Qimtek

Small to medium-sized (SME) manufacturers are being encouraged to have their say on trading beyond Brexit as part of the latest Manufacturing Barometer.

Organised by SWMAS (The South West Manufacturing Advisory Service) and the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), the country’s largest survey of its kind is looking to find out how companies are coping with the early months of life after leaving the EU and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The latest Contract Manufacturing Index showed that the subcontracting market was down 46% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020 compared to the previous quarter. Year on year though the market barely moved, ending 2021 1% high than it ended 2020.

Those figures, though, conceal a volatile 12 months.  

A strong start to the year was followed by a dramatic fall at the start of the March lockdown. A strong recovery followed in the summer, with activity falling back again from September.

Alucast’s commitment to investing in new technology and its people was praised during a recent visit by the Mayor of the West Midlands.

Andy Street received a socially distanced tour of the aluminium casting specialist’s  facility in Wednesbury to understand how the company is bouncing back from Covid-19 by targeting new opportunities in lightweighting - a major growth market with castings at its heart.

The French company UTAC CERAM and the British Millbrook group are to merge to create a new automotive testing and development organisation.

Both companies are key partners to automotive customers in Europe and around the world, and the merger will create a market leading group in vehicle testing, homologation and emerging technologies for autonomous, connected and electric vehicles.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021, subject to the normal regulatory clearances. This merger would double the Group's revenues.

Calder Group has launched Calder Precision Engineering, a wholly owned division, integrating the capability, capacity and technologies of Midland Aerospace, Helander Precision Engineering and Leeds Bronze Engineering.

Tim Pryce, the CEO of Calder Precision Engineering, said: “The decision to unite the companies under one umbrella reflects the greater agility that can be achieved from integrating their incredible resources and thus enhance the value we can bring our customers.

Fabrication is nearing completion and assembly underway on a £1 million 250kW gravity-based energy storage demonstrator at the port of Leith.

Fife fabricator AJS Production was contracted to deliver the base frame and the weight baskets for the innovative Gravitricity prototype. The system’s lattice tower has been fabricated by ESL engineers in Hull, while custom-built winches and control modules have been made by international winch specialists Huisman at its factory in the Czech Republic and are currently being shipped to Leith.

Birmingham-based Burcas has invested in a new large-capacity vertical machining centre to produce tooling, prototypes and high precision components for the nuclear sector.

The Doosan Mynx 9500/50 machine was supplied by Mills CNC and has also been used to machine high-precision tungsten carbide and HSS knives and blades for customers in the paper and packaging sector.

Advances in accessibility, reliability, materials offering, and part quality have made 3D printers a powerful tool for implementing continuous improvement initiatives, writes Dave Veisz, VP Engineering at MakerBot.

Continuous improvement (CI) is not a new concept. In order to create a competitive advantage, organisations should focus on making small, incremental improvements as rapidly as possible, instead of relying on large-scale changes that can be costly and disruptive to implement. 

Sarginsons is looking forward to growth in 2021 following a year of investment.

The Coventry-based lightweight castings and component specialist has invested in technology and people despite the challenges of Covid-19 and has even been winning new contracts during the pandemic.

Managing Director Anthony Evans said the company’s diversification and increased consultancy activity through the Sarginsons Technology Centre could be the catalyst for growth in 2021.

The quality of Standard Machine Components is imperative in the manufacturing and engineering world, as they pave the foundation in reliable equipment for the end user. However, not all companies have these key values at heart, and with poor production, comes poor quality and lower costs. The long-standing company ethic behind Elesa has always been, and will continue to be, proven, tried and tested, high quality Machine Components.

Elesa have long been market leaders in the use of reinforced technopolymers for robust industrial applications and specialised environments – so they are again delighted to announce new hinge products in this material. The Elesa range of hinges in engineering plastics are designed for protective enclosures, cabinets and frames where strength, lightness, cost and corrosion resistance are key factors in provision of doors or access panels.