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.
Derbyshire jobs created, sustained as WFEL awards further UK MoD Boxer Armoured Vehicle sub-contract to Wesco Anixter
WFEL, a key partner in the manufacture of Boxer armoured vehicles for UK MoD, has awarded a three-year contract to Chesterfield-based Wesco Anixter for the supply of components to be used in the assembly and integration of the Boxer vehicles at WFEL’s Stockport defence manufacturing facility. Read more via The Manufacturer
New jobs created as Brighouse based manufacturer targets expansion
Business has been booming for Quickslide, which has seen its order books reach record levels, and as a result the award-winning firm is seeking local talent to help increase production.
Based on Bradford Road, the privately owned company currently employs 208 people but has seen a swell in business since the pandemic, as homeowners upgrade their properties to better accommodate home-working, reduce their energy bills with newer and more efficient windows, or simply opt to improve rather than move in the current housing market. Read more via Quickslide
Wrightbus wins £3m contract for zero emission buses
Northern Ireland bus manufacturer Wrightbus has secured a new £3m order to deliver 18 zero emission buses for First Bus in Leicester.
It follows a £25.3m contract to supply 117 battery-electric vehicles to First Bus for routes across the UK.
The buses will be built by Wrightbus at its factory in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. Read more via Belfast Telegraph
Scotch Malt Whisky Society owner opens £2.5m site to bring bottling in-house
The owner of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) has opened its £2.5m bottling plant as the society starts its 40th anniversary celebrations.
Artisanal Spirits Company plc says the Masterton Bond bottling plant at Uddingston will mark a “real step change” in its supply chain performance.
The group signed a 10-year lease on the site in October 2021 and the plant was fully operational by November 2022, with some 20,000 bottles produced by the year’s end. Read more via insider.co.uk
Bentley Blower to return to racing
The first car of Bentley’s Blower Continuation Series – known as Car Zero – is set to invoke the history of its ancestor by racing at a series of events across 2023.
Completing its purpose of engineering validation while honouring its genealogy, Blower Car Zero will take to tracks in the UK, France and Belgium in a set of races that will test its performance and endurance. Read more via The Manufacturer
British Steel participating in major zinc recovery project
British Steel is taking part in a £250,000 project designed to unlock a practical method of removing zinc from by-products produced as part of the iron and steelmaking processes.
Part of PRISM, the Innovate UK-funded programme which supports research and innovation in the steel and metals sector, the project is being led by The Materials Processing Institute and supported by British Steel, Tata Steel, CELSA Group and Marcegaglia Stainless. Read more via British Steel
Craemer launches UK production of plastic pallets
Craemer UK has begun manufacturing its one-piece injection moulded D3 range of plastic pallets at its production facility in Telford.
The decision was made in response to growing demand for Craemer’s plastic pallets in the UK. The products previously had to be imported from the company’s manufacturing facility in Germany so this launch means that UK customers can benefit from quicker deliveries, fewer transport costs, and reduced CO₂ emissions. Read more via Logistics Manager
Electric vehicle battery makers test a future without Lithium
A year and a half ago, China’s CATL put on a flashy event to make an announcement significant enough that Zeng Yuqun, the founder and chairman of the world’s biggest battery maker, served as emcee.
Zeng, who had just passed up Alibaba’s Jack Ma in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, revealed that CATL was working on battery packs that would use lithium-ion and sodium-ion cells. While sodium is more abundant and offers potential safety benefits over lithium, the latter is dominant in EV batteries. Lithium-ion chemistries offer superior energy density, enabling drivers to travel further between charges. Read more via Bloomberg
Toyota student placement scheme wins RateMyPlacement Award
Toyota (GB) PLC has won the 2023 RateMyPlacement Award for the best 45 small to medium size student work experience schemes, moving up from 22nd place last year.
The awards are based on student reviews of their work experience, posted on RateMyPlacement.co.uk, the UK’s leading jobs board for students seeking paid placements, internships and insight schemes. Read more via Toyota UK
Universal Robots and Labman Automation partner to help bring pharmaceutical products to market quicker
Labman Automation, a UK-based company creating laboratory automation solutions, has partnered with collaborative robots (cobots) manufacturer, Universal Robots, to develop the MultiDose powder dosing system.
The MultiDose system will enable pharmaceutical companies to rollout much needed products for testing, bringing them to market faster. A highly-accurate, automated solid dispensing instrument, it will save technicians up to six hours per experiment, compared to manual processes. Read more via The Manufacturer
