EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Coventry robotics firm secures €1.4m deal

Coventry-based Expert Technologies Group has won a multimillion-pound contract in Spain following a €1.4m financing deal involving UK Export Finance (UKEF). Expert Technologies designs and delivers robotic assembly systems, tools and special machinery that support automation in industry. The manufacturer has begun a new project with the Spanish arm of Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze (SEBN), a global supplier of parts for the automotive industry.

The project will comprise two brand-new automated auxiliary harness assembly lines for electric vehicles. Support from UKEF means that Expert Technologies Group has been able to access €1.4m in working capital from NatWest to help it deliver this contract, which will support up to 10 jobs within the group.

More information www.ukexportfinance.gov.uk

Key Renishaw appointment

Renishaw has appointed Kasim Hussain as its new group general counsel and company secretary. Hussain, who joined Renishaw in July 2024, will lead the group’s legal, compliance and company secretarial functions, including the regional legal and compliance teams. With substantial experience of working in a listed environment, Hussain will provide strategic direction to Renishaw’s board of directors and executive committee. He will also advise the company on all matters of risk and governance. Prior to joining Renishaw, Hussain was group divisional counsel at the FTSE 100 global engineering group, Spirax Group.

More information www.renishaw.com

Groundbreaking new facility

The MTC (Manufacturing Technology Centre) in Coventry is providing the UK with the capability to disassemble and assemble prototype battery modules and packs based on large-format, high-power/energy density cells. The Hazardous Operations Cell (HazOps) will fill a significant UK gap in enabling high-risk R&D activities. Featuring robotics, machine vision and laser systems, the cell will provide a flexible and remote manufacturing facility for research into hazardous manufacturing processes. Notably, the facility will enable research into highly-automated battery disassembly for the recovery of critical raw materials.

More information www.the-mtc.org

Co-ordinated approach to net zero skills

Two leading figures in ‘clean growth’ are calling for a more co-ordinated approach to net zero future skills if the UK is going to reach its target of 480,000 ‘green’ jobs by 2030. Coventry University’s Carl Perrin (associate pro-vice chancellor) and Deepak Farmah (director of the Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems) have made the rallying call as part of new research that Coventry University is completing to understand the commercial and sector-specific barriers of training and reskilling workforces for the decarbonisation challenge. To gather views, a survey (link below) is now underway.

Take the survey at www.bit.ly/3TfP5Uu

Big Daishowa opens 9th production plant

Industrial tooling specialist Big Daishowa has opened its ninth production plant at the company’s Awaji manufacturing facility in Japan. The 49,500m² plant is designed to meet today’s production needs and accommodate future growth. Notably, the facility houses 21 multitasking machine tools and 23 automatic lathes. Big Daishowa’sinitial production target is 20,000 tools per month, with potential to double this output. Manufacturing will focus on BBT and BT tool holders in taper sizes 30-50.Automation plays a key role in the new plant’s operations, with robots and automated guided forklifts streamlining material handling.

More information www.big-daishowa.com