EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Rapid Fusion passes £2m sales milestone

The ability to deliver engineered solutions for real-world moulds and tooling is helping an Exeter-based technology specialist record another year of growth. Rapid Fusion, which is based in a £750,000 state-of-the-art demonstration facility, has seen demand for its large format additive manufacturing solutions increase again, with domestic and international sales secured for its Apollo, Zeus and Medusa products. This string of orders has taken revenues past the £2m mark for the first time in its three-year history and lays the foundation for the company to accelerate the roll-out of its latest solution – Cerberus.More information www.rapidfusion.co.uk

MA Ford grows with Mercian Tools acquisition

MA Ford Europe has acquired Tamworth-based Mercian Cutting Tools as part of its strategy to increase UK manufacturing capacity and enter new markets. The company will now integrate Mercian’s custom tool production capabilities into its structure. Alongside core products that include drills, reamers and milling tools, much of Mercian’s production is focussed on the manufacture of custom tools that demand complex multi-function profiles, including step drills, hydraulic porting and specialised routers. These key attributes made the business highly attractive to MA Ford.

More information www.mafordeurope.com

Jobs secured as Clarity Group purchases NDB

More than 60 jobs in the Black Country and southwest have been safeguarded following the purchase of a critical supplier to the nuclear and defence sector. The rapidly expanding Clarity Group has purchased NDB Engineering and sister company Cofast from administrators in a deal that will provide security and fresh investment for robotics and a host of productivity improvements.

The business will trade as Cofast going forward and is setting its sights on leveraging new financial backing to attack multi-million-pound opportunities in decommissioning and big domestic naval projects. There is also significant potential to take its technical expertise and precision engineering performance into the aerospace supply chain, a market that demands safety-critical products.

More information www.cofast.co.uk

PP C&A signals £100m global expansion

Global expansion is on the agenda for a UK manufacturing outsourcing specialist after it revealed plans for a major acquisition drive. PP Control & Automation, which works with over 20 of the world’s leading machinery builders, is heading towards a record sales revenue of £40m in 2026, with the longer-term aim of hitting £100m within four years.

Growth will be achieved both through organic opportunities in clean energy, defence and life sciences, and the potential purchasing of complementary manufacturing companies in Europe, the US and Asia. The M&A activity will be led by new CEO Pinaki Banerjee, with discussions already taking place with targets in Italy, Eastern Europe, India and the US. PP C&A employs over 200 people at its state-of-the-art facility in the West Midlands.

More information www.ppcanda.com

Manufacturing optimism at 17-month high

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to a 17-month high of 51.8 in January, up from 50.6 in December. The PMI has now signalled growth for three consecutive months. Three of the five PMI components were at levels indicating an improvement in overall operating conditions (new orders, output and supplier delivery times). January also saw production rise for the fourth consecutive month and at the joint-quickest pace since September 2024. Higher output was linked to improved export sales, a generally stable domestic market and a boost from customer restocking.

More information www.pmi.spglobal.com