EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

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

LOI set to propel AM in the aviation sector

GKN Aerospaceand Materialise, a global specialist in 3D printing solutions and services, have signed a letter of intent (LOI) aimed at advancing the research, designand production of polymer additively manufactured (AM) parts for the aviation industry. The signing of the LOI took place at the recent Paris Air Show and represents an extension of their successful collaboration. Materialise has been a supplier of polymer AM to GKN Aerospace since 2015 and supported the delivery of the additively manufactured wingtip for Eviation’s Alice, the world’s largest all-electric aircraft, which made its maiden flight in 2022.
For further information www.materialise.com