EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Trumpf to expand smart factory

Trumpf Group will add 55,800 sq ft to its production building for the manufacture of laser cutting, bending and welding machinery at Farmington, Connecticut. The project is part of ongoing recovery efforts related to damage sustained after an aircraft crashed into the production building in September of 2021. Trumpf will invest an estimated $40m into the project, which will include a smart factory that demonstrates advanced automated and connected precision sheet metal production. Completion is expected in May 2024.

“North America remains our most important business market outside of our domestic market in Germany,” says Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, CEO of the Trumpf Group. “This project is an important step toward the next generation of manufacturing for Trumpf and our customers across the United States.”
For further information www.trumpf.com

Museum exhibit features MTC apprentices

Two MTC Training apprentices feature in a permanent exhibit at London’s Science Museum that aims to promote STEM (science, technology and mathematics) subjects to youngsters. ‘Technology Makes it Happen’, features a video of MTC Training apprentices Kieran Bullivant and Evadney Enock, who have recently completed their advanced manufacturing apprenticeships. In the video, the pair talk about their training and the opportunities that have opened up to them as a result. The exhibition is scheduled to remain in place at the Science Museum for at least 10 years.
For further information www.the-mtc.org

NCMT sponsors university racing team

University of Wolverhampton Racing (UWR) has gained a new official sponsor – machine tool supplier NCMT, best known in the UK and Ireland as the sole agent for selling the Japanese Okuma and Makino brands. The agreement was struck in mid-February 2023, in time for the first race of the Britcar Prototype Cup.UWR is the only student-run team that competes in the Prototype Cup using a Praga R1, a Czech-manufactured racing car eligible for the competition.

Jonathan Smart, managing director of NCMT, says: “We are delighted to start sponsoring UWR, which unlike all other student teams in the UK competes against professional racing teams. It gives their graduates the edge when trying to enter professional motorsport or other employment.Moreover, the Department of Engineering is especially committed to extending opportunities and promoting diversity in engineering and motorsport.”
For further information www.ncmt.co.uk

Training centre alumni making a difference

Two University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre alumni feature in a new book that will soon be in the hands of every secondary school in the UK, where it aims to inspire and excite young people about careers in engineering.Beth Cousins, now a project engineer at the University of Sheffield AMRC, and Kate Todd-Davis, who works as a manufacturing engineer for Rolls-Royce, were hand-picked to appear in the book ‘Engineers Making a Difference’, alongside 44 other superhero engineers from sectors including construction, energy, transport, robotics and artificial intelligence, and more.
For further information www.bit.ly/3mFWmiQ

Marposs acquires Digital Strategy Innovation

Marposs Group has acquired Digital Strategy Innovation (DSI), a start-up specialising in applied research in AI, big data and data analysis. The purchase is part of a broader investment strategy at Marposs Group that adopts an open innovation approach aimed at acquiring and developing investments in new technologies.The combination of the expertise of DSI’s researchers and the experience and global presence of Marposs will enable the pair to accelerate the development of innovative solutions, particularly in the field of e-mobilityand the improvement of digital platform and data process services.
For further information www.marposs.com