Boost For NP Aerospace

NatWest is supporting Coventry-based military armour and vehicle support specialist NP Aerospace with a multi-million funding package to grow its global business. The funding facility, which includes a trade finance facility backed by UK Export Finance and capital investment facilities from Lombard, will enable NP Aerospace to expand its exporting capabilities. NatWest and Lombard have been supporting NP Aerospace with facilities and financial products since 2021. The business, which now expects to create new jobs, has operated in Coventry for almost 100 years and employs 380 people at its global facilities.

More information www.npaerospace.com

Funding for STEM events

Thousands of underrepresented UK schoolchildren have been given access to high-quality STEM experiences through Drax Foundation funding, in partnership with EngineeringUK. Funding for Engineering UK’s ‘Big Bang at School’ bursaries has now enabled 10 priority schools to host their own STEM events – bringing the magic of the Big Bang to the classroom with an inspiring day of activities. The bursaries, supported by £15,000 of matched funding, gave 3088 pupils the opportunity to engage in STEM activities. The scheme caters to schools serving youngsters underrepresented in the engineering workforce.

More information www.drax.com

Metelec expands with NI facility

Specialist copper supply chain partner Metelec has announced the launch of a distribution facility in Belfast, offering improved convenience and delivery times for customers across Northern Ireland. Metelec has strengthened its relationship with ARO Logistics to open the operation in its state-of-the-art 36,000 sq ft distribution facility in Newtownabbey, from which deliveries will be made across the country.

One of the UK’s largest distributors of copper bars, busbars, copper profiles and copper components, Metelec has a head office in the West Midlands, as well as operating from another distribution centre in Tullamore, Republic of Ireland. The Newtownabbey centre will shorten delivery times for dozens of customers in Northern Ireland.

More information www.metelec.com

JOSCAR approval granted to Pre-Met

A Redditch-based metal pressing and stamping specialist is targeting a multi-million-pound opportunity in aerospace, automotive and defence after it was approved by a major industry buying portal. Pre-Met, which recently acquired Quality Springs & Pressings, has passed all the criteria and compliance checks required to be listed on JOSCAR, a global best-practice supplier portal used by thousands of major OEMs, tier 1s and supply chain companies across the UK and Europe. The company’s 100% OTIF delivery performance, quality scores and commitment to EH&S best practice saw it pass all checks

More information www.metalpressingsandstampings.co.uk

Indicating the way to sustainable manufacturing

As the UK distributor for Rosa Ermando’s Rosa GrindTech and Favretto GrindTech grinding machines, Master Abrasives is introducing two key themes that are central to the future of manufacturing: energy-saving solutions and sustainability.

In the face of today’s complex economic challenges, Davide Lucca, CEO of Rosa Ermando, believes that businesses must leverage digitalisation, energy efficiency and sustainability to gain a competitive edge.

“European machine manufacturers have excelled at designing and producing high-quality machinery,” he says. “However, to remain competitive on a global scale, we must go beyond just manufacturing products. We need to focus on integrated solutions that combine innovative machinery, services, and processes.”

Master Abrasives shares this vision and excited to bring these innovative solutions to the UK market, highlighting how Rosa and Favretto’s technology can drive both operational efficiency and sustainability.

One of the stand-out features of Rosa and Favretto machines is their focus on energy saving – an essential consideration for businesses aiming to reduce operational costs and their environmental impact. At the BI-MU exhibition in Milan last year, Rosa Ermando presented an advanced energy management system that is now available on all Rosa GrindTech and Favretto GrindTech machines. This new feature allows users to measure energy consumption in real-time, providing detailed insights into energy absorption across different components and processing steps.

“Our new system not only tracks overall energy usage but also enables differentiation by monitoring the energy consumption of specific parts of the machine,” says Lucca. “The next step is to modulate machine functions based on actual energy requirements, which helps optimise consumption and enhance overall system efficiency.”

More information www.master-abrasives.co.uk