COMMENT
Editor: Justin Burns
justin.burns@markallengroup.com
Art editor: Neil Young
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Machinery (incorporating
Sheet Metal Industries)
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Print – ISSN 1753-0482
Online – ISSN 2049-3312
Printed by: Pensord Press, in the UK
Justin Burns, Editor
Hello from me;
welcome to 2021
Welcome to the first issue of Machinery with me as the editor, since
I took over from Andrew Allcock, who retired in November. I first want
to thank Andrew, for helping me get up to speed with the magazine
before he sailed into the sunset and for sharing as much of his
extensive knowledge, wisdom and experience as he could, before he
took a well-earned retirement.
Next, a brief introduction about me and where I have come from. I have worked for a
number of years in B2B publishing prior to this role, mainly for aerospace, logistics and
commercial aviation publications, all industry focused and not too dissimilar to this
position, so I am really looking forward to getting to know this particular market in the
issues that lay ahead.
I really enjoyed putting the issue together, in which we look at a number of firsts,
including our cover story, that takes a deeper look at the Manufacturing Technology
Centre’s (MTC) investment in a state-of-the-art Synova LCS305 waterjet guided laser
machine (page 10) - the first of its kind to be installed in the UK.
Laser processing is a key strategic focus for the MTC, adding to other investments it
has made over the last few years in this area. The high-tech machine will allow the MTC
to develop and use the latest technology to support a range of industries across the UK
with their manufacturing challenges.
In Scotland, much is happening in manufacturing, driven by the National
Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) and we take an in-depth look at the new £20m
FutureForge facility at Strathclyde University’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (page
22) - which will be fully operational in June 2021.
The development will aim to revolutionise the historic hot forging sector and has
capabilities that are quite unique to the UK and the facility will look to drive growth in
the traditional metalworking process.
In my very short time at Machinery, it is clear that Industry 4.0 and automation are at
the forefront of what is happening in the industry and we hear about the launch of a
new automatic loader by Finland-based Fastems (page 26) that can be used by
metalworking manufacturers to optimise their productivity. We also find out about a new
product introduced by CNC Robotics (page 30), which has added a robotic machinetending
system to its portfolio.
2020 was a tough year for many due to Covid-19, and sadly, more uncertainty is on
the horizon, as the UK leaves the European Union, but let’s hope that 2021 is a
positive year for the machine tools industry, manufacturing and society as a whole.
Enjoy reading the issue and stay safe.
www.machinery.co.uk
www.markallengroup.com
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