Independent measurement solutions provider Status Metrology and metrology specialist Hexagon are celebrating a 20-year partnership that the pair say helped pave the way for a second-user CMM market in the UK. Nottingham-based Status spotted a gap in the market in the late 1990s and pitched the idea of becoming a supplier of retrofit legacy CMMs alongside its established service and calibration operation.

“We spoke to all the manufacturers but it was only with Brown & Sharpe, which was later acquired by Hexagon, that we found synergy,” explains Tony Tillett, Status Metrology’s managing director. “They shared our vision that there were opportunities for upgrading machines.” As well as supplying second-user bridge, side-arm and gantry CMMs, Status also offers a selection of new machines, sensors and Hexagon’s PC-DMIS inspection software.
For further information www.status-cmm.co.uk www.hexagonmi.com

XYZ Machine Tools has been awarded accreditation from third-party accreditation scheme Alcumus SafeContractor for its excellence in health and safety in the workplace, an award which is used and recognised by SMEs and FTSE 100 companies across UK. In gaining the award, XYZ Machine Tools had to prove that it met Alcumus SafeContractor’s rigorous standards in health and safety management.

Gemma Archibald, director of Alcumus SafeContractor, says: “More companies need to understand the importance of adopting good risk management in the way that XYZ Machine Tools has done. SafeContractor plays a vital role in helping clients to meet their compliance needs, while working with their contractors as they progress through the accreditation process.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

A £4m state-of the-art training hub was officially opened earlier this month with bosses urging other manufacturers to step forward to avoid a skills drain caused by the uncertainty of Brexit. The Marches Centre of Manufacturing & Technology (MCMT), which is run by a consortium comprising Classic Motor Cars, Grainger & Worrall, In-Comm Training and Salop Design & Engineering, was unveiled in front of 250 people with many delegates receiving their first glimpse of the 36,000 sq ft facility.

Managing director Matthew Snelson used the event to issue a rallying call for more firms to work together in a bid to stop ‘cannibalising’ the pool of industry talent in the UK: “We need to flood the market with new talent and ensure there are enough individuals to satisfy the growth expectations of industry. There is an urgent need for more skilled labour and that is where we come in by creating a dedicated centre that will deliver more than ‘2020 learning opportunities by 2020’.
For further information www.mcmt.co.uk

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has reported that its open house last month saw over 200 visitors attending the two-day event.

Taking place at the company’s technology campus in Leamington, Mills used the open house to show manufacturers a number of new Doosan machines, many of which were making their UK debuts at the event.
“As well as generating significant machine tool sales during the two-day event, the number of serious and genuine sales leads and enquiries taken at the open house was also particularly encouraging, especially as a high percentage of these came from new customers [OEMS through to precision subcontractors] visiting our facility for the very first time,” says managing director Kevin Gilbert.
For further information www.millscnc.co.uk