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.
JLR launches new schools partnership programme to drive forward the careers of 40,000 students from diverse local communities
JLR has launched an all-new Schools Partnership Programme to help 40,000 students from diverse backgrounds build electrifying future careers in areas such as electrical and software engineering, digital and data roles and autonomous technologies.
The programme is focused on improving opportunities for groups underrepresented in the industry including young females, pupils from challenging socio-economic backgrounds and those with English as a second language, creating a pipeline of talent to build JLR’s next generation of modern luxury vehicles. Find out more at The Manufacturer
Rolls-Royce to create simpler, more efficient and effective organisation to continue to deliver world class products
Rolls-Royce has today announced plans for a simpler, more streamlined, organisation in the next phase of its multi-year transformation. The new structure will create a more agile business that is better able to serve customers and continue to create and maintain world-class products. It will help Rolls-Royce build enhanced capabilities in key areas such as procurement and supply chain management, ensuring they are as strong as the company’s engineering and technical excellence.
The changes being proposed will also remove duplication and deliver cost efficiencies. Our tight management of costs and headcount through 2023 has ensured that we have minimised the overall reduction in headcount. It is estimated that 2000-2500 roles will be removed globally. Rolls-Royce currently employs 42,000 people worldwide. Find out more at Rolls-Royce
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners opens state-of-the art canning line at Sidcup manufacturing site
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP), the world’s largest independent bottler of Coca-Cola, today marked the official opening of its new state-of-the art canning line in Sidcup.
The opening was attended by Louie French, MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, who met CCEP’s General Manager Stephen Moorhouse and VP for Customer Service and Supply Chain, Javier Gandarias Sanchez, as well as the site’s operations director, Karl Probert and colleagues on the factory floor.
The site celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2021 and the new line is capable of producing 2,000 cans per minute, forming a key part of a £28m investment in the factory, further highlighting CCEP’s commitment to investing in the latest manufacturing innovation. Find out more at The Manufacturer
600 UK auto jobs at risk as Volta Trucks plans for bankruptcy
About 600 UK automotive jobs are at risk after electric lorry start-up Volta Trucks said on Tuesday it was planning to file for bankruptcy, becoming the latest new electric vehicle entrant to falter.
The private Swedish company began production of its electric 16-tonne truck in April using a contract manufacturer Steyr Automotive in Austria, but it ran into difficulties after its battery supplier, Proterra, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the US in August.
That lowered the number of vehicles Volta could make and made it harder for the company to raise additional capital, the board said on Tuesday. As a result, it had taken the “difficult” decision to begin bankruptcy proceedings. Find out more at Financial Times
World’s biggest Pothole Pro fleet set to fix Britain’s roads
The biggest fleet of JCB Pothole Pros – a machine which fixes potholes in eight minutes flat – is set to hit the road in the UK after one of the country’s leading hirers placed a massive order for 50 machine.
Commercial asset supplier Dawsongroup has already bought 11 JCB Pothole Pros – but all are now out on long-term hire with councils up and down the country, with more urgently needed.
Demand for the machines is huge, especially given the Asphalt Industry Alliance’s (AIA) Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance survey estimating that there are a record £14 billion worth of outstanding road repairs in England and Wales – or a nine-year backlog. Find out more at JCB
Agreement with Europe needed to avoid £3,400 electric vehicle tax hike – SMMT
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is today urging the EU and UK to strike an immediate agreement to avoid damaging Brexit tariffs on electrified vehicles.
The plea, echoed by the EU auto sector, is to delay the implementation of tougher new Rules of Origin (ROO) requirements on batteries which could render EU and UK made electrified vehicles uncompetitive in each others’ markets. Find out more at The Manufacturer
Kidlington’s Fortescue WAE green battery factory opens
A new factory to build green battery technology for global use has opened.
Australian businessman Andrew Forrest, founder of iron ore firm Fortescue, opened the facility in Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
He initially approached British manufacturer Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) as a client, before buying it and creating the new factory.
It employs 300 people who build technology for heavy industry and motorsport.
Another WAE factory is expected to open in Banbury next year. Find out more at BBC News
Royal Academy of Engineering announces first Masters-level motorsport engineering scholarships to help improve diversity in Formula 1
The Royal Academy of Engineering, working with Sir Lewis Hamilton’s charitable foundation Mission 44, has announced the first five Black or mixed Black ethnic students to receive scholarships to study for an MSc in motorsport engineering or an associated discipline.
The MSc Motorsport Scholarship Programme was launched in June 2022 with inaugural funding from Sir Lewis Hamilton HonFREng and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team, now continued through the work of Mission 44. The scholarships provide financial and career support to individuals completing their masters in motorsport or a related degree. Find out more at The Manufacturer
