INDUSTRY NEWS
JCB joins national call to action over ventilator shortage
JCB is poised to re-start production at a factory closed as a result of the coronavirus crisis in order to join the national effort to manufacture ventilators, the company announced on Monday 30 March.
JCB received a direct appeal from Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier in March to help plug the national ventilator shortage and to help save lives of coronavirus patients. Following the approach, JCB Chairman Lord Bamford promised to help in any way the company could and immediately mobilised a research and engineering team to examine potential ways to assist.
JCB is restarting production at a factory which had been closed as a result of the coronavirus crisis. But instead of making cabs for JCB diggers, the plant is being mobilised to make special steel housings for a brand-new design of ventilator from Dyson. A minimum of 10,000 of the JCB housings are earmarked for manufacture once Dyson receives regulatory approval for its design.
The first prototypes of the housings have been delivered to Dyson after rolling off the production line at JCB’s £50 million Cab Systems factory in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, which Boris Johnson visited during the election campaign. The factory fell silent on 18 March along with eight other JCB UK manufacturing plants after a fall in demand caused by the coronavirus crisis. Mass
production of the housings could start in a matter of days.
JCB Chairman Lord Bamford said: “When we were approached by the Prime Minister we were determined, as a British company, to help in any way we could. This project has gone from design to production in just a matter of days and I am delighted that we have been able to deploy the skills of our talented engineering, design and fabrication teams so quickly at a time of national crisis. This is also a global crisis, of course, and we will naturally help with the production of more housings if these ventilators are eventually required by other countries.”
JCB’s response to the national call to action would see the return to work for around 50 employees affected by an extended company shutdown announced at the end of March. JCB suspended production at its nine UK production plants until at least the end of April as a result of the coronavirus crisis and furloughed the vast majority of its 6,500 workforce. The company is paying them 80% of their basic pay for the next month, regardless of what they earn.
Employees returning to work to help manufacture the ventilator housings will be paid 100% of their normal pay.
iF Design Award for Hultafors Tools
IN addition to the Red Dot Design Award for Workwear, the Hultafors Group has just won the iF Design Award for the Hultafors Snap-Off Knife (SRP18A) and the HDM Dry Marker.
With over 7200 entries from 56 countries, competition was intense. After much deliberation, the 78-member jury - made up of independent experts from around the world – chose Hultafors’ innovative knife and marker products as winners in the Tools category for their innovative, ergonomic designs and user-friendly features.
Considered to be one of the world's most prestigious product accolades and
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renowned as a symbol of innovation and quality for nearly 70 years, the iF DESIGN AWARD has been recognised globally as a hallmark of quality for exceptional product design for nearly 70 years.
Getting information on the Hultafors Tools range is easy. You can call the Hultafors Group UK Helpline on 01484 854788,
Checkout the website at
www.hultaforstools.co.uk or email
sales@hultaforsgroup.co.uk
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