EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

150 new manufacturing roles

JLR is recruiting 150 maintenance technicians in the West Midlands. The engineering roles
are central to the company’s ‘Reimagine’ strategy, which will see pure electric versions of all
of its brands launched by the end of the decade. Of the 150 roles, 50 are at its Solihull plant.
These positions will maintain automated and stateoftheart manufacturing equipment
essential to the production of forthcoming Range Rover Electric.
The remaining 100 maintenance roles are based at JLR’s Electric Propulsion Manufacturing
Centre in Wolverhampton. With the site playing a key role in JLR’s UK industrial footprint,
the technicians will help maintain advanced machinery used to build battery packs and
Electric Drive Units (EDUs) for JLR’s next-generation electric vehicles.
More information www.jaguarlandrover.com

Pailton names new MD

Coventry-based steering systems manufacturer Pailton Engineering has appointed Dave Pound as its new managing director. The family-run business is confident that Pound’s experience with tier-one automotive suppliers will help Pailton continue its upward trajectory. “The attraction was a business that is clearly doing well, but wants to do even better,” he explains. “Before taking this role, I had a lot of interaction with people here, from the family to the team members on the shop floor. It felt like everyone was ready to embrace change and I’m convinced that we can make a positive difference.”  

More information www.pailton.com

Metrology open day races to success

Bowers Group hit top gear at its recent metrology open day, hosted in collaboration with the University of Wolverhampton Racing (UWR). The event, held at the university’s engineering hub in Telford, brought together industry professionals from over 20 companies for an action-packed day of precision measurement, live demonstrations and motorsport innovation.

Martin Hawkins, managing director at Bowers Group, said: “Precision and accuracy are at the core of both high-performance engineering and competitive motorsport, making our relationship with UWR the perfect model to present an engaging and insightful metrology open day. The relationships built and strengthened during the event are something we’re excited to develop further as we move forward.”

More information www.bowersgroup.co.uk

Aerospace firm invests £2m

ASG King & Fowler, an aerospace surface treatment specialist with a heritage dating back to 1887, has installed and commissioned a new tartaric sulphuric anodising (TSA) line and paint booths. The project marks the completion of a £2m investment designed to enhance production efficiency, increase capacity and align with upcoming regulatory changes within the aerospace sector. The new TSA line with fully automated control will further enhance the scope of ASG King and Fowler’s capability. Able to process aluminium parts up to 5.6 m in length, the line boosts capacity for both large components and high-volume small parts.More information www.asg-group.co/king-fowler

Optimised CNC machining webinars

Vericut Optimizer is new stand-alone software said to maximise the potential of CNC machining programs. Users of Vericut Optimizer will discover data-driven optimisation strategies and tool paths that work with both speed and precision. While Optimizer is similar to Vericut’s existing Force module, the difference is its stand-alone configuration: machine shops do not require Vericut to take advantage of this machining advance. To ensure everyone has the opportunity to see Optimizer in action, Vericut UK is hosting monthly showcase webinars and offering a 20% discount on the software to all attendees.

More information www.bit.ly/3FwHRap