ROUND-UP MAY/JUNE 2020
In Brief
Industry
Battery gigafactory plans
Two locations in Wales have
been highlighted as potential
locations for the UK’s first
battery ‘gigafactory’, the MoU
for which was signed by two
leading battery manufacturers,
AMTE Power and Britishvolt.
The factory will help meet
growing demand as the UK
strives to reach zero emissions
targets by 2050.
Thornton & Ross
New Zoflora line opens
Yorkshire-based pharmaceutical
manufacturer, Thornton &
Ross, has unveiled a new
multi-million-pound, highspeed
production line (above)
which will increase capacity for
disinfectant brand, Zoflora.
With the existing facility
producing 60 million bottles
of Zoflora each year, the new
technologically advanced 600m2
bottling and filling line has
increased output by 100% to
18,000 bottles an hour
Schneider plant to grow
Schneider Electric has
announced the expansion
and upgrade of its switchgear
factory in Scarborough. The
expansion of the site includes
a new, 1,000m2 extension and
a £1.5 million, state-of-the-art
paint shop. The upgrade will
boost capacity and productivity
at the site, as well as helping it
meet local targets on reducing
waste and achieving net-zero
emissions by 2025.
Union condemns
RR job losses
Following news that
Rolls Royce is to shed
9,000 jobs as the
pandemic wreaks havoc
on the global aviation
industry, a union has
rounded on the
company, accusing it of
‘shameful opportunism’.
“This company has
accepted public money
to furlough thousands
of workers,” said Steve
Turner, assistant
general secretary for
manufacturing at Unite.
“Taxpayers deserve a
more responsible
approach to a national
emergency.”
Turner added that he
was concerned that the
move marked a return to
the “dark days of the
1980s, when businesses
ran away from their
responsibilities to
workers who were the
basis of their success.
Actions then
condemned hundreds
of thousands to
unemployment and our
status as a major
manufacturing nation
was destroyed. Our
country became a
divided and depleted
place as a result. We
appeal to government
and employers, do not
repeat the mistakes of
the past.”
Rolls Royce is one of
many manufacturing
firms to have resorted to
job cuts during the crisis.
JLR has reduced its UK
headcount by 1100, with
luxury car makers
Bentley and Aston
Martin also announcing
redundancies. Nearly
1000 jobs at JCB,
however, were saved
after the GMB union
stepped in.
People
Glyn Jones, Tempest
delivery director at BAE
Systems, has been named
the new chair of the Made
Smarter North West pilot.
He replaces another BAE
alum, Andrea Thompson, MD
for Europe & International
business at BAE Systems
Air, as chair of the 15-strong
steering group. Commenting
on his appointment, Jones
said he was “energised
and optimistic about the
opportunity Made Smarter
brings to SME manufacturers”
and called on the industry’s
smallest companies to adopt
new technologies in order to
rebuild post-pandemic.
Sustainability
NI firm goes 100% green
Leading joinery manufacturer,
Specialist Joinery Group,
has transitioned to a fully
green electricity supply,
exclusively generated within
Northern Ireland, through a
partnership with green energy
innovators 3T Power. The
move will cut emissions at the
13,500m2 factory in Maghera,
Co. Londonderry, by over
360,000kg per year.
Post-COVID sustainability
Research by E.ON and Make
UK has led to calls for the
industry to embrace a more
sustainable way of working
following the coronavirus
pandemic. The research,
conducted prior to the
lockdown, found that firms
that put sustainability first
saw a marked increase in both
competitiveness amd profit
margins in the past 12 months.
Hot topic
The government has helped to support
886,000 jobs in the manufacturing
sector, with 831,000 jobs furloughed and
55,000 self-employed individuals receiving
grants, according to HMRC data.
Training & Skills
‘Skills pledge’ campaign
In-Comm Training has
launched a new campaign to
ensure apprenticeships are
protected during and after
the COVID-19 pandemic. The
company is asking firms in the
West Midlands to sign up to its
‘Skills Pledge’, which will see
them commit to supporting
apprentices, raising the profile
of vocational learning and
‘upskilling’ their workforces.
MTC’s hands-on learning
Manufacturing Training
Centre Training is launching
a range of development
programmes designed
to accelerate practical
experience in a commercial
manufacturing environment.
The Graduate Boot Camps will
equip graduates, technicians,
engineers and managers with
practical skills and knowledge
about shopfloor operations.
Gorodenkoff /Stock.adobe.com
8 www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk
/Stock.adobe.com
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk