CLOSING THE MANUFACTURING SKILLS GAPS T
he future of British manufacturing has been given a recent boost with the opening of a £2m training
IHS Technology has introduced the second edition of the Industrial Automation Conference 2014, taking place on 23rd-24th October 2014 at 61 Whitehall, London. The program will include an
insight into connectivity, industrial cyber security, energy efficiency, commodity pricing, emerging markets, industrial automation growth opportunities and the underpinning aspects of machinery production and capital expenditure.
www.ihs.com
MAC Solutions, developer of the ProcessVue suite of alarm management software, has announced a cross sourcing partnership agreement with Intelligent Plant, a provider of enterprise visualisation and business intelligence solutions for the oil and gas sector. The agreement will enable the companies to offer integrated, enterprise wide solutions to oil and gas customers that cover all of their products and services. John Pritchard, managing director
of MAC Solutions commented, “The agreement with Intelligent Plant means that customers can now benefit from a much wider offering of products and services from a single source. Both parties will now be able to offer customers an increased breadth of applications that cover single site installations to multi-site, enterprise wide solutions for alarm management and asset comparison.”
www.mac-solutions.net www.intelligentplant.com
As Windows XP’s end of life dawns, industrial IT solutions specialist SolutionsPT is urging businesses to take action now to avoid plant down-time. As of the 8th April Microsoft ended its support for Windows XP, leaving hundreds of users in the manufacturing, utility or infrastructure sectors without access to security updates, fixes or online technical support. Paul O’Connell of SolutionsPT
warned that ignoring this milestone could be catastrophic, “This is certainly a concern as there is still a massive installed base of Windows XP, especially in our industrial markets. Only a few months ago Microsoft was telling us that 50% of SMBs remained unaware that XP support expired in 2014. Running non-supported software puts businesses and customer data at risk. “It is not always practical to migrate
systems to a different operating system. However, there are solutions and we would advise customers to get in touch so we can assist them in either safely extending the life of XP, or work together to implement an effective migration strategy.”
www.solutionspt.com
centre by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation. The centre, located in the Midlands, has been
purpose built to train manufacturers and engineers of the future in facilities that replicate a real manufacturing environment. It will train apprentices in a variety of vital skills including milling, CNC machinery, welding and fabrication. As well as apprentices and young people, the new
centre will also provide development training for experienced employees, ensuring that they are equipped with the right skills for the future demands of modern engineering and manufacturing. This will, in turn, help tackle the increasing skills challenges of an ageing workforce. Its opening is seen as a key step in securing the future
of British manufacturing. The UK is the world’s eighth largest manufacturer, currently employing 2.6 million people and accounting for 11% of GDP. However, for this success story to carry on at a pace, manufacturers need to attract fresh, talented new employees - with training
playing a crucial role in their development. Terry Scuoler, chief executive at EEF, said, “Young
people are the future of manufacturing - their skills and talents are the lifeblood that allows British businesses to develop and grow. However, this lifeblood is still only trickling through when we need a strong and steady flow. This centre is an important step in encouraging youngsters into our sector so that we can start to close the skills gap.”
www.eef.org.uk
FROM THE SOUTH COAST TO SHANGHAI
Autoclave & Industrial Controls, part of the AIC Group based in Poole, has designed and built a new hot drape former (HDF) costing $2.7m for a Chinese aerospace manufacturer in Shanghai. Hot drape formers are used to pre-form the carbon fibre used to make wing spars for the new aircraft. AIC commissioned a new 10,000ft2 factory to manufacture the 20m long and 1.5m wide machine. “It is a tremendous endorsement
of British manufacturing and engineering and shows we are at the forefront of the global race,” said Tony Toll, chief executive, AIC. The drive system components worked first time once they were installed, and integrated into the controls
system without issues. The project was completely assembled and tested at AIC’s special projects facility in Poole. Part of the design brief was to be able to break the machine into parts for transfer. Although it still required ten large trucks. Toll concluded, “This is the largest
machine we have manufactured to date. It is a tremendous endorsement of British manufacturing and engineering and shows we are at the forefront of the global race. Our customers could have chosen to go to a number of different countries around the world. They chose here because of our skills, knowledge and experience.”
www.aicservice.com
ADDRESSING THE UK TRADE DEFICIT
Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy has lent his support to local industrial automation component supplier European Automation in a letter endorsing the company’s efforts to increase international trade in the region. European Automation is an obsolete automation
component supplier that has delivered to every postcode in the UK and every country in Europe. Despite 88% of the company’s business being export, European Automation’s central office is located in Staffordshire’s county town of Stafford. “I first met European Automation in early 2012 and
was impressed by the company's positive approach to their industry,” said Lefroy in the letter. “Moreover, I found the way the company addresses international trade enormously compelling.” “The letter we received from Jeremy Lefroy is a real
confidence boost for us,” said Jonathan Wilkins, European Automation’s marketing manager. “Our unique business model has given us the opportunity to take advantage of
6 MAY 2014 | AUTOMATION
international trade and it’s always good to be recognised by high profile members of the community. “There’s been a lot in the news recently about the
need to increase the levels of international trade in the UK. What people don’t know is that international trade did actually expand by 0.3% last year. I believe that companies like ourselves, who individually are a drop in the ocean but who collectively represent a force to be reckoned with, made a strong contribution.”
www.euautomation.com
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