EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

David Brown Becomes SID President

During this year’s SID (Syndicat International du Décolletage) International Congress in Chicago, it was announced that David Brown, current president of the BTMA (British Turned Parts Manufacturers Association) and director at Neida (Stoke-based precision component supplier), will serve as SID president from 2025 to 2027.

SID was created in 1963 to bring together national organisations representing the precision machining industry. For over 10 years, Brown has been a member of the BTMA and, during his current presidency, has driven manufacturing initiatives related to skills and training, legislation and regulations, sustainability, and process improvements. During his new presidency at SID, Brown’s key objectives will take on a global focus.More information www.neida.co.uk

£17m hydrogen aviation project

The MTC (Manufacturing Technology Centre) is playing a pivotal role in a major new £17m initiative to accelerate the development of a zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell system that could power commercial aircraft before the end of the decade. Project HEIGHTS – a three-year programme led by Intelligent Energy – aims to advance the company’s modular 300 kW aviation fuel cell platform, IE-FLIGHT 300, for use in next-generation aircraft.

MTC has secured £1.2m in funding from the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) to support the work. It will utilise the latest design tools and state-of-the-art metal additive manufacturing equipment to reduce the weight and size of critical components developed and tested in the HEIGHTS project. The work will be completed in a way which will also enable these parts to be manufactured on a commercial scale.

More information www.the-mtc.org

adi Group Celebrates 35th Anniversary

Engineering a better future for over three decades, adi Group is celebrating 35 years of delivering engineering and construction services. Founded in 1990 by Alan Lusty, adi Group began as a small team under adi Electrical. Inspired by a dream to create a self-delivered ‘one-stop-shop’ for multidisciplinary engineering services, Lusty’s vision was clear: build a business that would add an engineering service or sector specialist delivery division every 12-18 months – a vision that continues to drive the company today. Fast forward to 2025, the group now boasts nearly 40 specialist divisions and a team approaching 1000.

More information https://adiltd.co.uk

Advanced Engineering opens registration

Visitor registration is now open for Advanced Engineering UK, an annual UK exhibition for engineering and manufacturing professionals. Taking place on 29-30 October 2025 at the NEC in Birmingham, Advanced Engineering is the UK’s only event that connects the entire industrial ecosystem. This year, the show features additions like the expanded Composites Pavilion, SME Village, ADS Pavilion and AM2 Forum.

The 2025 event comes at a pivotal moment for UK industry, following the Government’s announcement of a new 10-year industrial strategy. With measures that could reduce electricity bills by up to 25% for over 7000 manufacturing firms and billions earmarked for innovation, R&D and AI, the strategy signals a renewed focus on long-term industrial growth – a direction that will be reflected across the show floor at Advanced Engineering 2025.More information www.advancedengineeringuk.com

Ministers visit CVE

Chancellor of the Exchequer, The Rt Hon Rachel Reeves, and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Rt Hon Ed Miliband, visited Cambridge Vacuum Engineering (CVE) in Cambridge earlier this month to see the company’s Ebflow electron beam welding technology, which has the potential to transform manufacturing timelines and costs for the UK’s next-generation nuclear power infrastructure. The visit came ahead of the Government announcing its £14.2bn investment in the planned Sizewell C nuclear power station in neighbouring Suffolk.

More information www.ebflow.com