♦  Nord Gear has invested £100,000 in a production line at its Abingdon site to offer same-day assembly of its Nordbloc 1 helical in-line gearmotors with motor ratings to 9.2kW and torque ratings up to 640Nm. The line, which includes a custom-built hydraulic press and a motor test station, will allow skilled technicians to hand-build the gearmotors within hours of receiving an order. The Nordbloc gearmotors use one-piece aluminium housings and offer more than 30 gear ratios in two- and three-stage reductions with efficiencies up to 96%.

♦  Habasit Rossi, which claims to be the UK market leader in conveyor belting, has opened a fabrication and service facility to serve customers in North-East England. The centre will offer bespoke fabrication, a trim and track service, and 24-hour emergency call-outs.

♦  Cobham plc has brought together three of its technology design, development and testing businesses – Vector Fields, ERA Technology and Culham Lightning – under the new name, Cobham Technical Services. More than 250 people are employed in the businesses. Vector Fields produces design automation software for modelling and analysing electromagnetic equipment and effects.

♦  Fanuc Robotics UK reports that its January 2009 order book was its highest for more than ten years. It attributes this success to its entry into new markets, such as food production and aerospace manufacturing, which have increasing needs to automate production.