ROUND-UP JANUARY 2020
In Brief
Industry
100 not out for Atlas Copco
Atlas Copco has marked a
century of UK operations
with a look at how industrial
technology could evolve over
the next 100 years. Guests at
the celebratory event, held at
the Shard in London, heard
how Atlas Copco has embarked
on a significant process of
electrification, with battery
and hybrid products expected
to reduce its carbon emissions
by 50% by 2030.
Avara Foods
Avara invests in Hereford
An investment of over £6.5
million across 2019 has seen a
poultry processing firm commit
to Hereford for the long term.
Avara Foods’ operations are
seeing improvements in factory
technology, facilities and worker
pay and development. The
investment in new equipment
has boosted production capacity
by 100,000 chickens per week,
as well as other improvements
to increase efficiency and
productivity at what is described
as one of the UK’s most
advanced food factories.
Dowty rises from the ashes
Dowty Propellers has opened
a new 17,000m2 factory in
Brockworth, Gloucestershire.
The new facility was built to
replace the company’s previous
site in Gloucester, which was
destroyed by fire in 2015. It
will become fully operational
in the first half of 2020.
Bentley begins
new R&D centre
Bentley Motors has
commenced work on
a state-of-the-art
engineering test facility
at the company’s
headquarters in Crewe.
The new centre marks
the latest phase of
on-going development
at the Pyms Lane site
where all Bentley cars
are hand-built.
With completion due
in autumn 2020, the
new building will cover
more than 4,600m2
over two storeys.
Included in this figure is
a 1,550m2 space for the
installation of a single
climate-controlled
chassis dynamometer,
operating across a
range of temperatures
from -10°C to +40°C.
There will also be a
dedicated laboratory
to run Real Driving
Emissions using the
latest emissions
measurement systems.
Bentley’s Technical
Conformity department
will be based in the test
centre, with over 100
employees working in
the building.
The centre will play
a key role in Bentley’s
journey to become
the world’s most
sustainable luxury
automotive
manufacturer, giving it
the capacity to grow as
it diversifies into hybrid
and electric models –
the marque has already
confirmed that it will
offer hybrid or electric
variants of all of its
models by 2023. The
company recently
launched the new
Benteyga Hybrid SUV,
Bentley’s first step
towards electrification.
People
Sir David McMurty,
co-founder and executive
chairman of Renishaw, has
been awarded the 2019 James
Watt International Gold
Medal by the Institution
of Mechanical Engineers.
First awarded in 1936 to
commemorate the bicentenary
of the birth of the steam
engine pioneer, the Gold
Medal is awarded every two
years to an engineer who
has achieved worldwide
recognition for their work.
It is the highest award that the
industry can bestow upon a
mechanical engineer. Previous
recipients include Henry Ford
and Sir Frank Whittle.
Skills & Training
McLaren branches out
McLaren Automotive is
taking a diverse approach
to recruitment for its £50
million factory in Sheffield.
The company is looking for
applicants from industries
including boat-building,
sporting goods and textiles
as it looks to double the
workforce at the plant to
over 200 by the time full
production begins in 2020.
Tech’s role in skills gap
The rise of the ‘connected
worker’ could help end the
skills drain being accelerated
by an ageing workforce,
according Jim Heppelmann,
CEO and president of PTC.
He says that technology such
as Augmented Reality can
help manufacturers train the
next generation of workers
before the existing expertise
retires in the next five years.
Hot topic
In spite of the large majority won by
the Conservatives in December (see p8),
the monthly manufacturing PMI data
fell at its fastest rate since 2012 to 45.6,
down from 49.1 in November.
Sustainability
UK auto is green leader
The UK’s automotive
industry is doing more than
its European counterparts to
help tackle climate change,
according to new research
conducted by Protolabs.
Nearly half (46%) of the
UK’s automotive firms are
committed to exploring
electric and hybrid vehicles,
compared to just 34% in its
nearest rivals, Germany.
Industry faces outage risk
A worryingly high number of
manufacturers are in danger
of experiencing significant
downtime during a power
failure. Research by Aggreko
has found that although 82%
described power continuity as
a major concern, one quarter
of UK energy decision makers
do not have an up-to-date
contingency plan in place to
mitigate against an outage.
Manufacturing PMI data for 2019 Source: Markit Economics
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