UK NEWS

MGP hits ‘1000’ support milestone

More than 1000 SMEs have been given a business boost over the past 10 months thanks to a new £9.7m business support initiative. The Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered by Economic Growth Solutions (EGS), has helped companies across the UK to grow, develop new products and overcome production issues that were previously holding them back.
This has already led to 400 new jobs, with an additional 359 positions expected to be created once ongoing projects are completed. At the end of July, £1.6m of grant contributions had been made, with money in place to support another 2200 firms between now and March 2019. The MGP offers an 18-strong network of experienced manufacturing growth managers, access to industry specialists and the opportunity to apply for an average grant of £1400, rising to a maximum £3500. Support can be used for leadership and management, R&D, lean manufacturing, productivity and capacity, quality systems or supply chain development.
For further information
www.manufacturinggrowthprogramme.co.uk

MGP hits ‘1000’ support milestone

More than 1000 SMEs have been given a business boost over the past 10 months thanks to a new £9.7m business support initiative. The Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered by Economic Growth Solutions (EGS), has helped companies across the UK to grow, develop new products and overcome production issues that were previously holding them back.

This has already led to 400 new jobs, with an additional 359 positions expected to be created once ongoing projects are completed. At the end of July, £1.6m of grant contributions had been made, with money in place to support another 2200 firms between now and March 2019. The MGP offers an 18-strong network of experienced manufacturing growth managers (MGM), access to industry specialists and the opportunity to apply for an average grant of £1400, rising to a maximum £3500. Support can be used for leadership and management, R&D, lean manufacturing, productivity and capacity, quality systems or supply chain development.
For further information www.manufacturinggrowthprogramme.co.uk

Dowty to build factory

Dowty Propellers has announced approvals to create a new facility in the Gloucester area. The move follows a fire in February 2015 that destroyed the company’s operating headquarters and blade manufacturing facility. Dowty expects that the new facility will be operational in 2019. The exact location will be determined by the end of this year on completion of a tender process to ensure the best combination of cost and efficiency.
For further information
www.dowty.com

MTC enhances 3D printing capability

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) has become the UK’s first centre to install HP’s latest 3D printer, the Jet Fusion 4200, which was supplied by Europac 3D. It is housed
in the MTC’s National Centre for Additive Manufacturing, which recently agreed a partnership to be the benchmarking centre for the European Space Agency. The MTC says that the HP Jet Fusion 4200 will be available to all companies interested in testing the technology and the capabilities of 3D printing, allowing them to explore the latest technologies and see what benefits additive manufacturing may bring.
For further information www.europac3d.com

£2m orders at Trumpf open house

The annual Trumpf UK open house proved itself to be a real success in more ways than one. For instance, not only did the three-day event attract more than 200 people through its doors, but orders in excess of £2m were secured. Arguably the star of the show at this year’s event was the TruMatic 1000 Fibre, an entry-level combination machine. Featuring a compact footprint, this combination laser machine can be equipped with functionality that punches holes, bends flanges and forms threads.

Elsewhere at the open house, the high end of Trumpf’s laser-cutting capability was on show. For instance, the company’s flagship TruLaser 5030 Fibre with 8 kW resonator was being put through its full range of capabilities, including cutting stainless steel up to 40 mm thick. Open house visitors were also introduced to the new Trumpf touchdown nozzles on the TruLaser 5030, which can reduce gas consumption by up to 70%, while doubling processing speeds, says the company.
For further information www.uk.trumpf.com