UK NEWS

Walter joins

Tooling expert Walter GB has joined ‘Made in the Midlands’, a peer group for manufacturing and engineering firms in the Midlands.

The company – which offers precision tooling solutions for milling, turning, drilling and threading applications under the product brands of Walter, Titex, Prototyp and Multiply – says joining Made in the Midlands is the latest strategic step in its continuing UK progress. Says managing director, Ashley Battison: “We work with customers to develop solutions for the cost-effective machining of parts used in the aerospace, automotive, energy and general engineering sectors.”
For further information www.walter-tools.com

MTC to triple apprenticeship places

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) near Coventry says that it will be more than trebling its apprentice intake over the next two years; planning to provide training to 300 apprentices per year by 2020.

Record-breaking attendances have been witnessed at the MTC’s latest apprenticeship open evenings, inspiring future talent to take up a career within the world of advanced manufacturing and engineering. The news comes as The Department of Education confirmed that the MTC has now been approved to become a provider and placed on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP).
For further information www.the-mtc.org

Funding available for overseas trade shows

The EIA and MTA have received confirmation of government funding for UK engineering companies to exhibit at overseas trade shows.

Eligible UK SME companies could receive grants of between £1500 and £2500 towards the cost of exhibiting, depending on the location of the show. The 2018-19 programme covers engineering shows in China, Germany, India, Oman, Poland, Malaysia, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States and Vietnam. Together, the EIA and MTA have also negotiated special rates for a UK group in India and Russia, and are working with the Genesis Initiative for a trade visit to Finland alongside a member of the Royal family to coincide with subcontracting show, Alihankinta.
For further information www.eia.co.uk

Sir Ben Ainslie to open MACH

The UK’s largest manufacturing and engineering exhibition, MACH 2018, which is set to take place in April at the NEC in Birmingham, will be officially opened (on 9 April) by the most successful sailor in Olympic history, Sir Ben Ainslie. Sir Ben won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four Olympics held between 2000 and 2012.

Sir Ben has a keen interest in manufacturing and the technology behind it, with his British America’s Cup team, Land Rover BAR, employing the latest manufacturing processes in the creation of its
foiling race boat. “At Land Rover BAR we bring together huge resources of technical, design and engineering knowledge to create something truly British and unique. We invest in technology and innovative skills to find solutions to long-term issues in sustainability. I’m very much looking forward to opening MACH 2018 and seeing the latest innovations from the UK’s manufacturing technologies sector.”
For further information www.machexhibition.com

XYZ ends 2017 on a high

XYZ Machine Tools closed out 2017 by posting an increase in order intake for the eight months from May to December.

The company’s UK order book grew by more than 23% in this period, while orders from the rest of Europe rose by 19%. XYZ managing director Nigel Atherton says: “2017 ended very strongly for XYZ and, with the new machine developments already announced, along with several other introductions that will be unveiled at MACH, we are looking forward to 2018 continuing the positive trend.”
For further information www.xyzmachinetools.com