UK NEWS

£5m digital laboratory

Coventry University will soon host an innovative digital laboratory to help students learn the in-demand skills required within the engineering and healthcare sectors. The Precision Digital Manufacturing and Healthcare Technology Lab has been awarded £5m from the Office for Students (OfS) and will be equipped with technologies such as 3D metal printing. Students from Coventry University’s Faculty of Engineering, Environment and Computing will be among those to benefit from the facility. The lab will also foster a collaborative approach and potentially lead to developments in prosthetics and wearable technologies.
For further information www.bit.ly/3hoQ8lj

OAS wins workplace wellbeing award

An Abingdon training centre specialising in technology and engineering has won Oxfordshire Mind’s annual ‘Commitment to Workplace Wellbeing’ award. The accolade recognises the efforts of Oxfordshire Advanced Skills (OAS) to improve the wellbeing of its learners, training staff and industry partners by making positive changes throughout the training centre and beyond. OAS is a partnership between the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), run by MTC Training. The facility helps businesses to thrive by delivering the crucial engineering skills needed to succeed.
For further information www.oas.ukaea.uk

Mazak rewards staff after record month

Yamazaki Mazak put on a month’s worth of festive activities for its production staff after November 2022 saw its European Manufacturing Plant in Worcester produce the highest number of machines for three years. The month-long programme in the lead-up to Christmas saw employees treated to a broad array of festive fun, with each day involving a different activity. Mazak’s European Manufacturing Plant is responsible for the production of an extensive range of UK-designed and built machines, including the entry-level CV5-500 five-axis machining centre, and the VCN-700 and VCE-600 next-generation VMCs.
For further information www.mazakeu.co.uk

Open house success for Hurco

Despite all the headwinds in the economy, manufacturing has had a buoyant 2022, if Hurco’s experience selling its machine tools is anything to go by. Order intake in monetary value was close to a record high, beaten only just by the exceptional figures posted in 2018. To provide further evidence, 70 companies pre-registered to attend the company’s open house at its headquarters in High Wycombe last month. A total of 104 people attended over the two days, generating £650,000 of sales.

Managing director David Waghorn says: “The outlook for 2023 is good. The vast majority of our customers are subcontractors and all seem very busy. There are raised levels of activity in the aerospace and oil and gas sectors, both are now booming after being in the doldrums for an extended period, while motorsport is perennially active. Against this backdrop, we needed to employ five new service engineers in 2022 and we continue to recruit more.”
For further information www.hurco.co.uk

Total Construction Supplies reinforces expansion

A manufacturer of prefabricated reinforcement steel has invested £4m in a new 220,000 sq ft facility in Cannock, with 57 new jobs created so far. Total Construction Supplies has seen turnover double after securing major new contracts with HS2 and a host of highway, housing and nuclear infrastructure projects. This growth has driven the need for the new site that has already been fitted with state-of-the-art cutting and bending machinery, welding equipment and overhead gantry cranes. Cannock adds to the company’s six existing production sites in the West Midlands, Ilkeston and France.
For further information www.total-group.co.uk