MARCH 2020 ROUND-UP
Did you hear... The best soundbites from around the industry
“This announcement has caused major concerns among our membership. If the
proposed legislation is implemented, many feel it will have a detrimental impact.”
Rodney Steel, chief executive of the BCMPA, warns that the government’s proposed
post-Brexit immigration controls will jeopardise the long-term prosperity of the industry.
Pic of the month
“For now, manufacturers need to get on with influencing the factors within their
powers, such as controlling costs and remaining flexible in their planning.”
Lee Collinson, head of manufacturing at Barclays, says that February’s PMI data – the
highest since April ‘19 – was tempered by concerns around coronavirus and the economy.
Warwick Manufacturing Group
HRH the Prince of Wales has officially opened one of Europe’s largest automotive research
and development centres. The £150 million, 33,000m2 National Automotive Innovation
Centre (NAIC) at Warwick Manufacturing Group (part of the University of Warwick) will act as
a hub for advanced researchers, engineers and designers to explore future mobility challenges
and shape the future of the automotive sector. Jaguar Land Rover has been closely involved
in the NAIC project, and used the opening to demonstrate its latest advanced research vehicle,
the next stage of its ‘Destination Zero’ mission to make societies safer and healthier, and
the environment cleaner. “We are committed to delivering the skills required to keep the UK
globally competitive and are developing curriculums, such as our digital degree apprentice
programme, to enable emerging technology and mobility solutions,” commented Professor
David Mullins, interim head of Warwick Manufacturing Group.
Green energy
pioneer expands
FeTu, a Yorkshire startup
whose award-winning
green energy device
has the potential to
substantially reduce
industrial CO2 emissions
by recovering waste
heat into electricity, has
increased its workforce
from four to eight over
the past 12 months,
with plans to recruit a
further three people by
the end of the year.
Established in
2017, FeTu’s innovative
technology has been
developed with backing
from Innovate UK and a
number of universities
across the UK.
The FeTu drive is a
ground-breaking but
simple device: a
two-stage turbine
designed to reduce
energy consumption
and emissions by
unprecedented levels,
and on a global scale.
It has applications in the
energy market as well
as across a range of
manufacturing sectors.
Trials undertaken by
FeTu estimate that the
device has the potential
to recover 30-50% of
low-grade waste heat,
with a one-year return
on investment.
New project to boost logistics sustainability
Innovation hub Digital Catapult
has teamed with supply chain
specialist CHEP and Siemens
to challenge tech start-ups in
the UK and Germany to address
key issues facing the transport
and logistics industry, such as
part-load journeys.
Digital Catapult promotes
collaboration between high-tech
firms and established businesses,
while CHEP pioneered the
‘share and reuse’ model within
supply chains and is one of
the largest ‘circular economy’
businesses in the world.
Focusing on AI, machine
learning and distributed ledger
technologies (DLT), such as
blockchain, Digital Catapult’s
UK and Germany Global
Challenge seeks start-ups that
could work with CHEP and
Siemens to develop sustainable
transport solutions.
Companies are selected to
take part based on their market
size and position and their
commercial flows between the
UK and Germany. Specifically,
Digital Catapult is looking for
tech start-ups to work with
CHEP to find solutions to
the transport and logistics
sector’s long-term issue
of how to minimise empty
miles between loads.
Data has shown that a
quarter of all truck miles
are completely empty and,
of those that are loaded,
only around 55% capacity
is used, something that
Michael Archer, Zero Waste
World customer solutions
director for Europe at CHEP,
called “a long-standing
issue” for the sector.
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