25this month
years ago
’Real’ jobs both lose and win through investment; UK car parts makers need to
shape up; UK gear association wins government support for research; fall of Berlin
Wall ripples wash up in UK; Spain in trouble; machines on stilts, and more
november 1994
In the UK, as in other industrialised Western countries, the loss of
industrial jobs (‘real’ jobs we call them) is a trend. Ironically, it is
manufacturing technology of the sort that Machinery writes about
that is in part responsible. Yet the only way to sustain high-paying
industrial jobs is for companies to invest, as the CBI sets out at an
event where it underlines the UK’s underinvestment. In fact, the
country has a performance gap with major competitors of 20-40%
across various measures, the organisation adds. Further, our
workforce also has low levels of skill, education and training.
So, seven organisations, including the CBI, have penned a letter to
the Chancellor, prior to November’s budget, asking for investmentsupporting
action. If the call is successful, we suggest that the UK’s
manufacturing sector could expand, creating those high-paying jobs
that are on the wane. (Manufacturing is 17% of the economy in 1994.)
In our second comment of the month, we note that UK
automotive component suppliers are languishing at the bottom of
the European league for productivity and quality. Two studies say so,
one UK and one German. One of the problems, says the UK study, is
low production volumes, due to the presence of many different car
makers. It creates a fragmented industry with too many standards,
it adds. But there is a solution. Japanese manufacturers have shown
that high performance is possible, but this is not travelling down the
supply chain. There are efforts, but they must be
expanded, if lower tier suppliers are to improve
and survive, we say. (In 1994, there was
something like a £3bn de cit in trade in engines
and parts; in 2017 it was over £6bn.)
In news, we celebrate the UK’s British Gear
Association’s record in winning government
backing for research. It has won funding to
support four projects, we report, but
matching industrial support is missing in
due to the UK’s lack of a big enough industry.
Some four years after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the
industrial rami cations are made ever more clear as Traub becomes
Traub-Heckert. Heckert was one of East Germany’s metalcutting
jewels, was home to the German Democratic Republic’s machine tool
research institute and also pioneered exible manufacturing systems
in Europe. The Heckert operation has maintained its Chemnitz base.
In fact, Traub’s Reichenbach site is full to capacity, so it’s a
necessity. The broader offer is welcomed by the UK operation.
Staying with Germany and Walter has announced its radical new
tool grinding machine concept, the 5-axis Helitronic Power CNC. The
company says it heralds a new era in the manufacture and regrinding
of cutting tools. The Helitronic brand continues today, of course.
In Spain, following our visit to the country’s BIEMH machine tool
show, the predicament of the industry is clear. Production has fallen
20% year on year and industrial reorganisation is underway. It is the
state of the national economy that is driving this downturn; machine
tool exports are actually on the up. In a sign of the times, machines
at the show were proudly heralding their compliance with the
European Safety Directive. As of 1 January 1995, only CE-marked
machines can be placed on the market on Europe.
And in the USA, the International Machine Tool Show has just
concluded. We report on developments that include ceramic
slideways and several hexapod-style machine tools that see a milling
spindle manipulated by six extending/contracting legs. The inclusion
of standard PC elements within CNC units is another trend.
Feature articles this month take in: David Brown’s just-in-time
factory built to deliver a $50m order for tractor transaxles for an
American customer; revolutionary CMM software from Eley
Metrology; after-sales service; Kitagawa Europe’s UK chuck
manufacturing facility in Salisbury; low-cost aerospace imports
threaten UK suppliers; exible automation; sheet metal punching at
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nov 94
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Key Events
BBC1 broadcasts
rst episode of
The Vicar of
Dibley, starring
Dawn French
▼ ▼ ▼
PA
PA
PA
the production technology area, we lament,
FG Wilson; and high speed prismatic machining.
Swedish population votes in
favour of accession to the EU
George Foreman,
45, becomes boxing’s
oldest heavyweight
champion, knocks out
Michael Moorer
First UK
National
Lottery
draw
▼
Norway
referendum
rejects accession
to the EU
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Amazon.com domain
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