A project that helped to safeguard the UK’s energy supplies by repairing two critical Ex-rated 16MW motors, each weighing 51 tonnes, has been chosen as project of the year in the annual AEMT awards, which were presented recently at a ceremony in Coventry.
The Nineteen Group, the exhibition organiser which recently acquired the Drives & Controls Show and its sister events AirTech and Fluid Power & Systems from DFA Media, has announced that they will appear as “zones” at the Manufacturing & Engineering Week event at the NEC in June 2023, before returning as stand-alone exhibitions in 2024.
The Government is delaying the compulsory use of the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) safety mark by a further two years, giving businesses until 31 December 2024 to prepare for the scheme. Announcing the delay, Business Secretary Grant Shapps said it will give “thousands of businesses the freedom to focus on growth”.
Almost 80% of UK manufacturers have increased their spending on digital technologies in the past two years, with a similar number planning to do so in the coming two, according to a new survey by the manufacturers’ association Make UK and the enterprise software specialist Infor.
The industrial products supplier Eriks has invested £21m in its UK business, principally on a fulfilment centre in Oldbury that expands its product range as well as slashing its delivery times from an average of four days, to a day or two.
Plymouth, UK based Applied Automation has signed a sole UK distribution agreement with the Danish collaborative robotics specialist, Spin Robotics, to sell its easy-to-use end-of-arm screwdriving tools for cobot-based assembly applications. Spin’s products will be added to Applied Automation’s industrial automation products supported and sold through its technical distribution division in Cardiff.
Six out of ten UK manufacturers are planning to invest more over the coming two years, with 69% planning to boost their investment in skills, 55% planning capital expenditure on plant and machinery, an 40% planning to spend money on R&D, according to a survey by the manufacturers' association, Make UK and the accountancy firm, RSM UK.
The University of Nottingham has become the first UK institution to create an independent business for industrialising electrical motors and drive systems. The new Nottingham Drive Specialist Services (NDSS) will develop, manufacture and test motors and drives for companies around the world.
The UK industrial software developer Aveva is offering its products on a subscription model, allowing customers to buy “credits” which they can exchange for any items in Aveva’s portfolio. The subscriptions are available for periods of one to five years, and the credits are consumed on a monthly basis. Traditional sales yardsticks such as I/O and tag counts are no longer used.
DFA Media Group has sold the Drives & Controls Show, and its co-located events – Plant & Asset Management, Fluid Power & Systems, Airtech and Smart Industry Expo – to Nineteen Group, which organises the annual Manufacturing + Engineering Week (M+E Week) event at the Birmingham NEC. The terms of the transaction have not been revealed.
Leadec, the German-headquartered service specialist for factories, has bought the UK process automation specialist and systems integrator, Elmleigh Electrical Systems, for an undisclosed sum. Elmleigh’s customers include some of the biggest names in the food and beverage and parcel distribution sectors in the UK and Europe.
The UK’s largest and most advanced r&d facility for robotics and artificial intelligence, the £22.4m National Robotarium, has opened its doors at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. The centre has also announced an applied engineering and research collaboration with the multi-billion dollar company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), covering joint research across disciplines including soft robotics, field robotics, cobots and tele-operations.
UK manufacturers are having to compete with the financial sector and other high-paying parts of the economy to recruit the data specialists that they need to drive the move to digitalisation. A new survey by the British manufacturers’ group Make UK and the accountancy firm Sage reveals that more than a quarter (27%) of UK manufacturers say that they now need data analysts to help them make the transition to the digital era.
A technology centre due to open next year will help UK companies to deliver the next generation of electric motors. The Winding Centre of Excellence (WCE) is being set up by the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), part of the University of Warwick, and is being partly funded by £4m from UKRI’s (UK Research and Innovation) Driving the Electric Revolution Challenge programme. The WMG High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC) is contributing a further £300,000.
BGEN, the multi-discipline engineering business previously known as Boulting, has acquired Radway Control Systems to strengthen its industrial automation offering. The purchase will support BGEN’s ambition to expand in sectors including renewables and steel, and boost its presence in the automation aftermarket and service sector.
