UK NEWS

EV acquires Fablink

EV Technology Group Ltd has signed a share purchase agreement with the shareholders of Fablink Group to acquire 76% of Fablink Group Holdings, a tier-one supplier to the automotive, transport and off-highway sectors. Fablink Group supplies pressings and complex welded structures, cab assemblies, lightweight bonded aluminium chassis and structures, and mixed material architectures. The acquisition includes all seven Fablink manufacturing sites across the UK, and Streamline Automotive, a new division of Fablink Group that offers turnkey clean-build vehicle assembly capabilities.
For further information www.evtgroup.com

Ceratizit grows applications support in Scotland

Ceratizit UK & Ireland has further expanded its applications support team with the appointment of James McLeary, who will be working with customers across Scotland to enhance productivity and make sure they benefit from the company’s latest cutting tool and work-holding technologies. His appointment brings the number of field-based applications sales engineers to 11, all of whom work alongside Ceratizit’s technical sales engineering team. Key to McLeary’s role will be his ability to draw on his own extensive shop-floor experience in the aerospace and oil and gas sectors.
For further information www.ceratizit.com

ETG expands with new product manager

With The Engineering Technology Group (ETG) becoming the exclusive UK and Ireland distribution partner for fibre laser cutting machine specialist DNE Global, the company has employed Shane Langston as product manager to drive this new division into the marketplace. Langston is an engineer with over 20 years of experience in the sheet metal sector, at companies including Amada and LVD.

ETG group managing director Martin Doyle says: “Shane’s background gives him the perfect blend of technical knowledge from his years of service support experience. He has built upon this with an extremely successful career in sales, marketing and leadership – all in the sheet metal sector. Both Shane and the ETG team are excited to embark upon this new venture.”
For further information www.engtechgroup.com

Biomass proves inspired decision at XYZ

To help save energy, as well as the environmental and financial impact of disposing of over 100 tons of wood (pallets) every year, XYZ Machine Tools installed a Froling TX200 250 kW woodchip biomass boiler with Untha wood-chipper at its Tiverton site. Feeding a silo that can contain 10 days of wood chippings, the £180,000 investment is resulting in annual savings of around £100,000 as a result of eliminating costs for transport, landfill, and the gas bill, as well as a rebate for the energy saved.

These savings were at a time prior to the current spike in energy costs, so savings generated now may well be £25,000 per year greater. The rebate is due to the system at XYZ Machine Tools qualifying for the Government’s Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme (now closed to new applicants). The RHI provided businesses with a cash incentive for every kWh of heat generated, which requires monitoring along with the volume of wood used. Companies that qualified for the scheme receive a quarterly index linked rebate over a 20-year period.
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com

Games visitors see high-tech manufacturing

Visitors to the recent 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham had the chance to see the latest in high-tech manufacturing thanks to an augmented reality (AR) scheme created by the Manufacturing Technology Centre and the University of Birmingham. Games visitors could access the technology via a QR code that took them into an AR world demonstrating how it is possible to develop factories and industrial spaces digitally before spending a penny on manufacturing equipment. Using a PTC software program called Vuforia, users could experience a 21st century manufacturing environment in a virtual world.
For further information www.the-mtc.org