UK car production rose 46.6% in March, the first increase after 18 months of decline, with 115,498 cars manufactured, according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). March output for the domestic market rose 19.4% to 20,269 units with exports also increasing, up 54.1% to 95,229 units. More than eight-in-10 (82.5%) cars were sent overseas in March. The EU remained by far the number one market for UK-made cars, with more than half (51.9%) of exports heading across the Channel.

UK commercial vehicle (CV) production also increased in March, by 16.9%, as 6166 units left factory gates, thus indicating the CV sector’s first month of growth since September 2020. In addition, March UK engine production climbed 31.7% compared with the same month last year. Engine output for domestic and overseas markets increased 50.4% and 19.9% respectively.

For further information www.smmt.co.uk

As the UK gradually returns to post-pandemic levels, Dugard has appointed David Rawson to support the company’s growth across all brands in its portfolio. Joining the business in April as area sales manager, he is now serving Dugard’s expanding customer base in the north. With almost 30 years in manufacturing, Rawson has spent the past 10 years working for some of the UK’s most prominent machine tool and ancillary equipment manufacturers.
Commenting upon the addition, sales director Colin Thomson says: “From previous experience of working with David, he has an excellent and professional rapport with clients, and his industry knowledge and ability to create the most productive and cost-effective solution for customers is second to none. David has extensive experience of working with cost-competitive machine tools, high-end solution-driven machine tools and sliding-head turning centres, all of which are available in the Dugard portfolio.”

For further information www.dugard.com

Within six months, Schuler Service repaired two machines damaged in a fire at the plant of Mühlhoff Umformtechnik in Uedem, Germany. Now, part production on a new 2000-tonne press from the Schuler TSD series can also start on time at the automotive supplier. In the record-breaking time of just 12 months, Schuler delivered the line, assembled it at the customer’s site, and provided quick commissioning to keep downtime to a minimum.

As the drive components with long delivery times were already in transit, Schuler was able to shorten the time to commissioning by a quarter of a year – and this despite the fact that experts on site had to contend with challenges such as the foundation, which was designed for the previous and significantly smaller 800-tonne line.

“With our decades of experience in press construction and the necessary flexibility, we always succeed in overcoming these challenges,” says Schuler managing director Frank Klingemann.

“We had been discussing such an investment for some time,” adds Christian Pennekamp, production and project manager at Mühlhoff. “When we could no longer manufacture from one day to the next, this future-oriented step was implemented.”

The firm’s courage has paid off: orders have already been received for the largest system to date and the run on the system “continues to be great”, reports Matthias Stockmans, head of sales and development.

Mühlhoff managing directors Markus Wermers and Pascal Hagemann also attach high importance to the latest technologies. The line features some solutions from Schuler’s ‘Digital Suite’ for process monitoring and predictive maintenance.

For further information
www.schulergroup.com

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has reported that its Q1 sales performance has been strong, with managing director Kevin Gilbert acknowledging that machine-tool orders, “whilst not at pre-pandemic levels, were certainly not far off”.

He adds: “Clearly there was some apprehension at the beginning of the year but, after a difficult 2020, it does look as though manufacturing in the UK and Ireland is bouncing back. What was, and still is apparent, is the sustained demand for our DVF five-axis machining centres, and for our SMX and MX multi-tasking mill-turn machines. As a result, it’s fair to say that we are cautiously optimistic about the remainder of the year.”

For further information
www.millscnc.co.uk

XYZ Machine Tools says it is breaking sales records with its start to 2021. The company reported its highest order intake for 18 months in February, only for March to exceed that figure. In the last week of March alone, the deliveries of over 30 machines took place. XYZ says that the first quarter of 2021 has proved to be very encouraging and, with the benefit of the Government’s ‘super deduction’ incentive for capital equipment, the company is hopeful that this positive trend will continue.

“February and March have been extremely encouraging, and are confirmation of the positive conversations we’ve been having with customers since the end of 2020,” says Nigel Atherton, managing director of XYZ Machine Tools. “The increase in business has meant we’ve reinstated overtime in the factory and employed additional staff for machine assembly, with further recruitment in the pipeline.”

For further information
www.xyzmachinetools.com