EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

SYSPRO and Versori enter strategic partnership

SYSPRO, a global software provider for the manufacturing industry, has entered a strategic partnership with Versori, a UK-based provider of AI-driven integration platforms. The collaboration marks a major step in SYSPRO’s vision to become the most connected and agile ERP provider in the mid-market, enabling rapid deployment of integrations and unlocking scalable innovation across its customer and partner ecosystems.Through Versori’s agentic integration platform, SYSPRO will launch an initial 25 pre-built, production-ready integrations over the next six months.

More information www.syspro.com

Astemo to Build New Production Line at Bolton

Astemo UK Ltd will build a new production line for inverters for next-generation electric vehicles at its Bolton plant. The initiative has been approved by the UK Government’s Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF), with production scheduled to begin in April 2027. It is expected to create and secure employment for an estimated 220 jobs, with a total programme investment value of over £100m. This investment in the Bolton, UK plant marks the fourth country in which Astemo manufactures electrification products, following Japan, the US and China.

More information www.astemo.com

Sheffield Forgemasters in foundry collaboration

In the spirit of collaboration, Sheffield Forgemasters’ Foundry team has undertaken exchange visits with a foundry in the Midlands. Delegates from Newby Foundry in the West Midlands visited Sheffield Forgemasters’ Brightside Lane Foundry to look at casting processes for ultra-large castings, while the Sheffield Forgemasters foundry team visited Newby’s facilities to see manufacture of smaller-scale, bulk castings.

The reciprocal visits helped teams from both foundries compare vastly different techniques and see if there are any technologies or processes which could be transferred or learned from. Paul Ashcroft, Sheffield Forgemasters’ operation lead – foundry, says: “The initiative to host exchange visits with Newby Foundry was a great way to see the different processes that can be adopted for the manufacture of castings in vastly different sizes.”

More information www.sheffieldforgemasters.com

Key European role for FANUC’s Bouchier

Tom Bouchier, managing director of factory automation specialist FANUC UK and FANUC Ireland, will take on the additional role of northern Europe co-ordinator, vice president FANUC Europe, from 1 September 2025. FANUC says this strategic appointment demonstrates its commitment to strengthening the company’s European sales strategy and reinforcing collaboration across the region.

In his expanded remit, Bouchier will provide co-ordination and guidance across northern Europe, supporting FANUC UK’s continued growth and alignment with the company’s broader European goals. He says: “In my expanded role, I’m looking forward to aligning the goals and aims of FANUC UK and FANUC Ireland with those of FANUC EU, bridging the gap towards a more successful, innovative and productive manufacturing sector.”

More information www.fanuc.eu

Start-up programme to accelerate innovation

Digital transformation specialist PTC has launched a new start-up programme to help early-stage companies bring new products and innovations to the aerospace and defence market faster. The initiative offers free access to PTC software that includes its Creo+ software-as-a-service (SaaS) CAD solution, Onshape cloud-native CAD and product data management (PDM) platform. Firms can also tap into the Codebeamer+ application lifecycle management (ALM) solution, as well as a start-up package for its Arena product lifecycle management (PLM) and quality management system (QMS) solutions.

More information www.bit.ly/3GXIxHc