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

The development of a new powder coating process for parts destined for electric vehicles is set to deliver a £1m boost for a Kent-based manufacturer. HV Wooding, which specialises in providing precision engineered metal components for the automotive and aerospace sectors, is working with materials and engineering researchers from the Nuclear AMRC and the University of Sheffield to improve the quality of its busbars. Supported by Innovate UK through the Faraday Battery Challenge, the project focuses on investigating and developing alternative coating methods that will improve busbar performance and integrity.

For further information
www.hvwooding.co.uk

Many manufacturers have a desire to take advantage of laser marking, however, purchasing the laser marking system is sometimes difficult to justify. The production of prototype parts, high-value/low-volume manufacturing, personalisation, traceability and branding are just a few of the reasons why TLM Laser now offers a subcontract laser marking service from its Bromsgrove base in the West Midlands. As the UK and Ireland distributor for a number of laser marking system manufacturers, including FOBA Laser and Universal Laser Systems, customers can rely on the quality of systems used to mark their products.

For further information
www.tlm-laser.com