Manufacturers are being encouraged to take part in the Climate Change Agreement (CCA), which has saved metal-forming companies £100m over the past 25 years. The Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM) has successfully passed this major milestone based on money claimed back against the climate change levy tax that is applied to all gas and electricity bills. It has now reopened its window for new applicants to come forward for consideration as part of the next phase currently under negotiation, which will run from January 2026 until 2033. The window closes on 31 August 2025.

More information louise.campbell@thecbm.co.uk

Zeiss Industrial Quality Solutions (IQS) will stage an official grand opening of its new ‘Quality Excellence Centre’ in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. The event will take place on Wednesday 21 and Thursday 22 May. There will be a morning and afternoon event on both days comprising presentations, tours, simulated training academy sessions and guided machine demonstrations. Refreshments and catering will be available. At 1,500 m² the new Quality Excellence Centre in Lutterworth is three times the size of the company’s previous UK site in Rugby, where it was based for 23 years.

More information www.zeiss.co.uk/metrology

A new engineering production facility is set to open this month and create around 20 new jobs near St Helens as specialist engineering and technology company Delkia expands its operations into Merseyside. Delkia, which specialises in safety-related and mission-critical systems for the defence and nuclear sectors, is expanding its production capabilities to keep pace with a growing order book. The new ‘Power and Propulsion Centre of Excellence’ at Haydock boasts 16,000 ft² of manufacturing space and will specialise in the large-scale production, testing and assembly of power and propulsion systems for defence customers.

More information www.delkia.co.uk

The UK Digital Twin Centre has officially opened in Belfast, marking a major milestone in the UK’s digital innovation landscape. Delivered by Digital Catapult and funded by the Belfast Region City Deal and Innovate UK, the project is set to drive the next wave of industrial transformation by accelerating the adoption of digital twin technology across critical UK sectors – projected to reach £62m in GVA for the economy over the next decade. Programmes delivered by the UK Digital Twin Centre will help businesses across the country to demystify, demonstrate and deploy digital twins. More information www.bit.ly/3ROZuFC