Sector Focus
Paint improves wind turbines
A Sparkhill-based paint specialist is helping a gas turbine overhaul business improve the performance of its products. Indestructible Paint Ltd, of
Pentos Drive, Sparkhill, has been helping Lincoln firm Turbine Efficiency by supplying it with a new chrome-free coating that can withstand temperatures of up to 1000°C. Turbine Efficiency had been
seeking a chrome-free coating in order to fulfil its obligations under ‘REACH’, which are European Union regulations governing the use of certain chemical substances. The new coating will help
protect the gas turbines, which Turbine Efficiency supplies to a range of markets. Indestructible global sales
manager John Bourke said: “We are supplying our Chrome-Free IPAL (CFIPAL) coating to Turbine Efficiency which provides resistance to both high and low temperature hot corrosion and is used by the company specifically for hot section components.”
Manufacturing
Preparation is needed for fourth industrial revolution
The UK is at risk of missing out on manufacturing jobs and investment if it fails to embrace the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution by preparing its workforce for technological transformation. That’s the view of leading
advanced manufacturing expert Dr Lina Huertas. The world’s major manufacturing
companies are now looking for a digitally-enabled supply chain and employees who have the knowledge and technological skills to support an end-to-end digital transformation, according to the head of digital technology strategy at the Manufacturing Technology Centre. Dr Huertas said traditional stable
jobs were being replaced by dynamic careers in digital manufacturing. The UK must recognise that fact
and prepare its factories and workforce for the change, or global companies would migrate to more digitally mature economies where talent is available.
‘Major manufacturers need a supply chain with a talent pool’
She was speaking ahead of a
major international conference at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry. Some of Europe’s leading experts
on the digital revolution sweeping through manufacturing industry joined forces at the conference, ‘Digitalising Manufacturing 2018: Grasping the Opportunity’. The conference heard that the fourth industrial revolution
Dr Lina Huertas
represents huge potential for UK manufacturers, but companies need a strategy and more investment in skills and technology to reap the benefits. Dr Huertas said: “In the 1970s
and 80s Japanese companies leapfrogged the UK and Europe in terms of competitiveness and productivity by adopting new manufacturing processes and putting people at the centre of the change. “There is a danger this could
happen again as the world’s economies wake up to the digital revolution that is happening now. The major manufacturers need a supply chain with a talent pool of people prepared for the changes that technology brings. “There is evidence that the UK is
already losing out in the field of automation, with manufacturers moving to economies where the skills are available, such as Germany and Japan. It is vital that our schools, colleges and factories prepare people for the skills required in a digital economy.”
Contract boost delivers the perfect birthday gift
Thirty years of success: The Mechatronic team
A Birmingham automation and smart factory specialist is celebrating its 30th birthday and a clutch of new contracts wins across aerospace, automotive, food and drink and healthcare. Mechatronic Solutions, which
employs 50 people at its Kings Norton facility, has secured £1.5m of new orders to supply assembly systems for self-administering drugs, a robotic sensory test facility and new machines that will help companies assemble parts for one of the UK’s leading car makers. The recent growth will see the
company hit £7m in annual sales in 2018 and underlines the industry’s growing desire for robotics, automation and integration of
72 CHAMBERLINK December 2018/January 2019
Industry 4.0 into its manufacturing processes. To mark its big birthday, the firm
hosted a special open day to give customers and suppliers the opportunity to gain an insight into its different solutions. Founder Richard Evans said:
“When we established Mechatronic Solutions in 1988, we set out with a passion for developing advanced technologies. “The transformation over 30
years has been remarkable. We’ve gone from a small start-up to a firm supplying blue chip companies in the UK, Ireland, Europe and Malaysia, working with big names including Rolls-Royce, Accord Healthcare and IAC.”
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 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
