UK NEWS

Cheaper electricity to save firms £420m a year

Around 500 of the UK’s most energy-intensive businesses, including those in the steel sector, are set to save up to £420m per year on their electricity bills from next April as the Government takes action to slash industrial energy costs. The support, which is being delivered at no extra cost to taxpayers, fulfils a crucial promise in the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy launched in June. It comes on top of the Government’s British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (also announced in the Industrial Strategy) that will slash energy costs by 25% for over 7000 businesses from 2027 in sectors like aerospace and automotive.

More information www.gov.uk

CMZ UK Tech Centre Site to Span 4 Acres

Spain-headquartered lathe builder CMZ has taken a decisive step in its growth strategy with the recent acquisition of a site spanning over 4 acres (16,000 m²) on which it will build its new UK technology centre. Located in Coventry, the company’s future UK headquarters will open its doors within 1-2 years, marking a milestone in its international expansion.

The tech centre will feature sales offices, a showroom with CMZ lathes and an applications engineering area dedicated to providing direct support to UK customers. CMZ’s existing UK sales and aftersales team will expand and relocate to the Coventry facility, which will be located adjacent to the A45 and within the West Midlands Investment Zone. The development marks a turning point in the 15-year history of CMZ’s UK subsidiary.More information www.cmz.com

Renishaw and British Cycling prepare for Olympics

British Cycling and Renishaw have renewed their long-standing partnership for a third consecutive Olympic and Paralympic cycle. As preparations get underway for Los Angeles 2028, the two organisations will work closely on a new wave of technical developments with a focus on aerodynamics, mechanical optimisation and strength-to-weight engineering for elite track cycling. In preparation, the first year of this partnership will centre around R&D, with Renishaw’s engineers exploring how advanced manufacturing – including metal additive manufacturing – can deliver performance gains.

More information www.renishaw.com

EIA Rebrand Better Reflects Market Needs

The Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) says that the Engineering Industries Association (EIA) is changing its name to Engineering Supply Chain UK (ESCUK). The update better reflects current market needs and the core activities of members. ESCUK represents technology users within advanced manufacturing and, alongside offering a member discount at the MACH show, is looking to create a database for UK supply chain companies.

As part of the MTA cluster, which also includes Additive Manufacturing UK (AMUK) and the MACH exhibition, ESCUK aims to showcase its members’ capacity, capability, products and services within the UK supply chain. Changes in trends over the past five years, specifically around reshoring and sovereign manufacturing, has seen an increase in UK-based demand and the rebranded association will better reflect the offering of its members.

More information www.escuk.org

Space facility lift-off

A new 45,000 ft²space manufacturing facility that is expected to create 2000 jobs has opened in Hardwicke, Gloucester, marking a milestone for the UK’s space industry capabilities. The Advanced Composites Manufacturing Enterprise, led by iCOMAT, a spin-out company from the University of Bristol, received £4.8m of funding from the UK Space Agency’s Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund to establish the facility. The opening event welcomed representatives from the UK Space Agency, European Space Agency and international space sector leaders such as Orbex, Lockheed Martin and Thales Alenia Space.

More information https://icomat.co.uk/