New operations manager at Mills CNC

Mills CNC, the sole distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has appointed Heath Redman as its new operations manager. Redman has over 30 years’ manufacturing and machine tool management experience gained in the UK and overseas. The operations manager position is seen as critical in directing and focusing the company’s aftersales service resources to achieve a seamless transition between the services provided, as well as ensuring that they deliver (individually and collectively) business benefits to customers.
Redman has previously run his own manufacturing and machine tool companies
in South Africa.
For further information www.millscnc.co.uk

Preparing for further growth

A recent restructuring of the management team within Güdel’s UK operation has set the scene for additional investment at the Coventry site to support further growth. The recent appointment of Troy McCourt as UK managing director, together with the recruitment of additional sales and engineering staff, will be followed by further investment in a number of areas, including the company’s IT systems. McCourt joins the company as a past user of Güdel gantry robot systems in a previous role.

“Having had experience of Güdel products and systems for a number of years, I was already impressed by the quality and longevity of the company’s gantry robots and linear-motion products,” he says. “I am delighted to have joined this highly-respected business and look forward to working with the team to take it to the next level.”
For further information www.gudel.com

20,000 expected at Metaltech

Metaltech 2017, a major machine tools and metalworking technology exhibition for the ASEAN region will be held on 24-27 May at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The theme of the show will be the future of manufacturing, with topics such as Industry 4.0 and smart factory innovations set to feature heavily. Metaltech is expected to draw a record turnout, with 2000 participating companies from 38 countries over 35,000 sq m of gross exhibition space. Some 20,000 regional and international visitors are anticipated over the event’s four-day duration.

The exhibition will also feature its established co-event, the Automation Technology Exhibition (Automex), which is now in its 10th year. Attracting exhibitors and visitors from around the world, Automex is a showcase of the latest technologies in automation and manufacturing processes, featuring a variety of robotics, assembly and machine-vision solutions.
For further information www.metaltech.com.my

Sandvik Coromant partners PARC

Sandvik Coromant has signed a strategic research agreement with PARC, a Xerox company, which will provide the cutting tool specialist with a footprint in Silicon Valley and expert resources for R&D in the field of digital manufacturing. Sandvik Coromant will also acquire all IP and technology related to PARC’s software for process planning and automated cost estimation for subtractive manufacturing. The strategic research agreement
will be governed by a joint steering committee featuring representatives from both companies.
For further information www.sandvik.coromant.com

‘Captain Picard’ glimpses metrology future

The man who piloted the Starship Enterprise was given a glimpse of the scientific future at the University of Huddersfield recently. Actor Sir Patrick Stewart – who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation on TV and film – is emeritus chancellor at the university. On his latest visit he was shown some of the scientific and technological research taking place.

Sir Patrick visited the university’s Future Metrology Hub, a £30m research centre that is aiming to transform UK industry by developing sensors embedded into machinery, leading to increases in accuracy. The hub – heavily backed by the EPSRC – is based in the university’s Centre for Precision Technologies. On his visit, Sir Patrick met the hub’s director professor Xiangqian Jiang and senior lecturer Dr Haydn Martin, plus many of its multi-disciplinary researchers who are harnessing new developments
in metrology and miniaturisation.
For further information www.hud.ac.uk