Optimism about the business environment among Britain’s small and medium-sized (SME) manufacturers has risen at the fastest pace since records began in 1988, on the back of improving demand and output, according to the latest SME Trends Survey released by the UK business organisation, the CBI.
Siemens has opened a small “factory within a factory” at its drives production plant at Congleton in the UK, that will be run by commercial and technical apprentices aged 16 to 21.
The automotive engineering and manufacturing group, Cosworth, has announced plans to open a factory based on a state-of-the-art flexible manufacturing system (FMS) that, it says, will be unique in the UK and will manufacture components for some of the world’s most advanced engines. Its customers will include global brands in the automotive industry.
Autodesk, the US-based developer of AutoCad, is buying Delcam, the British supplier of manufacturing software, in a deal that values the UK business at £172.5m. The transaction will be structured as a cash offer for all of Delcam's shares and is expected to close in Autodesk’s first quarter of fiscal 2015.
The British government has pledged nearly £49m of funding to develop engineering skills in the UK in response to a major report that highlights the skills shortages faced by the UK and recommends ways to tackle them.
If manufacturing does not continue to play a powerful role in the UK economy, the country risks being left behind its international competitors, a new Government report has warned.
Eaton has invested more than £3.8m in its Worksop site in the UK where it manufactures rotary cam switches and switch disconnectors. The investment has increased the plant’s capacity to meet the growing global demand for the company’s switches.
ABB has launched a scheme that will allow UK manufacturers to trade in old robots and get a discount of up to £4,000 off the cost of a new robot. The scheme, which is part of ABB’s drive to encourage the take-up of robotic automation in UK manufacturing, is open to end-users from any industry.
Optimism among UK manufacturers has risen at the fastest rate since April 2010 as orders and output continued to grow steadily in the three months to October, according to the latest quarterly Industrial Trends Survey from the CBI (Conferderation of British Industry).
EEF, the UK manufacturers’ organisation, is launching an HR (human resources) consultancy to help manufacturers to adapt their businesses from survival mode to take advantage of the recovery.
The original owners of the power transmission distributor, Distag, which joined forces with the Indian manufacturer Pix Transmission in 1999 to form Pix Europe, have bought back their share of the business and set up a new company to distribute Pix products in the UK and Ireland. Pix will continue to sell its products in mainland Europe through PIX Transmissions Europe.
An overwhelming majority (85%) of British manufacturers believe that that the UK must remain part of the European Union, according to a survey of members of EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation. The manufacturers say that EU membership is critical to exports, and that the economic benefits far outweigh concerns about regulation or the repatriation of powers.
The first in a series of one-day conferences on saving energy in motor-driven apparatus has taken place in Scotland. The Motor Driven Systems (MDS) conferences are aimed at helping industry professionals to generate financial savings from their motor-driven installations.
Small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses in the UK could be losing out on millions of pounds as a result of poor internal systems, according to a new survey which reveals that almost a quarter (23%) of SME manufacturers have forgotten to invoice for goods or services at least once.
The British government’s Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) has launched a campaign aimed at raising the profile of SME (small to medium sized) manufacturers in England and role they play in driving economic growth. The sector includes more than 80,000 businesses employing 1.1 million people and contributes £140bn to GDP.
