EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

20,000 XYZ spare parts on the shelf

As part of its push to offer the best possible service to its customers, XYZ Machine Tools now holds nearly £2m worth of stock at its head office in Devon, which equates to around 20,000 different parts in 18,000 sq ft of storage over three levels. Around 70% is for the current machine range while the remainder are legacy parts for previous models, including somemore than 30years old. The stores aim to ship parts for next day delivery when ordered before 15:00.

XYZ’s new spares website is now live, making iteasy to find products based on searches by machine type, model and part number. XYZ’s telephone support is available to help customers identify the requiredcomponent. The company maintains stock levels using its MRP system backed up by physical stock checks to ensure accuracy. “We make a considerable investment in parts to make sure we can achieve the top-class service standards we set ourselves,” says managing director Nigel Atherton.
For further information https://newspares.xyzmachinetools.com

Close Brothers cements apprenticeship commitment

The partnership between Close Brothers and the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre has further cemented a commitment to supporting apprentices and SMEs. Over the past eight years, the Close Brothers SME Apprentice Programme has supported the training of 55 apprentices at the AMRC Training Centre. The next stage will see a further 20 apprenticeships funded over the coming year, with the intake beginning in September 2023. Under the scheme, Close Brothers contributes up to 50% of the wages of the apprentices in the first year and 25% in the second year, and covers all training costs.
For further information www.amrctraining.co.uk

11 more join DSCH

Digital Catapult, the UK authority on advanced digital technology, is partnering with five leading technology companies and six pioneering SMEs to solve supply chain challenges facing SME manufacturers across the country. As part of the Made Smarter Innovation | Digital Supply Chain Hub (DSCH), the initiative will support the development of solutions to remedy significant industrial challenges. The competition will fund the development of digital solutions with up to £100,000 for each tech company to deploy their solutions into the supporting manufacturer’s businesses, which will receive £25,000 to bolster this activity.
For further information www.digitalcatapult.org.uk

Nikken CEO becomes MTA acting president

Nikken CEO and president Tony Bowkett is the latest acting president of the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA). With more than 30 years of experience as managing director and founder of Nikken Kosakusho Europe, Bowkett is responsible for the success of the company’s activities, including multiple subsidiaries within the Nikken Europe Group thattogether operate in excess of 23 countries. He says: “During my presidency, I would like to make it my mission to engage with MTA members and represent their best interests on local, national and international platforms.”
For further information www.mta.org.uk

College hosts landmark Haas facility

West Nottinghamshire College (WNC) has become the UK’s first Gene Haas Centre for Advanced Manufacturing, bringing a major investment in engineering facilities and training programmes for students, apprentices and employers.The link-up will see the college awarded £500,000 to develop its engineering facilities and employer-focused curriculum, aimed at growing the number of skilled manufacturers in the local area and beyond.

The money will fund improvements to the college’s Engineering Innovation Centre in Sutton-in-Ashfield, by remodelling the building to dedicate a larger area of its groundfloor to manufacturing, automation and robotics. WNC will also construct a new mezzanine floor containing classrooms overlooking the existing open-plan workshop space.In addition, the college will rebrand the building, which currently boasts six Haas CNC machines used by engineering students and apprentices, as the Gene Haas Centre for Advanced Manufacturing.
For further information www.wnc.ac.uk