Fabricator invited to Parliament

Bolton-based Hopefield Fab Ltd has been invited to be a representative of the manufacturing and services sector for the 2018/19 Parliamentary Review.

The Parliamentary Review is a series of documents introduced by the Prime Minister containing articles from a range of large organisations, SMEs and small, niche businesses. The aim of the documents is for knowledge and best practice to be shared in an attempt to raise standards. Hopefield Fab has been invited by the Rt Hon Sir Eric Pickles, chairman of the Parliamentary Review, to offer its knowledge and insight. As a result, the company has also been asked to attend Parliament in March 2019 for an evening of celebration.
For further information www.hopefieldfab.co.uk

Drill specialist invests in CNC lathe

Chester Machine Tools, the exclusive UK supplier of Style machines (made in Holland), says it has supplied a Style 510 CNC lathe to Sheffield-based Armeg Ltd, a manufacturer of drills and power tools.

The lathe was selected for its intuitive, simple operation, which will boost prototype machining at Armeg. Style 510 lathes feature functions that are said to be suitable for R&D departments, including easy, smart and simple programming, and extensive CNC capability.
“This is the second Style machine to be placed in a highly competitive UK industrial market,” states Anthony Edwards, UK sales director at Chester Machine Tools. “Chester are experiencing increasing sales of its own range of CNC and conventional machine tools, as well as Style CNC lathes in the UK. We continue to forge ahead with supporting and supplying our brands and machines to British manufacturing, while responding to the continuing technological demands and expectations of our customers for innovative and highly productive machine tools. The team at Chester feels extremely proud to have won the tender for such a prestigious company as Armeg.”
For further information www.chestermachinetools.com

Subcontracting holds steady

The UK market for contract manufacturing remains healthy and stable according to the latest Contract Manufacturing Index (CMI).

The index reveals that the market is still 30% up on a year ago, and although there has been a slight dip from the previous quarter of 5%, the overall market looks to be holding steady. The index stood at 226 compared to 238 in the first quarter of this year, and 174 in the second quarter of 2017.
Within the headline figure there has been a shift in the make-up of the market, with fabrication now standing at 56% of the total and machining on 35%. Just three months ago, machining represented 38% and fabrication 51%, and whereas fabrication rose consistently through the quarter, machining rose from April to May but then levelled off in June.
Compared with the equivalent quarter in 2017, fabrication is up 69%, machining down 4%.
For further information www.qimtek.co.uk

Two subsidiaries in India consolidated

In order to enhance the presence of its products in the Indian market, Toshiba Machine has consolidated the management of its two local subsidiaries: Toshiba Machine (India) Pvt Ltd and Toshiba Machine (Chennai) Pvt Ltd.

Toshiba Machine (India) Pvt Ltd was established in New Delhi in 2006 and has been engaged in the sales and servicing of injection-moulding machines and die-casting machines. Toshiba Machine (Chennai) Pvt Ltd was founded as a Toshiba Machine subsidiary after acquiring all the shares of L&T Plastics Machinery Ltd in September 2012.
For further information www.toshiba-machine.co.jp/india

Machine tool museum set to open

Yamazaki Mazak is set to open its own historic machine tool museum on the 100th anniversary of its founding.

The museum, which will open in autumn 2019, is located in Minokamo, Japan, within the newly renovated underground factory of Yamazaki Mazak Optonics Corporation, currently home to the company’s laser manufacturing operations.
Mazak’s interactive museum will give visitors the opportunity to see, touch and learn about machine tools and their history, with the overall aim being to celebrate the history of machining and educate the next generation of engineers. The museum will exhibit traditional machine tools in operation, as well as showcase the many products they produce. In addition, the museum will be equipped with an FMS area, where the latest machine tools with integrated Industry 4.0 capability will be displayed.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk