EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Solving the Skills Crisis

New research from MTC has revealed the huge untapped potential of generational diversity in tackling the sector’s 47,000-person skills gap – but employers are missing the opportunity to harness cross-generation learning to support business and economic growth. The research shows that 41% of the Baby Boomer generation (aged 60 to 66) in manufacturing say their skills are going unused. Meanwhile, 91% of Gen Z (18-27) say they are willing to learn from older colleagues. It points to an opportunity for industry to embrace cross-generational learning and unlock existing knowledge before decades of experience retire.

More information www.the-mtc.org

Record export sales for AWI in India

One of the Black Country’s fastest growing exporters has achieved another major milestone by recording its best-ever year of trade with India. Alloy Wire International (AWI) – a specialist supplier of round, flat and profile wire – sent more than £650,000 of material to customers in the subcontinent over the past 12 months, a 50% increase since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. This now accounts for nearly 10% of the firm’s overseas sales and marks a 45-year working relationship with Indian agent Amit Banerjee. The Kolkata-based representative has built up a strong customer base that is now rapidly expanding.

More information www.alloywire.com

First year of pioneering workplace programme

Siemens Mobility and its partners are celebrating the success of the first year of a pioneering programme supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities to enter the world of work. The supported internship programme has seen five young people benefit from extensive support and guidance to gain experience, confidence and vital life skills from a variety of roles at Siemens Mobility’s Goole Rail Village. The initiative is a partnership between Siemens Mobility, learning disability charity DFN Project SEARCH, Selby College and Hft – a national charity supporting learning-disabled people.

More information www.mobility.siemens.com

WH Davis to expand workforce by 25%

WH Davis, the UK’s sole remaining independent railway wagon manufacturer – and part of Buckland Rail – has secured a €44m export deal to supply 150 freight wagons to Ireland with support from the UK’s export credit agency. The contract represents the first order under a 10-year framework agreement that could see the number of wagons supplied rise to 400. Deliveries are expected to start in summer 2026.

The contract is expected to facilitate a significant expansion of the company’s workforce by 25%, taking the total number of employees on site to 100. The jobs will be located at WH Davis’s manufacturing site in Shirebrook, an ex-mining village in the East Midlands, helping to revitalise employment in the area. 

More information www.ukexportfinance.gov.uk

Hurco to hold ‘Demo Deals Day’ in October

Inaugurated in 2023, a ‘Demo Deals Day’ will be hosted by Hurco Europe on 2 October 2025 at the company’s showroom and demonstration centre in High Wycombe. Every machine on show will be available to purchase at a discounted ex-demonstration price. Furthermore, a 20% discount will apply to some new ex-stock models, including the high-capacity, high-torque, three-axis VMX50Ti vertical machining centre.

New this year is that similar offers will apply to Hurco machines installed in the dedicated training facility and technical centre at Kirklees College, Huddersfield, with which the machine tool company collaborates. Furthermore, the scope of the offers extends to accessories fitted to the machines, such as Hurco software and tooling, Renishaw probing, rotary tables, and Filtermist units.

More information www.hurco.com