APRIL 2019 ROUND-UP
Did you hear... The best soundbites from around the industry
“The international links between chambers, manufacturing
associations and industries ... this is what brings positive results.”
Paul Britton, chief executive of Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce,
explains how collaboration is manufacturing’s recipe for success
Pic of the month
“The current UK political situation does not deter us. We are
engineers, not politicians.”
Carlos de Palacio, president of train manufacturer Talgo, insists that
Brexit isn’t putting the brakes on their planned train factory in Fife
Global pharmaceutical manufacturer, PCI Pharma Services, has announced a major
investment to expand its flagship site in Tredegar, South Wales. The investment will
double PCI’s highly potent tableting capacity and see an increase in general throughput to
support recent and anticipated product launches. Since opening its dedicated contained
manufacturing facility in 2013, PCI Tredegar has processed more than 60 highly potent
products within the unit. Subsequent investments made at the purpose-built, state-ofthe
art plant have further enhanced operations, which operates a lean manufacturing
system. “This additional capacity will provide greater security to our customers, supporting
important clinical programmes and new product or market launches,” said Richard
Yarwood, senior vice president of PCI Pharma Services.
Flogas provides
off-grid LPG boost
Off-grid manufacturers
across the UK are set
to benefit from a new,
large-scale liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG)
storage facility, which
will significantly bolster
the industry’s gas
security in rural areas.
Flogas Britain has
been granted planning
permission to convert
the National Grid LNG
facility at Avonmouth
into a terminal, with the
capacity to store over
34,500 tonnes of LPG.
The facility, which
will be the largest of
its kind in the UK, will
significantly increase
Flogas’ LPG storage
capability, providing
security of supply to
manufacturers and
other customers
nationwide.
The timing of the
planning permission
announcement comes
at a crucial time for the
UK energy industry, as it
digests the implications
of the Clean Growth
Strategy, and the need
to move away from
high carbon fossil fuels.
“LPG has an
important role to
play in delivering the
government’s Clean
Growth Strategy,
providing off-grid
businesses and
homeowners with an
excellent low-carbon,
low-cost alternative
to oil and solid fuels,”
said Lee Gannon, MD
of Flogas Britain.
Report casts doubt on cobot readiness
Over three-quarters (79%) of
automation distributors do
not believe their customers
understand the safety
requirements of installing a
collaborative robot (cobot),
according to the results of
the Global Robotics Report,
published by Toshiba Machine
distributor, TM Robotics.
The report states that
over 55% of automation
distributors do not believe
collaborative robot technology
is advanced enough to deliver
the performance demands of
manufacturing or packaging
industries. This coincides
with over 80% of distributors
witnessing no decline in
industrial robot sales since
the dawn of the cobot.
However, the report also
highlighted issues in the
traditional, industrial robot
market. The report emphasised
distributors’ concerns about
existing robotics software,
with 45% of distributors stating
that difficult to understand
software was a common
problem. Additionally, 38%
of distributors highlighted
the issue of robot software
incompatibility with existing
automation systems.
“Customer expectations
of industrial robots are
changing,” explained Nigel
Smith, managing director
of TM Robotics. “No longer
are robots simply a tool to
increase manufacturing
output, but a fundamental
part of manufacturers’ goals.”
PCI Pharma
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