In a special ceremony at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Glasgow, His Royal Highness Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, set a plasma cutting machine to work on the first plate of steel for the third Type 26 frigate, HMS Belfast. The event marks an important step in the programme to deliver the UK’s latest anti-submarine warfare capability to the Royal Navy, with all three of the first batch of ‘City Class’ frigates now under construction. The UK-sourced steel plate will form part of a unit that will contain the machinery/equipment space for the frigate’s gearbox and stabilisers.

For further information
www.baesystems.com

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is acquiring Sheffield Forgemasters to support a substantial recapitalisation of the company’s defence-critical plant and equipment over the next 10 years. This investment will secure Sheffield Forgemasters’ role as a critical supplier to the next generation of UK defence programmes, while continuing its independent commercial activities, serving markets such as civil nuclear, oil and gas, power generation, renewables, and steel processing. The MoD has agreed to buy the company’s entire share capital at an offer price of 121 pence per share, equating to total consideration of £2.56m.

For further information
www.sheffieldforgemasters.com

WH-Lead, sole sales and service agent in the UK and Ireland for Taiwanese machine tool manufacturer Leadwell CNC Machines, has appointed Daren Waring as area sales manager for the West Midlands. Until recently Waring was active in a sales capacity within the production engineering community, having sold cutting tools and work-holding equipment for the last five years. The CNC machines he is now responsible for selling in the West Midlands include a growing range of turning machines (including VTLs), as well as three- to five-axis machining centres encompassing high-speed variants.

For further information www.wh-lead.co.uk

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng highlighted South Yorkshire’s history in engineering, manufacturing and high-level innovation as he launched a new Innovation Strategy at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). The strategy is the Government’s long-term vision to boost private sector investment and put the UK at the front of the global innovation race.

Kwarteng addressed invited guests who included representatives from Boeing, Doncaster Chamber of Commerce, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Rolls-Royce, Sheffield City Council, Sheffield SME Magnomatics and UK Research and Innovation. Factory 2050 is the UK’s first state-of-the-art factory entirely dedicated to conducting collaborative research into reconfigurable digitally assisted assembly, component manufacturing and machining technologies.

For further information www.amrc.co.uk

Sheet metal processing solutions specialist Bystronic UK has appointed Anthony Barker as its new service manager. Barker brings experience and knowledge in building and leading a service department within various industries. He is predominantly an electrical engineer but has worked and gained an engineering background in most disciplines and in different sectors, including nuclear, aerospace, automotive, medical and machine tools. Barker’s most recent role was as national service manager supporting the manufacturing operations for companies like Bentley, Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover.

For further information
www.bystronic.co.uk