UK NEWS

Manchester Best City For Manufacturing Growth

Manchester has been named the UK’s leading city for manufacturing in 2026, according to the Tadweld UK Manufacturing Index, a new study ranking Britain’s manufacturing hotspots based on growth, workforce strength, investment, transport connectivity, property affordability, business support and long-term manufacturer success. The index shows that Manchester tops the rankings with a manufacturing momentum score of 9.1 out of 10.

The city’s position reflects strong manufacturing investment, excellent transport links, a highly skilled engineering workforce, thriving industrial clusters and a proven track record of manufacturers succeeding and expanding over the long term. Manchester was followed closely by Sheffield (9.0), Birmingham and the West Midlands (8.9), and Liverpool (8.8), creating a competitive top tier of manufacturing destinations.

More information www.tinyurl.com/8bcm8kjd

Excel Updates Brand and Expands Range

Excel Machine Tools, a family-run supplier with more than 40 years of industry experience, has unveiled its updated brand identity and expanded product range, reinforcing its commitment to supporting UK workshops, manufacturers and industrial businesses. Long recognised for its expertise in manual metalworking machines, Excel Machine Tools has built its reputation on supplying practical, dependable equipment for workshops of all sizes.

While metalworking remains core business, the company has now broadened its offer to include woodworking machinery, welding equipment, compressed air technology, industrial cleaning solutions and wider workshop equipment. Meanwhile, the updated brand reflects the continued growth of Excel Machine Tools as a family business, combining decades of product knowledge with a wider range of solutions for today’s requirements.

More information www.excelmachinetools.co.uk

Metals firms wanted as industry survey launches

A new survey to capture the latest views of the UK metals sector has been launched. The State of the UK Metals Industry Survey 2026/27, organised by the UK Metals Council, is looking to gain insight on current trading conditions, the impact of tariffs and how firms are attempting to come to terms with rising energy costs. It will also tackle the complex subject of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, while trying to understand how recent changes to skills support might affect attitudes to upskilling and apprenticeship recruitment. The survey should only take 10 minutes to complete and will stay open until 5 September.

More information www.bit.ly/4uuxJCR

New head of Mills CNC Training Academy

Mills CNC has promoted Darren Clarke to head up its CNC Training Academy operation following the retirement in April of previous training manager Karen Earley. Apprentice-trained Clarke joined the CNC Training Academy in 2017 as one of its three trainers at the time. He has a wealth of experience in the machine tool sector, including roles at Bridgeport, DMG Mori and ETG.

Clarke is already making his presence felt by making more use of the CNC Training Academy’s customer database and CRM system to increase sales of its operator and programmer training courses and improve operational and administrative efficiencies.

Other plans include making more use of the facility’s two dedicated CNC machine tools by introducing and offering intermediate milling and turning level operator courses.

More information www.millscnc.co.uk/training

Campaign launches for more female role models

“We don’t want to be seen as the exception, we want to be seen as the rule,” is the clear message coming from women in engineering and manufacturing. This rallying call is headlining In-Comm Training’s annual ‘I’m Included’ campaign, which has been launched to shine a spotlight on females behind engineering – showcasing their diverse roles, career paths and life experiences.

Backed by Enginuity and nine companies including Adams Enclosures, Assa Abloy, Filtermist, Industrial Physics, Jenks & Cattell, Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) and Safran, the initiative will highlight stories that often go unseen. In particular, the stories celebrate achievements across different stages of an engineer’s journey and demonstrate how inclusion drives innovation and help bridge industry’s skills gap.

More information www.bit.ly/4ebIghu