EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

GrindingHub 2026 isfully booked 

Rising energy and material costs, volatile markets, geopolitical uncertainties, and ongoing pressure to innovate and improve efficiency are currently shaping the operating environment for grinding technology. This makes GrindingHub in Stuttgart this week all the more noteworthy: on 5-8 May, some 460 exhibitors from 28 countries will showcase their latest advances.

The trade show has established itself as a key platform for professional exchange and the presentation of practical solutions related to the grinding process. With three fully booked halls, the number of exhibitors has reached a level comparable to that of 2024, sending a clear signal in an economically challenging environment.

More information www.grindinghub.de/en

Finalists Named for STEM Innovation Competition

Young innovators across the UK have been named finalists of The Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Competition 2026. Selected from hundreds of entries, the young finalists will now go through a final round of judging and receive feedback from industry experts, before the winners are announced at an awards ceremony at The Big Bang Fair in June, the UK’s largest free celebration of STEM for young people aged 10 to 13. Run by EngineeringUK, the UK’s top annual STEM competition encourages young people to think big, challenge facts, ask questions and invent solutions. 

More information www.thebigbang.org.uk

Metal service centre wins big at CBM Awards

Amajor UK-based metal services centres was named as the shining star of the metal industry ‘Oscars’ recently. William King, which specialises in high-tensile steel, aluminium, light gauge processing, electrical steels and niche metal coatings, beat off competition from more than 50 businesses to win the ‘Company of the Year’ at the Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM) Awards.Held in front of more than 150 people at the ICC in Birmingham, the West Bromwich-based company impressed judges with its commitment to decarbonisation through investment in solar-generated electricity.

More information www.thecbm.co.uk

Trumpf develops new EV welding solution

A new laser welding solution from Trumpf makes the production of power electronics for electric cars more efficient and reliable. The company has developed a highly automated process that enables customers to weld copper electrical conductors directly onto copper busbars. Manufacturers can now replace the screw connections traditionally used with this new technology.

“The key lies in the interplay between laser, sensor technology, AI and data,” says Woo-Sik Chung, responsible for the new laser welding solution at TRUMPF. “Only when all components work in perfect harmony can highly automated and stable processes for series production be realised. The entire process takes well under a second and is therefore designed for high-productivity series production.”

More information www.trumpf.com

Modern MINI Celebrates 25 Years of Manufacturing

2026 marks a major milestone for MINI: 25 years since production of the modern MINI began under the BMW Group. MINI’s modern era has been powered by its UK production heartland. At the centre of that story are two UK manufacturing hubs: Plant Oxford, the home of MINI production; and BMW Group Plant Swindon, where thousands of precision-engineered body panels are crafted every day.

The two sites represent one of the UK’s most significant automotive manufacturing hubs, with a workforce of more than 3000 producing around 800 MINIs a day. At Plant Oxford, a new MINI rolls off the production line every 78 seconds.The story took another important step in 2006 when BMW Group Plant Hams Hall in Warwickshire began producing MINI engines. The site has made more than 4.6 million engines for Oxford-built models.

More information www.mini.co.uk