Clark Prize

Olivia Rodrigues of Donhead Preparatory School, Wimbledon, and Famida Noor Mahomed of London Design & Engineering UTC, Royal Docks, have received the 2026 David Clark Prize from the ERA Foundation for their work connecting students with engineering. Michael Howey of UTC Warrington received a highly commended distinction. Each winner received a £3000 personal award and £12,000 for their school over three years to support engineering and STEM initiatives. Established in 2016, the prize is organised by the ERA Foundation and named for its former executive secretary, Dr David Clark, who passed away in 2025. 

More information www.erafoundation.org 

Stratasys Scales AM Solutions at 20+ GM Plants

Stratasys has announced a new showcase of its long-standing collaboration with GM, highlighting how the automotive giant is leveraging Stratasys additive manufacturing (AM) solutions to reduce lead times and costs while improving operational performance. GM team members are leveraging Stratasys FDM AM solutions to rapidly produce tooling, fixtures, jigs, factory aids and end-use parts, with facilities reporting significant savings. Manufacturing teams across multiple GM production facilities in North and South America have deployed Stratasys platforms to support dozens of manufacturing applications. 

More information www.tinyurl.com/3keenvdy 

Manufacturing Has the Tools But Not The Habits

Tooling expert Sandvik Coromant has unveiled its first-ever manufacturing wellness report. Based on responses from nearly 1000 manufacturers, the report gives industry an overall manufacturing wellness score of 49 out of 100. The figure points to progress, but also a clear gap between recognising what good performance looks like and embedding it across operations. The report suggests plants are taking steps to improve, but progress remains uneven. Nearly 25% report having no access to production or process-related data, while almost 50% do not have a clear understanding of performance targets set for their teams. 

More information www.tinyurl.com/2s3dnfjv 

Engineer Retires After 50 Years on The Shop Floor

An engineer is hanging up his micrometre after spending more than five decades on the shop floor. Gerry Dunne, who started his working career as an apprentice toolmaker with Brandauer in Birmingham in 1976, will retire as operations director of Pre-Met in Redditch at the end of this month. Dunne has spent the past seven years supporting the growth of the metal stampings and pressing specialist. 

The industry veteran has used his hand-on leadership style to champion lean manufacturing and just-in-time processes, helping the firm achieve more than £3m of new orders across automotive, rail and, more recently, defence. “It’s been a fantastic 50 years,” he says. “I’ve made so many lifelong friends and been involved in manufacturing businesses that make products we use in everyday life.” 

More information www.metalpressingsandstampings.co.uk 

Kennametal Named NASCAR Official Tooling Supplier 

Kennametal is now the Official Tooling Supplier of NASCAR. Dave Bersaglini, Kennametal vice president and president of metal cutting, unveiled the designation at the company’s ‘Next Level Shop’ exhibit on the first day of the IMTS exhibition in Chicago earlier this month. The designation builds on years of collaboration between Kennametal and NASCAR,  

including on-site testing, application support and tooling solutions. 

“Every thousandth of an inch matters in NASCAR, and that’s exactly the kind of precision 

Kennametal brings to its customers,” said Bersaglini. “We’re proud to work alongside  

NASCAR’s engineering and manufacturing teams to meet the sport’s unique machining  

demands and deliver the speed, precision and reliability required to keep this sport  

performing at the highest level.” 

More information www.kennametal.com