Daily Manufacturing News Digest – the industry stories you should be aware of today

Posted on 13 Jun 2024 by The Manufacturer

Each day The Manufacturer compiles the top manufacturing news stories from around the web. To make your life a little easier, we trawl through all the major trade publications, broadsheets and business magazines to find you the most important manufacturing news each morning. Don't forget to bookmark this page and check back daily.

Construction starts on Factory of the Future to reinvigorate Northern Ireland’s industrial potential

Construction has started on a state-of-the-art Factory of the Future at Global Point in Newtownabbey led by Queen’s University Belfast, which is key to an exciting future for advanced manufacturing in Northern Ireland.

The major milestone for the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) is expected to create up to 1,500 jobs across Northern Ireland, contribute £1bn to the economy and train 300 apprentices by 2050. More via The Manufacturer

Goodyear Tyres UK’s sales hit £3bn following brands revamp

The UK arm of tyre giants Goodyear and Dunlop has seen its sales soar to almost £3bn following its ongoing efforts to raise the profile of its retail brands.

Goodyear Tyres UK, which is headquartered near Solihull, achieved a turnover of £2.9bn in 2023, up from £2.7bn the previous year, according to newly-filed documents. More via Yahoo! Finance

European auto shares hit by retaliation fears after EU tariffs on Chinese EVs

Shares in some of Europe’s biggest automakers dropped on Wednesday on fears of Chinese retaliation after the European Commission said it would impose duties on imported Chinese electric vehicles.

The Commission said it would apply provisional duties of up to 38.1% on the Chinese imports – a move European manufacturers have long warned against, fearing it could impact their sales in China, the world’s biggest auto market. More via Reuters

AkzoNobel opens world-first purpose built wind turbine blade coatings testing facility

International, AkzoNobel’s protective coatings brand has opened a new, world-class Rain Erosion Test (RET) facility at its global hub for research and development in Felling.

This is the first purpose-built and designed facility of its kind on the market globally, fitted with sound insulation, a small laboratory and a 1,000 litre water recycling tank, among other design elements. More via The Manufacturer

Palletower to reduce carbon emissions by onshoring production

From June, Palletower, the UK’s leading manufacturer, stockist and supplier of storage and logistics equipment have transitioned the production of their plastic box pallets and other plastic storage products such as collars and foldable boxes to the UK.

In the past, these have been manufactured in Spain, Germany and China and a significant number are currently being moulded and imported from Istanbul.

At present, a fully lorry load of plastic boxes weighing 4.6 tonnes distributed from Istanbul to the UK generates almost 2.6 tonnes of carbon emissions. Therefore by manufacturing in the UK, Palletower will reduce their emissions dramatically. More via London Loves Business

UK’s largest crayfish processing plant launches in Berkshire

Berkshire-based producer The Kennet Crayfish Company has created the ‘UK’s largest’ processing facility for crayfish in a bid to corner a market currently dominated by foreign imports.

The new plant features storage tanks with the capacity to hold more than 3,000kg of crayfish while they are purged, as well as a ‘custom built’, Environment Agency approved, unit where the crayfish are humanely processed. More via Food Manufacture

Whyte & Mackay in talks with union in bid to avert strike action at Scots distilleries

Further talks between whisky maker Whyte & Mackay and members of the GMB union are taking place as the drinks manufacturer attempts to “mitigate” planned industrial action at three of its distilleries.

GMB Scotland members at the company’s Dalmore and Invergordon distilleries in Ross and Cromarty and Tamnavulin in Moray recently voted to walk out after receiving a pay offer they described as an “insult” at a time, they said, the company was making record profits. More via Daily Record

Plans unveiled for Scotland’s first turbine blade factory

A Danish manufacturer is seeking to build the first factory making wind turbine blades in Scotland, in a breakthrough for the renewable energy sector.

Vestas, a world-leading blade maker, has begun the process of securing planning permission for the site at Leith docks in Edinburgh – one of Scotland’s green freeports.

The company cautions that a final investment decision has not been made, and will require more certainty on orders by offshore wind developers. More via BBC News