INDUSTRY NEWS
SME MANUFACTURERS OPTIMISTIC DESPITE CONTINUING SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES AND PROBLEMS RECRUITING STAFF
According to the latest Manufacturing Barometer survey, organised by the South West Manufacturing Advisory Services (SWMAS) and the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), which surveyed more than 400 SMEs across the UK, small and medium- sized manufacturers are continuing to bounce back from the pandemic, despite experiencing significant supply chain and recruitment struggles. The survey found that nearly two thirds (64%)
of companies are expecting to grow over the next six months and 52% plan to invest in capital equipment and manufacturing. The report also revealed that more firms are trading at increased levels than they were before Covid-19. However, 60% of respondents stated that staff
are having to spend additional time liaising with suppliers and, despite growing sales, just over half are being forced to increase product prices
to recover some of their additional costs. Staffing issues were also a problem, with over
60% of SME manufacturers losing skilled staff since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and almost three quarters unable to replace these employees – pointing to a widening skills gap that could drastically impact the recovery over the next year. 46% believe there is a lack of available people to fill current positions, and over half (59%) feel the need to increase wages to compete with other employers looking to recruit from the same pool of potential staff. “Throughout the past 18 months,
manufacturing has exceeded expectations in its ability to innovate and adapt to current conditions, but external factors are still presenting problems,” explained Nick Golding, managing director of SWMAS.
IGUS VECTOR AWARD AIMS TO HONOUR UNIQUE APPLICATIONS USING E-CHAIN SYSTEMS
Energy chains made of plastic are no longer only found in mechanical engineering applications. They also ensure that cables and hoses are protected and guided on land, underground, at sea and even in space. In thousands of projects, energy supply systems have to master many environmental and physical challenges: from adhering to strict particle-free requirements in clean rooms in the semiconductor industry, high chemical resistance in electroplating, dirt and dust resistance in mining, and exposure to chips and dust in woodworking. In addition, these e-chains are subject to restricted installation spaces, high speeds and complex torsional movements. Now in its eighth round, the igus vector award aims to honour unique applications of energy supply
solutions using e-chain systems with cables. “The competition is a great opportunity for igus as a manufacturer to find out about our products in finished machines and systems and to learn about evenmore exciting applications,” said Justin Leonard, director of e-chain systems at igus UK. “In keeping with this, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the plastics energy chain with our customers.” The vector award offers prizemoney of up to 5000 Euros.
Developers and engineers can apply up until February 11 2022, with e-chain projects. To qualify, the projectsmust have already been completed. Apply now for the vector award via the website.
www.igus.co.uk/vector
“Lead times are being extended, logistics costs are going through the roof, and energy/material prices are extremely volatile. This all results in complex challenges for manufacturers across the UK.” He added: “Respondents are currently having
to commit an average of two full time employees to manage suppliers and customers, a number that often equates to between 5-10% of a SME manufacturer’s workforce.” Dean Barnes, regional director, added: “Half
of firms would like a Government-led ‘Buy British’ campaign to tap into an increase in demand for more local sourcing. It is clear more could be done to help the manufacturing sector at such a crucial time.”
www.swmas.co.uk
VIRTUAL TWIN TRIALS FOR LIGHTWEIGHTING GLASS
Dassault Systèmes, Ardagh Group and Exxergy will begin ‘virtual twin’ trials on Diageo’s iconic Johnnie Walker bottle in January 2022 to research and develop a coating that will enable the glass bottle to be lightweighted without compromising its strength and shape. The virtual trial will pioneer science-
based sustainable innovations to reduce the time and cost needed to test glass products, whilst also reducing the raw materials and energy used in the process. The trial will research and develop a new external coating for the glass bottle to reduce the micro-abrasions in the glass surface, which will allow the glass to be much lighter whilst maintaining its strength. The lightweight glass bottle will maintain its 100% recyclability and, if successful in the virtual trial, will undergo glass bottle testing from summer 2022. John Sadlier, chief sustainability officer at
AUTOMOTIVE OEMS RISK BEING OVERTAKEN BY DIGITAL-NATIVE EV MANUFACTURERS
According to research conducted by Wards Intelligence for Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division, traditional carmakers are not prioritising the adoption of ‘industry 4.0’ processes, and risk being blindsided by newmarket entrants. Big Tech and unicorn start-ups from Silicon
Valley, the UK and China are disrupting the EV market with advanced digitalisation and automation capabilities, enabling time-to-market reductions fromseveral years to as little as three months. The EV market is projected to soar to global sales of 34.7 million by 2030, and it is critical for OEMs to match the disruptors’ pace of innovation. Despite this, only 48% of the auto
industry report they plan to investmore in the types of SmartManufacturing strategies their competitors are using, while 25%have no plans; and only 8%of carmakers see pure-play EV manufacturers as a threat. Paolo Guglielmini, president of Hexagon’s
Manufacturing Intelligence division, said: “The need tomake EVsmore affordable at current order volumes, coupled with delivering greater choice or ‘cars-to-order’,means traditional high volumemanufacturing linesmust be replaced by more agilemanufacturing.”
https://emobility.hexagonmi.com 6 DESIGN SOLUTIONS NOVEMBER 2021
Ardagh Group, commented: “Ardagh Group has pioneered the lightweighting of glass and as a leading global supplier of infinitely recyclable, sustainable metal and glass packaging, we have a responsibility to respond to the sustainability challenges we all face. Together with our customers and supply chain partners, we are eager to explore the potential of digitalisation to drive new and innovative lightweighting solutions.” Glass lightweighting is one of the
solutions for reducing the glass sector’s
CO2 impact, and carbon emissions will be reduced in both the manufacturing of the bottle and transportation of the finished goods. Should this collaboration project be successful, it will be a major breakthrough for virtual twin technology in supporting the sustainability ambitions of the glass industry and enabling the decarbonisation of the sector as a whole.
www.3ds.com
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