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

Posted on 30 Jun 2023 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.

Rotala orders 67 Alexander Dennis Enviro200 for Greater Manchester franchised contracts

Alexander Dennis has announced that it has taken orders from new customer Rotala plc for 67 Enviro200 single deck buses.

The low-emission bus deals follow Rotala’s success in winning contracts for franchised bus services under Transport for Greater Manchester’s new Bee Network, which will launch in stages from September 2023 onwards. Read more via The Manufacturer

JLR trains hundreds in new data skills – helping to drive greater Range Rover production

JLR is delivering the largest data upskilling apprenticeship programme in the country through the Multiverse Data Fellowship Apprenticeship – with more than 600 employees enrolled.

The programme aims to boost the company’s digital transformation, and it is already seeing the benefits. Read more via JLR

Double Top 100 win for Sheffield Forgemasters

Two UK Top 100 manufacturing awards announced in June have recognised Sheffield Forgemasters.

The company is named in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers, a prestigious annual employer rankings developed by the Department of Education to independently assess and rank the country’s highest achieving apprenticeship employers.

Meanwhile, Chief Operating Officer (COO) and former apprentice, Gareth Barker, has also been listed as one of 20 exemplars in The Manufacturer Top 100, a renowned awards programme which showcases the UK’s highest performers within manufacturing. Read more via The Manufacturer

Partnership-building with retailers yields awards success for Toyota

A strategy of building an open, honest and transparent partnership with its retailers has reaped rewards for Toyota, reflected in the company being voted the best manufacturer to represent in in the 2023 Car Dealer Power Awards.

Car Dealer magazine’s annual study saw Toyota achieve an average score of 91.5 per cent from retailers’ assessments of a wide range of business elements, from the quality of finance offers, new car supply, return on investment and the accessibility of head office teams. Read more via Toyota UK

Sheffield’s Gripple celebrates employee ownership with businesses in South Yorkshire

Gripple, the manufacturer of wire joiners and tensions for agriculture, construction and the solar industry hosted an Employee Ownership (EO) day celebration for 70 people at its GLIDE house headquarters in Sheffield recently.

Gripple has been an employee-owned business for almost 30 years and, as an EO Ambassador, is committed to supporting and encouraging other businesses to transition to this model. Read more via The Manufacturer

Gernot Döllner to succeed Markus Duesmann as the new CEO of AUDI in Volkswagen’s Group Board of Management

As the new CEO of AUDI AG, Gernot Döllner will take his place on Volkswagen AG’s Group Board of Management on 1 September 2023. He will take over from Markus Duesmann, who will resign from Group management at the same time. The Group Supervisory Board adopted a resolution to this effect today. Read more via Volkswagen

BAE Systems and ELTA Systems, Ltd. successfully test manned-unmanned teaming requirements on Amphibious Combat Vehicle

BAE Systems has successfully tested manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) on the Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) C4UAS as a technology demonstration using IAI/ELTA Systems Ltd’s Rex MK II Unmanned Infantry Combat Support System.

The teaming technology enhances mission effectiveness through greater situational awareness and decision making capabilities. Read more via BAE Systems

Fortune Brands invests in UK manufacturing facility

American firm Fortune Brands Innovations, has shown a ‘significant’ commitment to the UK market with ‘major’ investment in a new manufacturing site in Staffordshire.

In a statement, Fortune Brands Innovations – the parent company behind some of the biggest names in the KBB world including Aqualisa and House of Rohl brands, Victoria and Albert, Perrin and Rowe and Riobel – said the move will “drive Fortune Brands Innovations’ growth in the region” and support the company’s luxury brands within the kitchen and bathroom industry. Read more via kbbreview