This month’s Smart Factory Expo provides an excellent opportunity to meet some of the UK’s most innovative businesses. Simon Edmonds previews this year’s Made Smarter Innovation Alley, previews the latest plans for Innovate UK’s regional engagement events, and outlines three funding opportunities for manufacturers.Fifty of the most innovative businesses are exhibiting at this year’s Made…
More plug-in vehicles will hit British roads in 2021 than during the whole of the last decade, according to the latest forecast from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).Between 2010 and 2019, a total of 271,962 new BEVs and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) were registered in the UK. This year alone, SMMT says…
The current energy crisis threatens UK industry and manufacturing – but cheaper gas is not the answer in the long term. What’s needed is a fundamental change to the way we run our factories, says Innovate UK’s Dr Ben Walsh.The current spike in energy prices poses a huge problem for the UK. While rising home-heating…
A Yorkshire manufacturer has invested £200k in new equipment that will increase its capacity.Haworth-based Airedale Springs says the machine, a Wafios FMU16+, will help it meet increased manufacturing demands and forms part of a wider plan to improve efficiency across the company. The leading spring manufacturer says it chose to invest in the Wafios FMU16+…
LIBERTY Steel UK (LSUK) has relaunched production at its Rotherham plant, several months after it shut down for the summer. Operations at LIBERTY’s GREENSTEEL Rotherham electric arc furnace will take place overnight, when energy costs are cheaper.The Sanjeev Gupta-owned group’s Rotherham plant, which produces sustainably-produced steel for growth markets such as infrastructure and high-value engineering…
With all eyes fixed on the upcoming 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Lee Collinson, National Head of Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics at Barclays, looks at the path to net zero and some of the benefits that can be afforded by manufacturers by following a sustainability-first agenda.In line with its…
iBASEt and ATS Global have announced a partnership that will help the former scale its roll-out of manufacturing operations solutions.iBASEt, the company that simplifies how complex products are built and maintained, today announced an expanded global partnership with ATS Global, the independent solution provider for smart digital transformation. The partnership will leverage ATS Global’s network…
The possibilities of the transition to Industry 4.0 manufacturing processes are limitless. However, the rise of digital technology and greater connectivity marks a new level of complexity for manufacturers in the context of cyber security. What is cyber resilience? Simply put cyber resilience is ensuring your digital infrastructure is equipped to withstand sustained cyber-attacks. The…
A £70m global investment is set to help boost production capacity for 3M Commercial Solutions Division’s clients in the UK.The company, which helps customers build brands and transform spaces with total graphics and signage solutions, will now be able to meet growing demand by tapping into additional capacity at the state-of-the-art facility in Hilden, Germany.…
One of the UK’s leading independent system integrators has created 16 new jobs ahead of the official launch of its new smart building in Telford.iconsys, which provides industrial automation, enterprise integration and sustainable services, is in the final stages of its relocation to a 17,500 sq ft site on Stafford Park that will deliver a…
Residents of a cul-de-sac in San Francisco say their neighbourhood is regularly playing host to a gathering of Waymo self driving cars and they don’t know why.According to local news station KPIX, the self driving cars have been driving up and down the “dead-end” street at all hours of the day “for weeks”, with no…
Against a backdrop of global supply problems, this quarter’s Manufacturing Barometer is focusing on industry’s recruitment and supply chain challenges in a bid to find out how SMEs are addressing staffing issues while meeting current and future demand.The survey (link at the bottom of this article), organised by the South West Manufacturing Advisory Service (SWMAS) and…