EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Lloyds Bank SME Apprentice of the Year

Lloyds Banking Group named an MTC Training apprentice as its SME Apprentice of the Year 2023 at a celebratory event in London.Mohammed Ismaeel beat off stiff competition to bring home the prestigious trophy, awarded annually to a top achieving apprentice working for a business that receives support through Lloyds Bank’s levy transfer scheme.David Atkinson, regional director at Lloyds Bank, says: “Mohammed is a standout example of what you can achieve through an apprenticeship, and we hope his story inspires others looking to start a career in engineering.”
For further information www.mtc-training.co.uk

Project drives energy savings at Airbus UK

Airbus UK saved enough energy to power 60 homes for a year as part of a pioneering ‘future factories’ project by AMRC Cymru to help businesses boost productivity while meeting net zero targets.Over a five-month period, AMRC Cymru and Airbus, who share a building in Broughton, saw electricity savings equivalent to powering 41 three-bedroom homes for a year, and gas savings equivalent to powering 21 three-bedroom homes for a year. The Airbus team saw a reduction in electricity usage of almost 20%.

Luis Rivera, wing accelerator industrial leader at Airbus, says the collaboration between Airbus and the AMRC has been positive on many levels: “The AMRC used their research and innovation core knowledge to explore and discover new possibilities beyond our day-to-day activities, expanding our area of interest to new topics that will help the introduction of any future production line.”
For further information www.amrc.co.uk

NORTEC show realignment

Messe Stuttgart and the VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association)are now assuming jointresponsibility for the established NORTEC production engineering exhibition in Hamburg after concluding discussions with the previous organiser, Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH. Moving forward, the joint objective of Messe Stuttgart and the VDW is to extend the focus areas of NORTEC and enhance its profile. The VDW is therefore bringing METAV (International Exhibition for Metal Working Technologies) into NORTEC, the next edition of which will take place at the Hamburg Trade Fair Centreon 23-36 January 2024.
For further information www.messe-stuttgart.de/nortec

UK aerospace receives £80m boost

The UK is to benefit from an£50m boost to composites R&D for aero-structure manufacturing, with a new research facility set for construction in South Yorkshire that has aerospace giant Boeing as its first major research partner.The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) has secured the investment to establish the Compass (Composites at Speed and Scale) facility in Sheffield. The news was announced on 13 July by UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, as part of the South Yorkshire Investment Zone.

“Our first Investment Zone is a shining example of how we will drive growth across the country,” he said. “It’s already secured more than £80m of private investment, including backing from Boeing, and will help support more than 8000 jobs by 2030.”On the back of the research, Boeing has committed to procuring in excess of £2bn of UK-manufactured goods per year to support the production of the company’s next civil passenger aircraft.
For further information www.amrc.co.uk

Metal AM collaboration

3D Systems and Oerlikon AM are entering a collaboration agreement to help further scale metal additive manufacturing (AM). Combining 3D Systems’ Direct Metal Printing platform and Oerlikon AM’s surface engineering capabilities will enable a faster path to market for applications in high-criticality industries such as aerospace. As part of the agreement, Oerlikon AM is acquiring its fourth 3D Systems DMP Factory 500 system, the first Oerlikon AM is adding in the US, as part of the manufacturing workflow at its North Carolina facility. The move will help expand Oerlikon’s end-to-end supply chain solution for high-precision, complex aluminium components for the US market.
For further information www.3dsystems.com