Manufacturing news
September 2007
Boeing and Airbus win BA deals
British Airways has split its biggest aircraft order in almost ten years by placing orders with both Airbus and Boeing.
27 Sep 2007 9:08
Manufacturing investment falls again
Although investment in the manufacturing sector has continued to fall, with the metals, textiles and clothing industries leading the plunge, figures issued today by the ONS show that it is still above the level recorded a year ago.
25 Sep 2007 11:21
PZ Cussons to close its UK final salary pension scheme
Imperial Leather-maker, PZ Cussons has announced new plans to close the UK final salary pension scheme, but investment in UK manufacturing continues.
25 Sep 2007 11:02
Unions to challenge government over two-tier workforce
Tomorrow, the government will be confronted by unions over the growing problem of migration and agency working in UK manufacturing.
24 Sep 2007 16:50
Unilever sheds jobs
Unilever has now implemented its plan to cut 20,000 jobs around the business over the ensuing four years. UK Chairman, Dave Lewis, described the changes as a “significant step forward in increasing the responsiveness of our manufacturing in the UK.”
21 Sep 2007 15:24
US lawsuit targets BAE directors
Just days after winning a contract to supply 72 Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia, BAE Systems is under fire again over alleged corruption in its dealings with Saudi Arabia. This time the shots come from one of its US shareholders and is aimed at BAE directors.
21 Sep 2007 10:38
Manufacturing remains upbeat in spite of financial turmoil
Manufacturing continues to weather the turbulence in the financial markets, with healthy order books, and an optimistic outlook for output growth.
20 Sep 2007 12:36
US toys' lead content under scrutiny
A two-day hearing is taking place in the US to examine the extent of lead contamination in children's toys following the recall of 21 million mainly Chinese-made toys in recent months.
20 Sep 2007 8:53
BAE to supply 72 eurofighters to Saudi Arabia
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it has reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia to supply 72 eurofighter Typhoons, as part of a defence cooperation programmed called Project Salam.
17 Sep 2007 17:12
Birmingham to get £1 million powertrain development centre
Plans to install and commission a £1 million research facility for heavy diesel powertrain development and emissions analysis, have been announced by the University of Central England’s Technology Innovation Centre. The facility will be located at its Birmingham, Millennium Point HQ.
13 Sep 2007 17:02
Bombardier grounds half its Q400 planes
Following two incidents of landing gear failure, Canadian plane maker Bombardier has ordered the grounding of almost half its Q400 turboprop planes.
13 Sep 2007 10:36
Mattel boss says sorry
US toy-maker Mattel has apologised to the US Senate, for lapses in its safety procedures that led to the recall of over 20 million toys over the last couple of months.
13 Sep 2007 11:28
Pfizer to cease manufacturing in Britain
Pfizer, the world’s largest drug company, is to close its last British manufacturing plant, with the loss of 420 jobs.
12 Sep 2007 9:55
China makes product safety promise
Chinese President Hu Jintao has said Beijing will work with to improve product safety and inspection measures.
06 Sep 2007 10:38
Manufacturers welcome rate hold
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has kept the cost of borrowing unchanged at 5.75 per cent.
06 Sep 2007 9:04
Mars recalls Maltesers and Revels
Mars has recalled certain packs of Maltesers and Revels after customers found small pieces of rubber in them.
05 Sep 2007 10:54
Mattel makes third toy recall
Mattel, the world's biggest toymaker, has recalled a further 800,000 of its Chinese made toys, its third product recall in a month.
05 Sep 2007 10:47
UK firm expands in Romania
UK component manufacturer Plastic Engineering is to move its Romanian operation to a larger facility in order to reach sales of £2 million in the next two years.
05 Sep 2007 14:26
Premier Foods hikes up bread prices
Britain’s largest food processor Premier Foods has raised the price of bread for a second time this year and warned that it may need to make further increases if wheat prices remain high.
04 Sep 2007 15:10
Graduate's green project scoops Komatsu prize
The Komatsu Student Prize, which has been organised for the last five years by excavator manufacturer, Komatsu UK, to recognise young engineering talent, has been won by BEng graduate Ben Heatley, for his eco-friendly project.
03 Sep 2007 11:10
LDV is named UK Company of the Year 2007
LDV, which has recently seen a resurgence in fortunes under its new owner, Russian firm Gaz, has been named UK Company of the Year 2007 by the Institute of Transport Management.
03 Sep 2007 11:12
Manufacturers show record growth
UK manufacturers have recorded the highest output and order balances since 1995, according to new data.
03 Sep 2007 10:27
UK manufacturing weathers rate rises
The UK manufacturing sector saw activity rise to a three-year high in August, driven by the sector's fastest growth in output for 13 years, according the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply.
03 Sep 2007 11:19
