EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Appointment supports growth at GM Group

As the GM Group prepares for the official opening of its new facility in Oldham, the company has laid a further marker of its ambitious growth intentions with the appointment of a new regional sales manager. Joining the GM Group to drive sales of the Victor CNC range of machine tools, Mathew Bates is now regional sales manager for the northwest of England and Wales. Bates is a seasoned engineer with more than 30 years of industry experience.

GM Group director Nicola Howard says: “The Victor brand of machine tools is renowned for its build quality, performance, longevity and a diversity that caters for all applications, industry sectors and machine shops. We’re confident that Mathew will apply his industry expertise and build upon our already impressive market penetration in the area.”
For further information www.gm-cnc.com

Smart picking and vision AI on show

Machine tool builder Schwäbische Werkzeugmaschinen (SW) GmbH will be present several new solutions from its extensive manufacturing and automation portfolio in hall 5, booth 320 at Automatica in Munich (27-30 June 2023). Thanks to interactive exhibits, visitors can experience automation live: they will be able to test a newly developed optical recognition system, compete against an automated robot arm in a game of ‘buzz wire’ and have a personalised giveaway handed to them via smart picking.

These and other solutions from SW show how manufacturers can use flexible manufacturing modules, agile process chain connectivity and digital manufacturing control and production to meet challenges such as fluctuating quantities and shorter runtimes with reduced volumes.
For further information www.sw-machines.com

Chiron Group continues to grow

Machine tool builder, Chiron Group, continued growing in the 2022 despite the enduring difficult market conditions. The company recorded a clear rise in order intake last year alongside a significant increase in turnover. According to Chiron Group, the medical and precision technology business segment developed strongly, while automotive remained constant thanks to growth in e-mobility and recovery in the aerospace sector is underway. Overall, the company says it is better positioned than previously thanks to growth in different markets, making Chiron more resilient to fluctuations in individual segments.
For further information www.chiron-group.com

Too much time lost sourcing industrial supplies

Based on a new survey of stakeholders working across the UK subcontract manufacturing industry, commissioned by MSC Industrial Supply, 58% have limited or no capacity to take on more work, while a further 28% are operating at +50% capacity. Notably, according to ‘The Subcon Report: What next for the backbone of British industry?’, significant time is lost dealing with a volatile supply chain. Some 77% of subcontractors are spending up to 4 hours a week sourcing industrial supplies, and 75% of those surveyed have to deal with as many as five different industrial suppliers. Read the full report at the link below.
For further information www.bit.ly/46asihI

Recycling wind turbine parts

Experts at the Manufacturing Technology Centre are to take part in a €10m EU project to develop technologies that recycle high-value parts from wind turbine blades. The four-year EoLO-HUBS project aims to recover glass and carbon fibres from large wind turbine structures that have reached the end of their useful life. The Coventry-based MTC is one of 18 partners from across Europe, with project co-ordination by the Aitiip Technology Centre in Zaragoza, Spain. The consortium also includes research divisions from several leading industrial companies.
For further information www.the-mtc.org