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28 March, 2024

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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.


UK manufacturers plan to invest in skills, machinery and r&d

18 October, 2022

Six out of ten UK manufacturers are planning to invest more over the coming two years, with 69% planning to boost their investment in skills, 55% planning capital expenditure on plant and machinery, an 40% planning to spend money on R&D, according to a survey by the manufacturers' association, Make UK and the accountancy firm, RSM UK.


UK university launches motors and drives consultancy

18 October, 2022

The University of Nottingham has become the first UK institution to create an independent business for industrialising electrical motors and drive systems. The new Nottingham Drive Specialist Services (NDSS) will develop, manufacture and test motors and drives for companies around the world.


Buying software by subscription ‘can cut upfront costs by 65%’

12 October, 2022

The UK industrial software developer Aveva is offering its products on a subscription model, allowing customers to buy “credits” which they can exchange for any items in Aveva’s portfolio. The subscriptions are available for periods of one to five years, and the credits are consumed on a monthly basis. Traditional sales yardsticks such as I/O and tag counts are no longer used.


DFA Media sells the Drives Show but keeps the magazine

09 October, 2022

DFA Media Group has sold the Drives & Controls Show, and its co-located events – Plant & Asset Management, Fluid Power & Systems, Airtech and Smart Industry Expo – to Nineteen Group, which organises the annual Manufacturing + Engineering Week (M+E Week) event at the Birmingham NEC. The terms of the transaction have not been revealed.


Leadec buys Elmleigh to boost its parcels and F&B activities

05 October, 2022

Leadec, the German-headquartered service specialist for factories, has bought the UK process automation specialist and systems integrator, Elmleigh Electrical Systems, for an undisclosed sum. Elmleigh’s customers include some of the biggest names in the food and beverage and parcel distribution sectors in the UK and Europe.


UK’s £22m National Robotarium launches with Tata tie-up

28 September, 2022

The UK’s largest and most advanced r&d facility for robotics and artificial intelligence, the £22.4m National Robotarium, has opened its doors at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. The centre has also announced an applied engineering and research collaboration with the multi-billion dollar company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), covering joint research across disciplines including soft robotics, field robotics, cobots and tele-operations.


UK manufacturers battle with the City to attract digital skills

26 September, 2022

UK manufacturers are having to compete with the financial sector and other high-paying parts of the economy to recruit the data specialists that they need to drive the move to digitalisation. A new survey by the British manufacturers’ group Make UK and the accountancy firm Sage reveals that more than a quarter (27%) of UK manufacturers say that they now need data analysts to help them make the transition to the digital era.


Robots will automate motor assembly at new winding centre

15 September, 2022

A technology centre due to open next year will help UK companies to deliver the next generation of electric motors. The Winding Centre of Excellence (WCE) is being set up by the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), part of the University of Warwick, and is being partly funded by £4m from UKRI’s (UK Research and Innovation) Driving the Electric Revolution Challenge programme. The WMG High Value Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC) is contributing a further £300,000.


BGEN buys Radway to boost its industrial automation activities

15 September, 2022

BGEN, the multi-discipline engineering business previously known as Boulting, has acquired Radway Control Systems to strengthen its industrial automation offering. The purchase will support BGEN’s ambition to expand in sectors including renewables and steel, and boost its presence in the automation aftermarket and service sector.


Royal Mint plant will be ‘first’ to turn waste PCBs into gold

09 September, 2022

The Royal Mint is building the world’s first plant designed to recover precious metals, including gold, from discarded electronic devices such as mobile phones. When fully operational in 2023, the plant, at the Mint’s secure site in South Wales, is expected to process up to 90 tonnes of UK-sourced circuit boards every week – producing hundreds of kilograms of gold per year which the Mint can use to produce coins. The venture will support around 40 jobs, helping existing employees to reskill, as well as recruiting new chemists and engineers.


Routeco takes control of simulation specialist, AutoLogic

07 September, 2022

The Routeco Group has acquired a majority stake in AutoLogic Systems, the Tetsworth, Oxfordshire-based supplier of simulation products, consulting and related services. AutoLogic’s management team and employees will continue serve its customers and to develop the business further. Details of the deal have not been disclosed.


Convergix buys AGR and Aylesbury Automation

06 September, 2022

US-based Convergix Automation Solutions has bought AGR Automation, a UK-based automation designer and systems integrator, whose headquarters are in Arbroath, Scotland. AGR also owns Aylesbury Automation in Buckinghamshire and has a factory in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.


UK manufacturers see energy prices as threat to existence

05 September, 2022

Nearly six out of ten UK manufacturers (58%) now fear that soaring energy prices are threatening their businesses – up from 8% just four months ago – according to a survey by Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation. Already, 13% have cut their operating hours or are avoiding production during peak periods, and 7% are stopping production for longer periods, while 12% report that they have already made job cuts as a direct result of higher energy bills. They warn that if expected price hikes of more than 50% occur over the coming 12 months, they will need to take more drastic action such as full shutdowns and wider redundancies.


UK manufacturing drop is steepest since first Covid lockdown

01 September, 2022

UK manufacturing production suffered its steepest decline in August since May 2020. Companies experienced a sharp reversal in new orders, with demand from domestic and overseas clients contracting sharply. This led to a near stalling of jobs growth and drop in business optimism, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for UK manufacturing produced by S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS).


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