Being Brunel

On 23 March, Being Brunel, a new museum that brings together the world’s most significant Brunel collection at Brunel’s SS Great Britain in Bristol, UK, opened to the public.

General view of the interior of Being Brunel, the new museum dedicated to Isambard Kingdom Brunel, opening at the ss Great Britain, Bristol, on Friday 23rd March.

To assist with its development, metrology specialist Renishaw has supported the museum since 2015 and was the founder member of the Being Brunel Corporate Club, created to enable local companies to support the development of the new museum. As well as sponsoring Being Brunel, Renishaw has made a video contribution to one of its galleries. The new museum celebrates the life and legacy of Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
For further information www.renishaw.com

3D printing apprenticeships from MTC

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is to launch the first apprenticeships in the UK dedicated to providing the skills needed for additive manufacturing.

MTC additive manufacturing apprenticeship programmes, which are set to launch in September, will provide a pipeline of technicians skilled in one of the fastest-growing advanced manufacturing technologies in industry. The MTC’s learning design manager Martin Dury says: “The manufacturing industry is crying out for this and we will be able to make it available in a format that allows people to learn while earning, funded by the apprenticeship levy.”
For further information www.the-mtc.org

10th edition of Advanced Engineering

The Advanced Engineering 2018 exhibition is celebrating its 10th birthday by being bigger and better than ever, according to show organisers Easyfairs.

New for this year is the Nuclear Engineering zone. Other zones include Aerospace Engineering, Composites Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Performance Metals and Connected Manufacturing.
This year’s exhibition will build on the success of the 2017 show, where attendance increased by 15% on the year before. Visitors stayed on average just under three hours at the event. The 2018 exhibition takes place on 31 October and 1 November at the NEC, Birmingham.
For further information www.advancedengineeringuk.com

Finance firm focuses efforts in Germany

Following a successful launch into Germany, Close Brothers Asset Finance GmbH has refocused its efforts on the engineering/manufacturing and print sectors.

This follows a detailed review of both the team’s activities and customer feedback since launch in June 2017. To support the strategy, the team has been bolstered by highly regarded and experienced sector specialists who have been working to bring Close Brothers Asset Finance’s products and services to a key European market.
“We have already learned a
great deal in our short time operating in Germany,” says Steve Gee (pictured), CEO of Close Brothers Asset Finance’s Industrial Equipment division.
“It’s become clear that our historical business model of operating in specialist sectors translates very well in Germany’s SME market, commonly known as the ‘Mittelstand’, and we are gearing up for continued growth.”
For further information www.closeassetfinance.de

Report reveals manufacturings true impact

Manufacturing accounts for nearly a quarter of the economy and more than 7.4 million jobs depend on it, according to new research commissioned by the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA).

The study by economics consultancy Oxford Economics shows that the sector is responsible for 23% of UK GDP, well over double the figure that is routinely quoted, and accounts for 5 million more jobs than often thought.
“This report clearly demonstrates that anyone who says that manufacturing doesn’t matter to the UK economy is badly mistaken,” explains James Selka, CEO of the MTA. “The figures that people often quote setting manufacturing alongside the service sector miss the point that a huge part of the service sector – from logistics, to research, to catering – serves manufacturing. For every £1m the manufacturing sector contributes to GDP itself, it creates another £1.5m elsewhere in the UK economy.”
For further information www.mta.org.uk