SME manufacturers across England have been given a £6.5m funding boost to help them recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and address key barriers to growth.

The Manufacturing Growth Programme, which is funded by ERDF and delivered by Oxford Innovation Services, has been extended until December 2022, and will give a further 2800 companies access to industry experts and grants to tackle immediate business issues and support improvement plans.
This additional backing will safeguard/create 3500 new jobs and takes the total package of support the initiative can deliver to £18.3m across 17 regions, with businesses in Sheffield able to apply for the first time. Firms are given access to a dedicated local manufacturing growth manager, who will use GROWTHmapper – an in-depth business diagnostic tool – to develop an individual action plan and support business projects that range from environmental improvements, leadership, management and marketing, to skills, quality and supply-chain development.
For further information www.manufacturinggrowthprogramme.co.uk

A manufacturing collective has urged the Government to make its ‘restart, reposition and transform’ commitment to industry a reality and not just another marketing slogan.

The Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN), which employs over 2000 people across nine subcontract manufacturers and a specialist engineering design agency, has launched its post COVID-19 ‘MANifesto’. MAN’s 10-point plan focuses on the development of a coherent cross-party industrial strategy and a commitment to reshoring.
For further information www.man-group.co.uk

Space Park Leicester has been selected as a new centre to offer the business incubation programme for UK start-ups run by the European Space Agency (ESA).

The ESA Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) supports innovative start-up businesses using space technologies or data, enabling them to gain a competitive advantage in today’s global marketplace. Building on the growing list of companies at Space Park Leicester, organisations joining the ESA BIC will gain access to the University of Leicester’s R&D capability across a number of areas.
For further information www.le.ac.uk/spacepark

In 2017, Mick Catherine opened CNC Subcon Services in Holmfirth, where two early lathe purchases were a Genos L400 and an LB25-II, followed more recently by an MU-6300V-L five-axis mill-turn centre, all manufactured by Okuma. These purchase decisions emanate from 1989, when Mr Catherine started as an apprentice at a subcontract machinist that later started using Okuma turn-cut technology.

The firm operates seven days a week, often responding to urgent requests for replacement pump and impeller parts to repair customer equipment that has broken down.
Paul Neville, sales and operations manager at CNC Subcon, says: “For this and most of our subcontract work we need to machine to very close tolerances, for which top-quality equipment like the Okuma MU-6300 mill-turn centre is essential. The rigidity of its bridge-type construction suits the machining of difficult materials. With an Okuma you know there won’t be any trouble.”
The MU-6300V-L fitted with Okuma’s OSP-P300SA control at CNC Subcon has a +90°/-120° trunnion carrying a 630 mm diameter table that can turn rotational parts up to 830 mm diameter by 550 mm tall, at up to 800 rpm. Furthermore, the machine, which was supplied by UK agent NCMT, is able to mill and drill components within a 925 x 1050 x 600 mm working envelope using fully interpolative five-axis cycles. The HSK-A100 spindle is served by a 64-station tool magazine and is rated at 11/7.5 kW, with a maximum speed of 8000 rpm.
Okuma’s Thermo-Friendly Concept built into the machine, which applies to both the structure and the spindle, feeds data back from temperature sensors to the control. Continual compensation in the part program for thermal drift delivers high-accuracy metal cutting in a shop-floor environment, even if the ambient temperature varies by as much as 8°C, says the company.
For further information www.ncmt.co.uk

As part of a £74m investment in green automotive technology, more than 200 value-added jobs could be created in Sheffield thanks to a partnership between an electric automotive drives manufacturer and the University of Sheffield’s AMRC.

Funding has been awarded to Magtec to allow it to scale up the UK production of electric motors. Magtec will work with the AMRC and fellow HVM Catapult centre, the MTC, in the £6m project. Four transport sector OEMs will also participate – Dennis Eagle, Paneltex, Volta Trucks and strategic partner Angel Trains.
For further information www.amrc.co.uk