EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Leadership transition

Machine tool manufacturer Weingärtner Maschinenbau GmbH is entering a new chapter. After decades of dedicated leadership, Friedrich Weingärtner has retired and handed over the company’s management to his son, Dominik Weingärtner. Dominik now leads Weingärtner Maschinenbau alongside his uncle, Andreas Weingärtner. With a deep understanding of the company and its values, Dominik is committed to driving innovation and ensuring sustainable growth. His vision is to expand Weingärtner’s expertise in high-precision machining solutions while embracing digitalisation.

More information www.weingartner.com

New management at Fritz Studer AG

Jens Bleher, CEO and chairman of the Board of grinding machine manufacturer Fritz Studer AG since 2018, has joined the United Grinding Group’s board of directors as COO. Replacing Bleher, Sandro Bottazzo, the long-standing managing director and chief sales officer of the Swiss precision cylindrical grinding machine manufacturer, has been appointed CEO and will thus take over the responsibility as chairman of Studer’s board. Bottazzo has held various management positions for the United Grinding Group and Studer for over 25 years and has been a member of the latter’s management team since 2018.

More information www.studer.com

School receives PP C&A backing

A UK manufacturing outsourcing specialist has thrown its support behind a Shropshire school vying for national honours. PP Control & Automation (PP C&A), which employs 230 people at its facility in Cheslyn Hay, has been mentoring three teams at Newport Girls’ High School (NGHS) in the Young Enterprise Awards programme. It has been a successful partnership with NGHS winning seven out of 10 categories at the Shropshire awards and Tag-Along (a newly developed product) chosen to represent the county at the West Midlands final, where it again came out on top.

More information www.ppcanda.com

College Invests in CNC Machines

Following its successful tender submission, MACH Machine Tools has fulfilled a contract to supply Gateshead College with four new CNC machine tools equipped with the DynaPath control. This latest machine tool investment is an integral part of a wider strategic modernisation and refurbishment programme, implemented by Gateshead College, to upgrade the machining capacity and capabilities of its engineering workshop.

The machines comprise a MACH MDS 900-4T toolroom mill, a MACH MDS 845-8T three-axis vertical machining centre, a MACH MDL 1600 flat-bed lathe with driven tooling and a recently-launched MACH MDS 202 slant-bed lathe. All four have been installed in a purpose-built, CNC-designated area within the revamped engineering workshop facility.More information www.machmt.co.uk

New deal will bring Medusa to life

A UK provider of robotic additive manufacturing systems has signed a new ‘outsourcing’ deal that will bring a world-first to market next year. In a match made in the southwest, Rapid Fusion and Applied Automation have expanded a two-year business partnership by agreeing to work in tandem to productionise Medusa – a UK-built large format hybrid 3D printer. It will see engineering teams from the two companies join forces to turn the ‘prototype’ into a machine ready for shop-floor use, with interest already coming from companies involved in the automotive, aerospace, medical and renewables sectors.

More information www.rapidfusion.co.uk