EDITORIAL ROUNDUP

Factories to See Electric Bills Cut

More than 7000 British factories are set to see their electricity bills slashed by up to 25% from 2027, as the Government unveiled its new Industrial Strategy last week. British manufacturers currently pay some of the highest electricity prices in the developed world, but the new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will cut electricity costs by up to £40 per MW hour for electricity-intensive businesses in sectors like automotive and aerospace.

These firms will be exempt from paying levies such as the Renewables Obligation, Feed-in Tariffs and the Capacity Market. The Government is also increasing support for the most energy-intensive firms – like steel plants – by covering more of the electricity network charges they normally have to pay through the British Industry Supercharger. Such businesses currently get a 60% discount, but from 2026, it will increase to 90%.

More information www.gov.uk

NASTC opens

Stratasys has launched its North American Stratasys Tooling Center (NASTC), a new collaboration with Automation Intelligence LLC located at the latter’s manufacturing site in Flint, Michigan. The dedicated tooling hub is designed to help manufacturers validate and scale practical applications for additive manufacturing in production environments. The NASTC operates both the Stratasys F3300 and F900 3D printers, assisting in the optimisation of applications focused on critical tooling solutions such as jigs, fixtures, end-of-arm tooling and North American Automotive Metric Standards (NAAMS) blocks.

More information www.stratasys.com

Inclusivity campaign

A campaign celebrating inclusivity and diversity in industry has been launched by a specialist UK training provider. ‘I’m In-Comm, I’m Included’ is the message being championed by apprentices, learners and staff at In-Comm Training as it looks to break down some of the barriers faced by women, ethnic minorities and hard-to-engage groups considering an apprenticeship and career in engineering and manufacturing. In-Comm Training has already enlisted the support of its 20 ‘IC ambassadors’ and its 75-strong workforce to spread the message, while several employers and partners have also pledged their support.

More information www.in-comm.co.uk

Sheffield Forgemasters details £1.3bn plans

MoD-owned Sheffield Forgemasters has seen its re-capitalisation plan increased from £900m to £1.3bn in a move that will increase capacity for defence manufacture. Under the Government’s recently announced increase in defence spend, the infrastructure at Sheffield Forgemasters has been challenged to provide greater resilience, faster production and reduced lead times. Sheffield Forgemasters’ new forge and machine shop – which will feature 15 of the world’s most advanced, large vertical turning lathes – are set to be operational by the end of the decade, increasing the company’s efficiency and accuracy.

More information www.sheffieldforgemasters.com

HVM Catapult and NPL enter partnership

The High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult and National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have agreed a new partnership that will deepen collaboration in areas of national priority. The two organisations have signed an MoU that will establish combined programmes for greater impact on UK industry. It will include joint projects, sharing of infrastructure and exchange of staff. HVM Catapult and NPL are set to explore joint R&D activities in areas including high-precision timing for manufacturing, engineering transformation, exploitation of AI, sustainable materials, exploitation of quantum and engineering biology.

More information https://hvm.catapult.org.uk/