A West Midlands company that helped pave the way for the Channel Tunnel and produces forged parts for use in hip replacements, is celebrating its 100th birthday in style.

KimberMills International, which employs 50 people across two sites in the Black Country and Coventry, has enjoyed a £1m boost in its centenary year by securing new contracts in the oil and gas, mining, motorsport, and rail sectors. The order haul has taken sales to a record high of £8m, created six new jobs and underlined the company’s recent decision to invest nearly £1m in a new drop forge and additional machining capabilities.
For further information www.kimbermills.co.uk

CGTech has opened a new office based in Gloucestershire as a result of ongoing business success.

The office is situated next to SGS Berkley Green UTC, and forms part of the cyber security and digital centre buildings. Gavin Powell, technical support manager, says: “We understand the importance of delivering and maintaining an exceptional level of support for our customers. The opening of this office will provide us with a central hub for support, additional training facilities and a great opportunity to strengthen and grow our technical team.”
For further information www.cgtech.co.uk

The team at Quickgrind has expanded with the appointment of Mark Aspinall, who joins the cutting-tool manufacturer as its new technical support manager for the northwest.

Aspinall has more than 30 years of manufacturing experience, moving from an apprentice toolmaker and CNC machinist, through manufacturing engineering and leadership roles with prominent aerospace manufacturers like BAE Systems and Safran Nacelles. For the past three years Aspinall has put this experience into training apprentices at Training 2000 Ltd.
For further information www.quickgrind.com

A total of 11 jobs are being created at one of the Black Country’s fastest growing foundries after it announced a number of contract wins.

Midland Pressure Diecasting (MPD) is looking to recruit four casters, four manufacturing operatives and three linishers as part of expansion plans that will help it target sales of £5m by the end of the year. The extra staff will take the total workforce up to 60 and give MPD the required capacity to deliver the volumes generated by the new business wins, which include a £100,000 contract for lighting sector components.
Due to the increasing workload, the company has just completed the first phase of its new factory layout, which will boost productivity. This work has included the movement of plant and machinery to create a better flow and the installation of energy-efficient lighting. MPD also recently purchased a Doosan CNC vertical machining centre and new spark eroder to help with growing demand from clients looking to re-shore due to quality issues from overseas suppliers.
For further information http://midlandpressurediecasting.co.uk/

The advanced manufacturing research centre (AMRC) under construction in Broughton will be officially known as AMRC Cymru, the Minister for Economy and North Wales Ken Skates has announced. Construction is progressing well on the centre, which will provide a new level of support to business and facilitate collaboration between industry, academic partners and entrepreneurs.

The Welsh Government has invested £20m in the centre, which has confirmed Airbus as the first major tenant. AMRC Cymru is scheduled to be completed in the autumn and it is predicted that the Welsh economy could see seen an increase in GVA of up to £4bn.
For further information www.amrc.co.uk