EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Jon Crossland Named MD At Bowers Group

Bowers Group has appointed Jon Crossland as its new managing director, effective July 2026. He joins with an outstanding track record of international leadership across engineering, manufacturing, operations and supply chain management, bringing decades of experience leading global businesses and delivering sustainable growth.

“Bowers Group has an exceptional heritage, a highly respected portfolio of precision metrology brands and a talented team with a strong reputation for quality and innovation,” he says. “I look forward to working with colleagues, customers and partners around the world to build on these foundations, accelerate growth and continue delivering world-class solutions that help manufacturers achieve the highest standards of precision.”

More information www.bowersgroup.co.uk

NCC Helps Turn Innovation Into Industrial Reality

Vertical Aerospace completed the UK’s first public demonstration flight of a full-scale wing tilt-rotor eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) aircraft at last month’s Farnborough International Airshow, marking a major milestone for UK aerospace and advanced air mobility. The eVTOL took flight using propulsion blades designed in conjunction with the NCC (National Composites Centre), which also helped Vertical Aerospace identify UK manufacturing partners capable of producing components at rate. Today, around 60% of Vertical’s procurement spend is in the UK, with around 30% invested in the southwest.More information www.nccuk.com

Schröder Group Strengthens Sales Presence In UK

PW Machine Services of Barnsley is now the Schröder Group’s official distribution partner in the UK. As an expert in laser cutting and automation solutions, PW Machine Services offers UK industry robust access to the sheet metal processing industry. The motorised folding machines from Bavaria, Germany-based company Hans Schröder Maschinenbau GmbH, represent a perfect addition to the portfolio.

“Schröder’s industrial folding machines are powerful, precise, gentle on surfaces, easier to operate than press brakes, and allow for largely automated operation without additional equipment,” states Kevin Hudson, one of MDs at PW Machine Services. Looking ahead, plans are already in place to make Schröder motorised shears also available across the UK via PW Machine.

More information www.schroedergroup.eu

Gateway To The Future

His Majesty King Charles III visited the UK’s largest space cluster recently to mark the official opening of the UK Space and Defence Gateway. The initiative aligns with the principles of the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Astra Carta, a framework launched by His Majesty, as Prince of Wales, to ensure the space sector supports a sustainable future. This dedicated space and defence sector hub at Harwell Campus near Oxford is set to drive collaboration between government, academia, innovators and industry. It will link innovation to investment, building partnerships to shape tomorrow’s space and defence economy.

More information www.harwellcampus.com

COMPASS Opens Doors

A landmark investment to build next-generation industrial and manufacturing capabilities for future aerospace production has officially opened at the University of Sheffield AMRC. The £54m open-access Composites at Speed and Scale (COMPASS) R&D facility, which has Boeing as its first user, opened earlier this month. It is set to de-risk and accelerate high-rate, large-scale composite production and marks a major step in securing the long-term future of UK aerospace manufacturing by enabling production at true rate and scale. Demand indicates that more than 40,000 aircraft will be needed over the next 20 years.

More information www.amrc.co.uk