EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

AWI leads with £10k Guide Dogs donation

A kind-hearted Black Country manufacturer is helping visually impaired people with its biggest charity donation yet. Alloy Wire International (AWI), which supplies a range of 60 exotic alloys to over 6000 industrial customers globally, has given £10,000 to leading charity Guide Dogs. Part of its ‘Wired for Good’ campaign, the value of the gift has seen the company name its own guide dog puppy ‘Allie’, who is currently going through training prior to placement. She will be one of 200 current working guide dog partnerships across the Black Country, Shropshire and Staffordshire.

More information www.alloywire.com

Mec Com Fabrications reports record year

A precision fabricator and specialist in electromechanical assembly is on course for its best-ever 12 months to mark its 25th anniversary. Mec Com Fabrications, which employs 230 people across two manufacturing facilities in Staffordshire and Cluj-Napoca, Romania, is set to hit the £27m sales mark after winning a string of new orders. The company’s order book is nearly 20% up on the budget set in 2023, providing the perfect birthday present for the business which was formed in 1999 by a group of employees who reacted to GEC-Alstom wanting to outsource its sheet metal and mechanical parts manufacturing capabilities.

More information www.mec-com.co.uk

£500,000+ orders from XYZ exhibition

XYZ Machine Tools rolled out the red carpet to customers, technology partners and other stakeholders at its recent 40th anniversary technology exhibition. Taking place last month at the company’s 100,000 ft² headquarters and manufacturing facility in Devon, the two-day event resulted in machinery sales worth over £500,000.

“It was fantastic to see so many familiar and new faces at our technology exhibition,” reports managing director Martin Burton. “XYZ wanted to celebrate its 40th anniversary in style and we were so pleased that 123 representatives from 65 existing or prospective customers took time from their busy schedules to attend. We received terrific feedback and hopefully there was something of value for everyone. The machine orders we’ve taken so far certainly seem to corroborate that aspiration.”More information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Learning masterplan

The new £8.1m City of Wolverhampton College Advanced Technology and Automotive Centre on the Wellington Road campus in Bilston has been handed over by contractor Speller Metcalfe on schedule following an 11-month build. The college will now move its kit into the state-of-the-art training facility ready for students this September. The centre will secure hundreds of jobs in the local economy and create learning opportunities for thousands of students specialising in engineering and automotive, including electric vehicles (EV).

More information www.bit.ly/3SIrLy8

Gravotech joins Brady Corp

US-headquartered manufacturer Brady Corporation has acquired Gravotech, an international specialist in the marking and engraving market for over 80 years. Arnaud Linquette, president and CEO of Gravotech, says: “The sale of Gravotech to a market leader in printing and high-performance adhesive material provides us with an excellent opportunity to expand into new markets and generate long-term profitable growth. In recent years, we’ve enhanced our new product development and manufacturing capabilities, and broadened our portfolio of direct-part marking and engraving solutions.”

More information www.gravotech.co.uk