Manufacturing news
November 2002
British Energy boss bows out
Robin Jeffrey, executive chairman of beleagured British Energy, was yesterday sacked by the the Trade and Industry Secretary.
29 Nov 2002 10:23
DTI shakes-up business support
The Department for Trade and Industry has scrapped all 183 of it business support schemes as part of a radical restructuring project.
29 Nov 2002 9:43
Wagon scraps factory plans
The West-Midlands manufacturing sector received a further blow this week after automotive engineer Wagon cancelled plans to build a factory specialising in light-weight structures.
29 Nov 2002 9:54
BAE Systems cuts 450 jobs
BAE Systems has announced that it is to cut 450 jobs from its factory at Brough, near Hull.
28 Nov 2002 11:03
British Energy conservation
Common sense was brought to bear on the British Energy crisis yesterday when the European commission allowed an extension of the government’s loan, which was initially due to expire tomorrow.
28 Nov 2002 11:05
Dear Prudence - response to the pre-budget report
It came as no great surprise to hear the chancellor revise his forecast for economic growth yesterday. Experts had been predicting it for weeks.
28 Nov 2002 11:08
The complete picture
The final piece of the government’s regional development jigsaw was put in place on 27 November by Alan Johnson, minister of state for employment relations, industry and regions, at the launch of the East of England Regional Centre for Manufacturing Excellence at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre in Basildon.
28 Nov 2002 11:07
BAE Systems division up for sale
Employees at BAE Systems were yesterday told of the company decision to sell the aerostructures division.
27 Nov 2002 9:43
British companies cut investment spending
Fears surrounding the stability of the world’s economy are forcing British companies to reduce their spending on investment at the fastest rate ever.
27 Nov 2002 9:45
Pension fund fears for National Grid Transco
National Grid Transco, which runs the UK’s gas and electricity networks, yesterday disclosed that its pension fund has a £1.5 billion shortage.
27 Nov 2002 9:46
BAE bid gaining ground
BAE Systems, which has been locked in a battle for a £10 billion contract to build and maintain two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, is inching ahead of its main rivals, the French group Thales.
26 Nov 2002 10:25
Blame Brussels and Whitehall says Hewitt
At a panel debate at the CBI conference yesterday, Patricia Hewitt claimed that the government has learnt its lessons on red tape, and that the prime Minister is taking a personal interest in addressing the issue.
26 Nov 2002 10:08
Land Rover falls foul of distribution problems
Land Rover, has been experiencing problems since taking on Caterpillar Logistics for the distribution of spare parts to dealers. Parts availability has fallen from 95 per cent to 88 per cent, and this has led to complaints from the dealer associations.
26 Nov 2002 9:51
Business conditions worsening, says CBI
The CBI kicked off its annual conference in Manchester yesterday with a stark warning that an increasingly hard-pressed UK government is losing its grip on the business community.
25 Nov 2002 9:38
GKN faces uncertain markets
Automotive and aerospace industry supplier GKN is facing a challenging and uncertain year, it said this morning.
25 Nov 2002 11:24
Imperial Tobacco announces annual results
Imperial said its future prospects had been transformed by its acquisition of Reemtsma as it announced record financial performance today.
25 Nov 2002 11:36
Not all robots are in manufacturing
Thirty years on from the invention of manufacturing's heavy welding and painting robots, a spooky new survey suggests their cousins are getting ready to take over the world.
25 Nov 2002 10:02
R&D spend up 10%
Government figures out today show that spending on research and development had risen steeply even before tax incentives were put in place earlier this year.
25 Nov 2002 10:14
Brussels backs British Energy
European regulators are set to back the £650 million lifeline offered to beleagured nuclear power firm British Energy.
22 Nov 2002 9:56
EEF urges Blair to stand firm in EU
The Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF), along with a group of major UK companies and trade bodies, have sent an open letter to the Prime Minister, urging him to stand firm against the proposals at the forthcoming EU Council of Ministers on 3 December.
22 Nov 2002 14:28
Engineering manufacturer cuts more jobs
Howmet, a major engineering manufacturer based in east Devon, is set to axe more than 65 jobs.
22 Nov 2002 9:57
British jobs cut by Pirelli
Pirelli will be closing two sites in Britain resulting in the loss of 445 jobs.
21 Nov 2002 9:55
CBI/EEF: Energy tax ‘flawed’
TAXATION: Climate change levy makes ‘mockery of government commitment to manufacturing’
21 Nov 2002 14:21
DTI streamlines business support programme
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) plans to scrap over 183 business support schemes over the next two years.
21 Nov 2002 9:59
EEF urges premium investigation
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is being urged to investigate a substantial rise in employer liability insurance premiums by concerned manufacturers.
21 Nov 2002 9:57
Glass manufacturing in Alloa is saved
GLASS: £23m investment secures continued UK production
21 Nov 2002 14:23
Making it in Britain or defecting to Asia
ALLIANCE: November meeting to tackle migration
21 Nov 2002 14:21
The car in front is a ...
BOOK REVIEW: Henry Ford, and the birth of lean
21 Nov 2002 14:22
Door open for mobile consolidation
Peter Erskine, chief executive of mobile phone operator mmO2, speaking yesterday about the future of its Dutch operation, said the company was ‘very open-minded to reviewing all the options’.
20 Nov 2002 10:59
EEF reports marginal rise in pay settlements
The November pay bulletin from the Engineering Employers Federation shows a slight rise in pay settlements in the engineering and manufacturing sectors.
20 Nov 2002 10:57
IBC Vehicles turning the corner
IBC Vehicles, the only vehicle manufacturer left in Luton, is reported to be heading for its first operating profit this year, after 15 years of continuous losses.
20 Nov 2002 10:55
Power struggles
TXU Europe was placed into administration yesterday after failing to pay for energy supplied by the Drax power station in October.
20 Nov 2002 11:00
Cap Gemini cuts jobs to reduce costs
Cap Gemini Ernst and Young, Europe’s largest computer services company, yesterday announced 700 jobs cuts in the UK.
19 Nov 2002 9:44
Investment in UK industry is a must
The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) has warned the Chancellor that if the UK manufacturing sector isn’t given an investment boost then it may die out.
19 Nov 2002 9:46
Time running out for British Energy
British Energy has only 12 days left before its £650m government loan runs out.
19 Nov 2002 9:45
Climate Change Levy under attack from the Royal Society
The Royal Society is to call on government to scrap the Climate Change Levy, which it believes in an inefficient way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
18 Nov 2002 9:09
Fines for work related accidents rocket
Fines for companies and individuals convicted of health and safety offences rose by an average of 39 per cent during 2001-2002.
18 Nov 2002 9:30
Torrid times for small manufacturers
Small and medium size manufacturers have seen orders and output fall at the fastest rate for a year, according to a CBI survey published today.
18 Nov 2002 9:54
The China syndrome
China's influence over the world of manufacturing was evident again yesterday as succesive headlines hailed its role in the global battle for industrial supremacy.
16 Nov 2002 10:13
CBI and TUC join forces to conquer basic skills shortage
A joint report between the CBI and the TUC, has shown that one in five adults do not have the basic literacy or numeracy skills to match the majority of children starting secondary school.
15 Nov 2002 10:04
Invensys suffers massive drop in shares
Invensys’ shares fell by 25 per cent yesterday after the company announced a £58 million pre-tax loss in its first half profits.
15 Nov 2002 10:01
10,000 manufacturing jobs lost each week
New jobless figures out yesterday showed that manufacturing was again the worst hit sector with 159,000 jobs lost in the three months to September.
14 Nov 2002 10:07
Corus calls off wedding
Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus announced yesterday that it had walked away from its proposed merger with the Brazilian steel firm Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN).
14 Nov 2002 10:10
Japan catching up
Continental Europe’s 18 months of economic supremacy over one of its main rivals, Japan, has come to an end, says the latest bulletin from the Centre for Business and Economic Research.
14 Nov 2002 14:50
Lotus Cars in £31m IT deal
Sports car manufacturer Group Lotus has announced a £31.5m, 5-year contract to improve its IT capabilities.
14 Nov 2002 9:11
"Save jobs with tough employment laws," says new union boss
Newly elected Amicus General Secretary, Derek Simpson will tell the Government to end the haemorrhage of quality jobs from the North West and other industrial areas with tough European style employment laws.
13 Nov 2002 9:01
Business confidence falls in all but one UK region
Manufacturers' confidence has dipped in 10 out of 11 UK regions even though a majority are more optimistic about immediate prospects for orders and output.
13 Nov 2002 9:27
Corus withdraws from Brazilian merger
Corus has abandoned its proposed merger with Brazil’s largest steel company Companhia Siderurgica Nacional.
13 Nov 2002 9:19
Inflation creeping upwards
The annual rate of inflation (excluding mortgage interest payments) reached 2.3 per cent in October, against 2.1 per cent the previous month, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
12 Nov 2002 10:36
Manufacturers’ margins squeezed
Figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday show that the cost of raw materials and fuels showed an annual increase for the first time since June 2001.
12 Nov 2002 11:17
Mixed picture for machine sales
Little publicised Government statistics on the sales of metalworking machine tools, may, in some small measure, give an indication of manufacturing industry investment trends.
12 Nov 2002 12:50
Treasury squares up to CBI attack
Paul Boateng, chief secretary to the Treasury, has reacted angrily to the CBI’s accusation that business is too heavily taxed to be competitive.
12 Nov 2002 10:38
UK business unmoved by single market
As the European single market approaches its tenth anniversary, there is new evidence that British companies are more sceptical of its benefits than their European counterparts.
12 Nov 2002 10:40
Belfast workers in pensions shortfall
Two hundred employees in Belfast are facing a drastic cut in their pensions following liquidation of Irish Fertiliser Industries, a joint venture between the Irish government and ICI.
11 Nov 2002 10:42
CBI warns Brown not to damage UK competitiveness
The relentless rise in business taxation is damaging UK business, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned Gordon Brown.
11 Nov 2002 10:58
Ford to go flexible
Ford Motor Company is to follow the lead of Toyota and Honda, and introduce new ‘flexible manufacturing systems’ to its North American operations.
11 Nov 2002 10:06
More job losses on the way
Cable & Wireless, the UK telecommunications group, is preparing to shed up to 3,000 jobs across its C&W Global division.
11 Nov 2002 10:19
Microsoft Establishes Antitrust Compliance Committee
Microsoft has announced the composition of the Antitrust Compliance Committee it was ordered to set up by a Federal District Court last week.
10 Nov 2002 10:06
Aircraft manufacturers warned
While the commercial aircraft orders appear to be booming, the Institute for International Research warned yesterday that the deals may not bring much benefit for them in the long term.
09 Nov 2002 8:58
ABB cuts jobs to deal with debt
More than 10,000 job cuts have been announced at engineering company ABB.
08 Nov 2002 10:46
Alstom close to selling off UK property
The Anglo-French engineering group, Alstom is near to selling its UK property portfolio to St Modwen Properties.
08 Nov 2002 10:47
High tech jobs boost for Wales
On a visit to Wales yesterday to open the headquarters of the company supplying the Armed Forces' new Bowman communications system, defence secretary Geoff Hoon announced that hundreds more defence jobs could be coming to the region.
08 Nov 2002 10:44
Welcome boost after interest rate disappointment
UK industry has welcomed the half-point cut in US interest rates despite the disappointment following the Bank of England and European Central Bank’s policy freeze.
08 Nov 2002 10:48
EC approves ABB Finance sale
The European Commission has approved the sale by debt-laden power and automation technology group ABB, of its Structured Finance business to GE Commercial Finance.
07 Nov 2002 10:53
Manufacturing disappointed as MPC fails to follow US lead
The EEF (Engineering Employers Federation) has expressed its disappointment at today's decision to leave interest rates on hold, believing that a cut was strongly justified on overall economic grounds and in the interests of shoring up business confidence.
07 Nov 2002 14:05
More days lost through disputes
More days were lost through labour disputes in 2001 than in any year since 1996 when 1.3 million days were lost, according to the latest issue of Labour Market Trends.
07 Nov 2002 8:48
RSA increases claims reserves
The spectre of claims from former asbestos workers cast a shadow over third quarter results from troubled insurer Royal & Sun Alliance today.
07 Nov 2002 9:14
UK interest rates left on hold
The Bank of England has left UK interest rates on hold at 4 per cent, despite growing pressure from UK manufacturing for a cut.
07 Nov 2002 12:46
‘Cut rate or lose 100,000 jobs’ – union
The skilled workers union Amicus has again warned the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England to cut the interest rate by at least one half of one per cent later today to stem the tide of job losses in manufacturing.
07 Nov 2002 8:45
Mini drives in profit for BMW
BMW has said that strong sales of the Mini has helped to lift its third-quarter profits.
06 Nov 2002 14:31
September output falls but quarter is up
Manufacturing output in the latest quarter to the end of September rose by 1.1 per cent compared with the previous quarter.
06 Nov 2002 8:58
Ford Focus recall
Almost 600,000 Ford Focus cars have been recalled due to safety issues.
05 Nov 2002 9:41
Proposed rescue plan for British Energy
British Energy has been offered a way out of its current predicament following a rival rescue package.
05 Nov 2002 9:40
Business confidence falling
A report released by analysts BDO Stoy Hayward shows several factors are combining to produce a cocktail of gloom about the immediate prospects for the economy.
04 Nov 2002 10:15
Government faces tough choice over British Energy
The immediate future of British Energy is subject to a delicate balancing act.
04 Nov 2002 10:12
Microsoft roadshow arrives in Europe
Microsoft’s longstanding court action in the United States appears to be over.
04 Nov 2002 10:16
New automotive components plant in Sunderland
With all the high profile publicity about manufacturers relocating to countries with low labour costs, it’s easy to overlook the fact that new factories are still being built in the UK.
04 Nov 2002 10:14
GDP figures show manufacturing growth
Yesterday’s (Friday) GDP data from the Office of National statistics show continued economic growth. Third quarter figures show manufacturing grew although this was partly offset by a decline in the oil and gas extraction sector. Quite strong services growth continued.
02 Nov 2002 17:11
"Flawed" energy tax is damaging manufacturers
The recession hit manufacturing sector has suffered more than any other from the Government’s Climate Change Levy,
01 Nov 2002 9:41
Asbestos claims continue
Turner & Newall, the UK engineering group, is to bring an asbestos liability law suit against Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) on behalf of its former employees.
01 Nov 2002 10:19
Cheap labour puts the boot in
After Dyson and Black & Decker earlier this year, R Griggs Group, makers of Dr Martens boots, is the latest big name manufacturer to announce its intention to relocate abroad. The company announced on 24 October that it plans to move production to China to take advantage of lower labour costs.
01 Nov 2002 14:21
Manufacturers to realise savings from global standards
GLOBAL INITIATIVE: Setting the scene for streamlining the supply chain
01 Nov 2002 14:24
Princess Royal opens Europe’s most advanced furniture factory
The new £20 million Ercol furniture factory in Buckingham-shire was officially opened by HRH The Princess Royal on 23 October. Unlike British manufacturers who have chosen to relocate abroad, Ercol, a family owned business established over 80 years ago, has made the decision to remain in the UK, keeping together a uniquely skilled 400-strong workforce.
01 Nov 2002 14:18
SMEs to get a better deal from banks
The UK’s biggest banks have agreed a deal to allow small businesses to move accounts without financial penalty, and that the transaction should take just five days. It has taken up to five weeks in the past.
01 Nov 2002 10:01
