COMBILIFT BREAKS GROUND ON £40M FACILITY
Combilift managing director Martin McVicar and technical director Robert Moffett formally turned the sod on a new €40 million manufacturing facility in Monaghan on 17 August. They were accompanied on this
significant occasion by Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys, head of industrial products at Enterprise Ireland Tom Kelly and chief executive of Monaghan County Council Eugene Cummins along with Combilift’s 350 staff. This date marked the official
start of construction for a purpose- built 46,000 square metre, greenfield manufacturing facility which will be built on 40 hectares of industrial zoned land on the Monaghan by-pass. Larger than originally announced, the expanded facility will position Combilift to double its current €150 million turnover by 2020. The overall project is expected to create 200 jobs during the 18 months construction period with a further 200 jobs set to be created in
the next five years, mainly for skilled technicians and design engineers. In addition, 21 September 2015 will see the first intake of students to the Assembly Technician Traineeship in the Monaghan Institute. Combilift is delighted to be a
workplace partner for the traineeship which together with a recently approved Apprenticeship for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) Technicians due to start next year, will ensure the supply of locally qualified staff. The multi-function
Want to keep up to date? Then follow us on Twitter: @CI_FactoryEquipment and/or ‘Like’ us on Facebook!
MANUFACTURERS ACT IN FACE OF CHINA SLOWDOWN
Manufacturers are increasing their vigilance in key markets in light of growing risks and uncertainty in the global economy, according to a survey of almost 300 companies published 30 August by EEF. As a consequence of the stock
market turbulence in China the shadow of crisis talks in the euro zone and the potential for further trade restrictions with Russia economic forecasters aren’t the only ones reviewing their outlook for the months ahead:
A
s we go to press the prospect of a hike in the cost of
borrowing will continue to distract investors as the focus shifts to the Bank of England following China’s recent stock market collapse and disappointing US jobs data. Economists are not expecting
an immediate rise in interest rates from their historic low of 0.5% but looking for fresh signals from governor Mark Carney about when an increase may finally come. No surprise then that UK manufacturing has suffered from this global economic uncertainty, according to the latest quarterly research from the EEF.
Susan Deane Editor 4 SEPTEMBER 2015 | FACTORY EQUIPMENT
l 47% of companies are concerned about the possible sharp slowdown in China of which 10% are reviewing their business plans; 37% are monitoring events more closely ● the most directly exposed manufacturing sectors to Chinese demand are road vehicles (16% of exports to China), metal working machinery (8%); leather goods (7%) l companies in the mechanical equipment and metal products sectors are most likely to be incorporating a weaker Chinese growth profile into their business plans (17% and 13% respectively) l level of concern about a China slowdown is affected by company size; the smallest companies (turnover less than £5m) least likely to be worried and those with £50m+ turnover most likely to look at business plan scenarios l fears about Greece leaving the euro zone linger with only 22% of
manufacturers saying they are unconcerned about a re-escalation of the crisis in Greece. l in comparison to events in China and the euro zone there is less concern about the possibility of an extension or enlargement of the EU’s sanctions on Russia; 30% of manufacturers report concern along with building into business plan or closer monitoring “For some sectors in
manufacturing the slowdown in China isn’t a new story as we’ve seen exports of vehicles to China on the slide since the end of last year,” comments EEF chief economist Lee Hopley. “Overall, UK factories send only a small proportion of their goods to Chinese customers but a sharper slowdown would see a halt to growth in export sales through supply chains in Europe. Time will tell whether this takes a further toll on growth across the sector.”
BLUEPRINT FOR INVENTORY REDUCTION
Keeping control of inventory has probably never been harder but using an Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) system that includes a detailed, comprehensive view of stock in its workings can make a significant contribution to the struggle.
The need for an APS to keep
control of inventory are explored in a new white paper from Access Group: The Blueprint for inventory reduction. “Supply bases are changing through outsourcing, offshoring and globalisation which makes them more vulnerable to a host of risks,” says business development manager
Mike Straiton. “Expectations fuelled by the Internet makes consumer and therefore business demand far more volatile and unpredictable. “This all impacts upon inventory
carrying policy while the indirect costs of excess inventory remain. When it comes to achieving accurate, robust and timely planning and scheduling, manual methods and spreadsheets can’t keep pace and ERP systems are too coarse-grained. Using an APS system however will
enable an organisation to drive down inventory to its minimum.” To receive a copy of the white paper:
Natalie.Smith@
theaccessgroup.com
facility will include a dedicated research and development building with adjoining administrational offices and manufacturing facilities which will include a purpose built testing area. “Combilift is delighted to break ground on our new facility,” says McVicar. “It shows our commitment to manufacturing in Monaghan as well as to the regional economy.” The company was set up by Martin
McVicar and Robert Moffett in 1998.
www.combilift.com
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Changes to the European Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) regulations that came into force in July highlight the ongoing challenge the UK manufacturing sector is facing with regard to waste management.
It's encouraging to see ongoing regulatory reform seeking to help manufacturers identify risks posed by waste output, whether it's commercial, industrial or hazardous. However, a recent report from
the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) showed that commercial and industrial waste rose almost 6% in the three years from 2009-2012 to nearly 48m tonnes. So it Is hardly surprising that global spend on personal protective equipment (PPE), a legal obligation for UK employers, is in the region of $33.7bn (roughly £23.4bn) globally. The transport, storage and handling of chemical drums in particular pose significant risks to plant and factory workers. Products currently available are advertised as pH neutral despite not being so. Having developed our own pH
neutral solution at NCH Europe our lab tests have proven where pH neutrality is concerned not all that glitters is gold. I would advise that users of pH neutral solutions don't just read the label but check that it is in fact a neutral solution.
Peter Crossen VP Maintenance & Partsmaster Innovation Platform NCH Europe
www.ncheurope.com
/ FACTORYEQUIPMENT
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56