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28 March, 2024

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Schneider’s Leeds plant gets a smart factory upgrade

22 December, 2022

Schneider Electric has upgraded its site in Leeds where it makes low- and medium-voltage products to transform it into a smart factory. As part of the multi-million-pound upgrade, a new assembly line, test cell and wiring loom machine have been commissioned. The site now has extensive digital capabilities. Together, these have resulted in a 10% increase in output, a 15% reduction in energy consumption, and improved operating efficiencies and customer service levels.


Free event will update you on the latest automation tech

22 December, 2022

The Talking Industry series of Webinars is joining forces with the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) to organise a free one-day event including panel discussions, workshops and an exhibition covering topics such as robotics, automation, digital manufacturing and artificial intelligence.


New UK automation show attracts big-name backers

21 December, 2022

Automation UK, the new exhibition launched in 2022 by a group of trade groups including Bara (the British Automation & Robot Association) and Ukiva (the UK Industrial Vision Association), will make its debut at the CBS Arena in Coventry from 20–21 June 2023.


Free UK service tests robot applications before order is placed

08 December, 2022

The engineering plastics specialist igus is expanding increasingly into low-cost robotics, and has launched a service to test proposed robot applications for UK customers free of charge, before they order any equipment. The Test Before Invest service is based on one that has been running at igus’ headquarters in Germany for several years.


Celebrities back drive to tackle £1.5bn skills shortage

07 December, 2022

More than 150 engineering leaders and celebrities – including Carol Vorderman and will.i.am – have endorsed a report calling on the Government to help tackle the UK’s engineering skills shortage by embedding engineering into primary and secondary school curriculums. They have written an open letter to the Prime Minster saying that the Government needs “to invest in our children, who will be our engineering innovators of the future”.


£6m project aims for world-beating motor production processes

07 December, 2022

A group of UK engineering companies have embarked on a £6m Government-backed project to develop a process for manufacturing electric motors that, they say, will be more cost-competitive, powerful and efficient than many alternatives.


42% of UK industry suffered cyber-attacks in the past year

05 December, 2022

Nearly half of UK manufacturers (42%) have been victims of cyber-attacks in the past 12 months, according to new research by the manufacturers’ organisation Make UK and the security software and services provider, BlackBerry. More than a quarter of those surveyed (26%) reported substantial financial losses as the result of an attack, ranging from £50,000-250,000.


Ford invests £380m in Halewood to make EV drivetrains

01 December, 2022

Ford has announced that is investing a further £125m to produce drivetrains for electric vehicles at its Halewood plant on Merseyside. The new investment takes the total being spent to transform Halewood to an EV component plant to almost £380m and will boost its drivetrain production capacity from 250,000 to 420,000 a year. It also means that 70% of the 600,000 EVs that Ford hopes to sell in Europe annually by 2026, will be powered by the Halewood-produced technologies.


Partnership brings IoT comms devices to UK users

01 December, 2022

The IoT communications manufacturer Moxa has formed a partnership with the UK controls and automation distributor PES Group to stock and support its products in the UK and Ireland. The agreement covers edge and cloud communications devices that enable connections between industrial networks and cloud infrastructures. The products include Ethernet switches, fieldbus gateways, remote I/O as well as serial-to-fieldbus converters.


Repair of 51-tonne compressor motors wins AEMT award

01 December, 2022

A project that helped to safeguard the UK’s energy supplies by repairing two critical Ex-rated 16MW motors, each weighing 51 tonnes, has been chosen as project of the year in the annual AEMT awards, which were presented recently at a ceremony in Coventry.


Drives & Controls Show joins ‘industrial Glastonbury’ line-up

21 November, 2022

The Nineteen Group, the exhibition organiser which recently acquired the Drives & Controls Show and its sister events AirTech and Fluid Power & Systems from DFA Media, has announced that they will appear as “zones” at the Manufacturing & Engineering Week event at the NEC in June 2023, before returning as stand-alone exhibitions in 2024.


Government delays UKCA enforcement by two more years

15 November, 2022

The Government is delaying the compulsory use of the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) safety mark by a further two years, giving businesses until 31 December 2024 to prepare for the scheme. Announcing the delay, Business Secretary Grant Shapps said it will give “thousands of businesses the freedom to focus on growth”.


UK manufacturers say digital spending is raising productivity

01 November, 2022

Almost 80% of UK manufacturers have increased their spending on digital technologies in the past two years, with a similar number planning to do so in the coming two, according to a new survey by the manufacturers’ association Make UK and the enterprise software specialist Infor.


£21m investment slashes Eriks’ delivery times to a day or two

25 October, 2022

The industrial products supplier Eriks has invested £21m in its UK business, principally on a fulfilment centre in Oldbury that expands its product range as well as slashing its delivery times from an average of four days, to a day or two.


Applied Automation signs up to sell cobot screwdriving tools

25 October, 2022

Plymouth, UK based Applied Automation has signed a sole UK distribution agreement with the Danish collaborative robotics specialist, Spin Robotics, to sell its easy-to-use end-of-arm screwdriving tools for cobot-based assembly applications. Spin’s products will be added to Applied Automation’s industrial automation products supported and sold through its technical distribution division in Cardiff.


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