The Motor Driven Systems (MDS) conference, held for the past two years in Solihull, is changing format this year, to become a series of regional one-day events being held at locations around the UK, from October to December.
ABB says that its variable speed drive recycling scheme in the UK set a new record last year, with 31 tonnes of drives being recycled during the year. More than 96% by weight of the drives were recycled, with much of the copper, aluminium, circuit boards, steel and cables being recovered for further use.
igus UK has launched a service to supply complete bespoke bearing assemblies, thus saving time and money for customers. The company will manufacture housings to customer’s drawings and specifications, fit them with igus plastic bearings, and supply the complete assemblies ready to install.
WEG Electric Motors has joined forces with Sulzer to launch an energy-reduction initiative, aimed at helping manufacturers to optimise the efficiencies of equipment in their plants.
Spelsberg UK, the specialist supplier of non-metallic enclosures, has moved to new headquarters in Telford that will allow it to almost double its stock, while also cutting lead times for orders that need customisation.
The Quartzelec electrical engineering group has completed the first phase of a £1.25m investment programme in its Quartzcoil coil-manufacturing business to meet a growing demand for coil and bar products. It has installed electrical loop winding, bar assembly and coil-forming equipment at its purpose-built multi-million-pound workshop and test facility which it opened in Rugby, UK, in September 2012.
Great Yarmouth based Softstart UK has formed a strategic partnership with the Taiwanese industrial automation manufacturer Delta Electronics to sell and support its AC drives, PLCs and HMIs in the UK. Although Delta is not well-known in the UK, its products have been available before carrying the names of some major automation suppliers.
The UK industrial sector is overspending on energy by more than £2.2bn a year, according to a new analysis by the Energy Efficiency Financing (EEF) scheme, which finances the acquisition of energy-efficient equipment. The analysis, based on official sources and EEF data, examined several sectors to determine how much they were overpaying on their energy bills because of inefficient equipment and controls.
The US mechanical components company Timken has bought Plymouth-based Interlube Systems for an undisclosed sum. Interlube, which makes and sells automated lubrication delivery systems and related components, is a world leader in its field with an operation in the US and a joint venture in China. The purchase includes Cheltenham-based MSP Distributors, which Interlube acquired in 2007.
The Quartzelec electrical engineering group has completed the first phase of a £1.25m investment programme in its Quartzcoil coil-manufacturing business to meet a growing demand for coil and bar products. It has installed electrical loop winding, bar assembly and coil-forming equipment at its purpose-built multi-million-pound workshop and test facility which it opened in Rugby, UK, in September 2012.
SKF has appointed Olaf de Bakker as the new manager of its UK and Ireland business. He has been with SKF since 1996 and has held a variety of roles, including MD of SKF Pakistan and, most recently, vice-president for industrial distribution and marketing for the Asia-Pacific region. He was based in Singapore for nearly five years in this role.
Siemens has joined forces with the Government to launch a scheme that will provide teachers, students and parents with information to encourage young people to engage with engineering- and manufacturing-related subjects. Called the Siemens Education Portal, it will be rolled out to 5,000 schools across the UK by 2014, with the target of reaching more than 1.95m pupils within the first year, and 4.5m by 2016.
A new business targeting the safety, explosion-proof and medical markets in the UK and Ireland has been set up by Stephen Hill (below), formerly general manager of steute’s UK subsidiary. He has formed the business in partnership with steute and a Dutch company called forTop, with Hill holding a 30% stake and his partners holding 35% each
The precision positioning specialist, Physik Instrumente (PI), has launched an application and product customisation service in the UK to meet a growing demand for bespoke mechanical positioning systems delivering nanometric levels of precision.
