boundaries and drive growth.”
www.epsrc.ac.uk
Comment
It was encouraging to see the enthusiasm from visitors to the recent Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2013 show last month. Organisers say it was the best ever in terms of visitor and exhibitor numbers and this was plain to see on the first day when organisers were just about coping with the sheer numbers registering. Many exhibitors also reported a steady stream of enquiries and that they had generated some healthy leads from the show. Southern Manufacturing & Electronics kicks off the exhibition season as it is one of the first in the calendar and I hope its success is a taste of what’s to come for the rest of the year.
Heather Ramsden - Editor Events
The Cleaning Show 19-21 March, NEC, Birmingham
www.cleaningshow.co.uk
Safety & Health Expo 14-16 May, NEC, Birmingham
www.safety-health-expo.co.uk
The Facilities Show 14-16 May, NEC, Birmingham
www.facilitiesshow.com
Total Processing & Packaging 4-6 June, NEC, Birmingham
www.totalexhibition.com
Record numbers visit Southern Manufacturing show
Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2013 has been hailed as the most successful ever staged, with record numbers of visitors and exhibitors converg- ing on FIVE, Farnborough last month.
This year the show saw exhibitor numbers swell to well over 700 companies. Housed in a purpose-built venue, the event draws visitors from all over Europe to see the latest manufac-
turing technologies from some of leading suppliers. Dr Pavel Shashkov from Cambridge- Nanotherm commented: “This was our first visit and we were overwhelmed by the size of the
event – we were expecting some- thing much smaller.” Dr. Shashkov added: “We often hear talk that manufacturing is slowly dying; Clearly, it’s not dying: People need to come here and see the amazing things UK manu- facturers are doing.”
Northern Manufacturing & Electronics 2013 event, launches at Event City in Manchester on October 2 to 3.
www.industry.co.uk MARCH 2013 Factory Equipment
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