Southern Manufacturing & Electronics acquired

Easyfairs, the world’s largest privately owned exhibition organiser, has acquired European Trade & Exhibition Services, organiser of the Southern Manufacturing & Electronics exhibition, bolstering an engineering and manufacturing portfolio that already incorporates Advanced Engineering. Southern Manufacturing & Electronics is in its 26th edition, and this year takes place on 6-8 February at the Farnborough International Exhibition Centre. The show attracts over 460 exhibitors and 9000 attendees. 

The show’s founder Phil Valentine says: “We could not be more delighted to reach this agreement with Easyfairs. As a family business, founded exactly 30 years ago, we were always going to be cautious in choosing the right company to take the event forward when we were ready to sell. We’ve built a strong relationship with the team at Easyfairs over many years; we’re therefore confident that Southern Manufacturing & Electronics is in the right hands for the future.”

For further information www.industrysouth.co.uk

NCMT to distribute metal 3D printers in UK

NCMT has signed an exclusive UK distribution agreement with Tritone Technologies, a specialist in metal additive manufacturing (AM). Jonathan Smart, managing director of NCMT, says: “We’re now entering the AM sector, elevating our capabilities to meet the evolving demands of modern industry. The integration of Tritone’s advanced MoldJet technology not only diversifies our portfolio but also solidifies our position as a leader in shaping the future of precision engineering and manufacturing.” MoldJet allows quick and easy changeover between various metals for parallel manufacturing of different parts.

For further information www.ncmt.co.uk

Subcontract market ends year on a high

The latest Contract Manufacturing Index (CMI) shows that the UK market for subcontract manufacturing ended 2023 on a strong note, with the market up 106% compared to the previous three months. Overall, the market concluded 7.5% higher than at the end of 2022. Fabrication was the strongest area, up 160% on the previous quarter and 12% on the previous year. Growth in machining was less strong but still significant, up 51% on the previous quarter and 2.4% on 2022.

Sourcing specialist Qimtek produces the CMI, a reflection of the total purchasing budget for outsourced manufacturing of companies looking to place business in any given month. The CMI represents a sample of over 4000 companies that could be placing business, which together have a purchasing budget of more than £3.4bn, and a supplier base of over 7000 companies with a verified turnover in excess of £25bn.

For further information www.qimtek.co.uk

Birmingham engineer gets royal recognition

A West Midlands engineer was recognised in the New Year’s Honours List.Rowan Crozier, CEO of metal pressing, stamping and tooling specialist Brandauer, received an MBE for services to manufacturing and enterprise.Crozierhelped steer the company through the pandemic and towards a record-breaking £9.3m year, sending millions of components to more than 26 countries every week.He is also an ambassador for developing the industry professionals of the future, revolutionising the firm’s apprenticeship scheme, and helping to launch the UK’s first Precision Toolmaking Academy in late 2022.

For further information www.brandauer.co.uk

Ceratizit-sponsored cyclist wins again

Having won world, Olympic and European champion titles, Katie Archibald is a track cyclist with an impressive number of achievements. Competing worldwide for Team GB, Archibald enjoys sponsorship by Ceratizit: she rides a top-of-the-range Hope Technology bike featuring component machined using Ceratizit cutting tools.

In celebration of Archibald recently accomplishing her 20th European title, she was invited to Ceratizit’s Technical Centre in Sheffield where she was presented with a trophy to mark this incredible milestone. Among those presenting Archibald with the trophy was Stephen Pennington, projects application engineer for Ceratizit UK and Ireland, who worked on this project from the start. The company used Ceratizit tooling to manufacture the trophy.

For further information www.ceratizit.com