THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Whitehouse Wins Mitsubishi EDM Agency in UK

Whitehouse Machine Tools has been appointed the UK sales and service agent for Mitsubishi Electric’s range of wire-cut and die-sink EDM machines. The strategic partnership represents a significant expansion of the agent’s portfolio, which currently includes notable machine tool brands such as Brother, Spinner and Biglia, spanning machining centre and CNC lathe technologies.

As part of the new agency agreement, Scott Elsmere and Dean Barnes, have both joined the team at Whitehouse Machine Tools to ensure seamless continuity of service. Experienced engineers with decades of technical sales experience and applications expertise in the manufacturing industry, Elsmere and Barnes have recently been engaged in the sales of Mitsubishi Electric EDM machines.

More information www.wmtcnc.com

Anochrome acquired by its management team

Private equity firm Endless LLP has supported a management buyout of the Anochrome Group, a UK-headquartered surface finishing and coatings specialist. Anochrome, which has its headquarters in Wolverhampton, has been trading for over 80 years, providing surface coatings, corrosion protection and thread-locking sealants services to a diverse customer base across a range of sectors, including automotive, construction, industrial fixings, motor sports and renewables.

Anochrome operates from sites in the UK, Poland and Czechia. The transaction represents a transition from long-standing family ownership and the start of a new phase for the business. Endless’ investment will support Anochrome’s next stage of development and growth. The business will continue to be led by its existing senior management team, headed by Mark Jones.

More information www.anochrome.com

Manchester Best City For Manufacturing Growth

Manchester has been named the UK’s leading city for manufacturing in 2026, according to the Tadweld UK Manufacturing Index, a new study ranking Britain’s manufacturing hotspots based on growth, workforce strength, investment, transport connectivity, property affordability, business support and long-term manufacturer success. The index shows that Manchester tops the rankings with a manufacturing momentum score of 9.1 out of 10.

The city’s position reflects strong manufacturing investment, excellent transport links, a highly skilled engineering workforce, thriving industrial clusters and a proven track record of manufacturers succeeding and expanding over the long term. Manchester was followed closely by Sheffield (9.0), Birmingham and the West Midlands (8.9), and Liverpool (8.8), creating a competitive top tier of manufacturing destinations.

More information www.tinyurl.com/8bcm8kjd

Tungsten Powder Firm Accelerates With Green Hydrogen

Wolfram Bergbau und Hütten AG, a global specialist in high-quality tungsten powders and Energie Steiermark, a regional energy provider (together with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs) have signed a long-term agreement to supply green hydrogen to Wolfra’‘s site in St Martin, Austria. Construction is planned to begin in 2026, with commissioning targeted for late 2027. Wolfram is part of the Sandvik Group, committed to targets in accordance with the SBTi. By switching to green hydrogen, Wolfram can reduce its CO₂ emissions, contributing directly to its strategy and the Sandvik Group’s sustainability targets.

More information www.wolfram.at

New head of Mills CNC Training Academy

Mills CNC has promoted Darren Clarke to head up its CNC Training Academy operation following the retirement in April of previous training manager Karen Earley. Apprentice-trained Clarke joined the CNC Training Academy in 2017 as one of its three trainers at the time. He has a wealth of experience in the machine tool sector, including roles at Bridgeport, DMG Mori and ETG.

Clarke is already making his presence felt by making more use of the CNC Training Academy’s customer database and CRM system to increase sales of its operator and programmer training courses and improve operational and administrative efficiencies.

Other plans include making more use of the facility’s two dedicated CNC machine tools by introducing and offering intermediate milling and turning level operator courses.

More information www.millscnc.co.uk/training