SEPTEMBER 2019 ROUND-UP
Did you hear... The best soundbites from around the industry
“This £300 million investment will help speed up the development of
greener flights, and new ways of delivering the goods we order online.”
PM Boris Johnson launches the ‘Future Flight Challenge’, designed to support UK
businesses in the development of new, cleaner aviation technology (see p30).
Pic of the month
“The government must recognise the need to address the business
environment in the UK, which currently undermines our competitiveness.”
Gareth Stace, director general of UK Steel, warns that the industry is not out of the
woods yet, despite British Steel finding a buyer in Turkish company, Ataer Holding.
Defence Procurement Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP was on hand for the traditional
steel-cutting ceremony at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Govan on the River Clyde to mark the
start of production of the second Type 26 Global Combat Ship, HMS Cardiff. The ceremony
comes two years after steel was cut on the first-in-class HMS Glasgow. Momentum on HMS
Glasgow continues, with over one half of the ship now in production, and she remains on
track to enter service in the mid-2020s. “Today’s steel cut ceremony demonstrates the
significant and positive progress we are making on this hugely complex, sophisticated and
important programme,” said Steve Timms, MD of BAE Systems Naval Ships. “We are proud
of the role we play at BAE Systems, alongside many thousands of dedicated people in our
supply chain, to deliver this critical capability for the UK Royal Navy.”
Overseas deals
boost AV leader
One of the UK’s leading
autonomous vehicle
(AV) specialists has seen
an international surge
after securing over
£1.5 million in orders
from across the world.
Coventry-based
Aurrigo, which has
created ten new jobs
over the past year, has
experienced soaring
demand for its
driverless ‘pods’ after
the completion of
major trials in the UK
and Australia proved
that its technology can
deliver safe and efficient
‘first and last mile’
transport solutions.
Sales have come
from customers in
Australia, Canada
(pictured below),
Finland, Singapore and
the US, with the latest
deal seeing one of its
four-seater ‘Pod Zeros’
heading to China, a
potential landmark
moment for the firm.
This growth takes
Aurrigo’s annual sales
up to £4.2 million, with
the company predicting
a further £6 million of
contracts between now
and the end of 2020.
New industry ‘manifesto’ sets bold targets
The National Engineering
Policy Centre has published a
manifesto for a prosperous and
secure economy and society,
calling on government to work
with them to invest in solving
key challenges facing the
industry in the coming years.
Backed by the UK’s leading
engineering organisations,
the report, titled Engineering
priorities for our future economy
and society, highlights critical
policy recommendations to
enhance the UK’s status as a
world-leader in innovation
and engineering, ahead of the
forthcoming spending review,
the UK’s exit from the EU and
a possible General Election.
This marks the first joint
publication by the National
Engineering Policy Centre,
a new partnership of 39 UK
engineering organisations,
led by the Royal Academy of
Engineering. It aims to apply
engineers’ problem-solving
skills to some of the biggest
challenges facing the UK.
The manifesto includes
20 action points across
five key policy areas:
skills, innovation, digital,
infrastructure and energy.
“The issues we have
identified here require longterm
planning and action,
irrespective of how the UK’s
relationship with the EU
changes over the next few
months,” said Professor
Dame Ann Dowling,
president of the Royal
Academy of Engineering.
BAE Systems / Michael McGurk
www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk 7
Aurrigo
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk