To celebrate our maintenance roots, PWE has a dedicated monthly maintenance feature - Maintenance Matters - looking at all aspects of plant maintenance, and problem-solving case studies - the only magazine in its sector to give such detailed coverage every single month.
A continued strong performance from the UK’s manufacturing sector spurred on by solid growth in export orders, particularly to emerging markets, is set to lead the continuing economic recovery in 2011, according to a major report published in January
A new initiative of up to £125 million is being set up to improve the global competitiveness of UK advanced manufacturing supply chains, Business Secretary Vince Cable announced recently.
GAMBICA and Intellect will be holding a joint event in February 2012 in London to promote the concept of automation and its benefits in the manufacturing chain. Called Automated Britain – The Renaissance of UK Manufacturing the event will also explor
Respected qualifications in engineering must remain available to 14 to 16-year-olds in England and should be actively promoted by Government as a rigorous complement to mathematics and science studies - not as a second rate vocational option, the Roy
The arrival of the new Guidance on the Safe Operation of Boilers (BG01) recommends training as one of the key requirements for a safer and more efficient working environment.
Future engineering projects including High Speed Rail and the scaling up of UK nuclear power could be fatally undermined by a dangerous shortfall in engineering graduates, according to a report launched by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Manufacturers, machine builders, partners, industry analysts and media from around the world will meet Nov. 16-17 at McCormick Place in Chicago, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Automation Fair event hosted by Rockwell Automation.
Businesses are concerned that current UK energy regulations will not raise the investment needed to ensure the country’s low carbon future, and are calling on the government to either simplify or scrap some existing legislation to ensure targets can
I have been representing industry as the manufacturing ‘champion’ as part of the Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’ this autumn. The cost of regulation is a big issue for manufacturers and whilst growth is stalling, the regulations weighing down on th
Hertz Kompressoren Ltd has become a full member of the British Compressed Air Society (BCAS). BCAS executive director, Chris Dee, recently visited Hertz to present the company’s BCAS plaque.
EEF’s latest report continues to bring positive news from across the manufacturing sector. The official statistics have now shown six consecutive quarters of expansion in manufacturing output and our latest Business Trends Survey points to another t
The latest sensor and sensing system products, developments, technical innovations, seminars and workshops will ensure Sensing Technology 2011 is a must-visit exhibition. Developed in response to sector demand, Sensing Technology is the UK's only ded
With the May elections and referendum behind us and the coalition having spent its first year in power, it is time to look at what the government should be doing to create a stronger more balanced economy. The first part of the government’s Growth Re
Reducing energy consumption is one of the most important requirements today when modernizing machines and systems. Often, there is great potential for saving energy – which, in the end, means saving money. While retrofitting a transportation system,
With equipment budgets growing ever tighter in the current tough financial climate, more and more firms are putting greater emphasis on the business case for procurement before investing. Nigel Brown, Microlease CEO, explores the options available to
The British Fluid Power Association (BFPA) has introduced a new practical, workshop-based course titled ‘The BFPA Hose Assembly Skills Training Programme’.
The Sponsors’ Alliance – comprising around 40 independent national Accredited Trade Organisations (ATOs) – has written to UK Trade Secretary Vince Cable airing its concern about what it regards as a pronounced contradiction between the Government’s d
Warwick University is bidding to become the first UK university to set up a campus in the United States. Although there have been many partnerships between UK and US universities the Higher Education Statistics Agency, says there has not been a campu
Retirement age has been scrapped. From 6 April employers will no longer be able to compulsorily retire employees using the default retirement age (DRA) unless the default age can be objectively justified.
PWE is delighted to announce the Engineering Employers’ Federation chief executive, Terry Scuoler, will be providing a regular monthly news comment for Plant & Works Engineering magazine. His comment will appear within the news section of the magazin
Monday 7th to Saturday 12th March is the first EXCELL-ES test facility open week for 2011.
“We are very excited to be in a position to now have both the Lion and Tiger machines on demonstration”, commented Malcolm Fletcher, Managing Director.
Despite the short month and adverse weather, December results from the MTA’s monthly survey of members show increased order intake and invoiced sales in UK’s manufacturing technology sector, setting a positive tone for 2011.
Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, John Hayes, visited Bentley Motors’ Pyms Lane headquarters in Crewe recently to meet some of the Company’s outstanding apprentices who maintain the high luxury automotive Company’s reputat
Bulk solids handling specialists, Flexicon (Europe) Ltd. have announced an all-new TIP-TITETM Drum Dump Feeder that seals drums against a discharge cone, tips the drum and feeds bulk material into downstream equipment, dust-free at controlled rates.
The VIBXPERT II handheld vibration analyser, from Pruftechnik combines the advantages of a rapid processor with an energy-efficient colour VGA display.
Companies and associations from the private and public sector, including some of Europe’s most well known companies, have joined forces with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) in the new Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2010/11 on
Five companies have been ordered to pay £9.5 million for their part in the 2005 fire and explosion at the Buncefield Oil Storage Depot, in Hertfordshire.
The £1.3 million in fines for the pollution caused are a record in the UK. The £3million fines
The Prime Minister’s plans to transform the economy with a greater role for manufacturing have been welcomed by the IET, Europe’s largest engineering organisation.
Equality Minister Lynne Featherstone has called for more women to work in the key sectors of science, engineering and technology (SET) at the launch of a new report at Westminster.
A growing number of Britain’s manufacturers reported buoyant trading conditions over the past three months on the back of rising demand in overseas and UK markets, according to a major survey published by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation and BDO
A jury at St Albans' Crown Court has found TAV Engineering Ltd guilty of failing to protect workers and members of the public following an investigation into the explosion and fire at Buncefield Oil Storage Depot on 11 December 2005. Motherwell Contr
Balfour Beatty Engineering Services (BBES), one of the UK’s largest mechanical and electrical building services businesses is using an advanced tester from Clare Instruments to improve the electrical safety testing of its power installations.
Engineering construction firm Doosan Babcock has won the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accident’s (RoSPA) most prestigious occupational health and safety award. The company was presented with the safety charity’s Sir George Earle Trophy at a ce
Speaking at the ‘Decisions at 18’ Careers Conference at Royal Holloway University of London recently, Paul Jackson, chief executive of Engineering UK, highlighted the disparity in the percentage of female engineering professionals in the UK compared
Regular calibration to International Standards is vital to ensure your torque equipment is operating at its peak performance, guaranteeing the accuracy necessary is being delivered.
The UK’s eight leading engineering organisations have launched a comprehensive call for action to ensure that engineering makes the maximum contribution to solving Britain’s biggest challenges: the economy, the environment, education, infrastructure
The UK’s tax system is tilted against manufacturing, stands in the way of growing a more balanced economy and needs major reform, according to a major report published by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation.
There has been widespread condemnation at the recent announcement by Kraft that it is to close the Cadbury Somerdale plant, which makes Crunchie and Curly Wurly bars, by the end of the year.
A healthcare manufacturer from West Sussex, who won its biggest ever order to supply 300 operating tables to Iraq, a Sheffield based company which increased exports by 700% during the recession
Small and medium-sized manufacturers are starting to benefit from the relative weakness of Sterling, with overseas orders stabilising after seven quarters of decline, according to the CBI
A new paper released today by EngineeringUK finds Engineering and Technology graduates to be highly employable, with 94.3% in work three years after graduation, second only to medicine and dentistry.
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) is warning that the cost of a single day of employee absenteeism because of the freezing winter conditions could be at least £230 million.
The January cut-offs in gas supply to industry have been highlighted as the first signs that energy shortages are now beginning to translate into energy interruptions.
Warrington, UK. ESR Technology, one of the industry’s leading engineering, safety and risk management consultancies, today announced that it had been awarded a contract by Bacton Storage Company Limited (BSCL) to supply a broad range of safety suppor
CONTACT ATTACHMENTS has supplied a container of forklift tipping skips to contractors on the Phu My project in Vietnam, which will see the development of a series of power plants in the south of the country.
The new Machinery Safety Regulations come into force on 29th December this year and Wieland Electric is hosting a series of seminars through November and December to help engineers tackle the changes and make a smooth transition.
A leading North West law firm says the summer is likely to see more high profile cases of recession battered employers cutting costs by trying to change their workers pay and conditions.
Commenting on the Government announcement that it would fund student loans for 10,000 additional university place in STEM subjects in the coming year, CBI director of education and skills Susan Anderson said: "It's good to see government investing in
A new panel, to be chaired by Roger Liddle, will help generate ideas across the whole of the Government’s New Industry, New Jobs agenda, link it with the skills and higher education agenda and challenge conventional policy thinking in these areas.
Alistair Brummitt from Bedlington in Northumberland is the best young welder in England. He won the title of BOC Apprentice Welder 2009 at the English finals held at Doosan Babcock's welding school in Tipton, West Midlands over three days from 29-31
CIPA, the organisation representing the UK's 1,500 patent attorneys, has welcomed the radical proposals to slash the cost of patent court cases. Under the proposals, businesses will have the chance to enforce their patent rights, trademarks and desi
The latest quarterly Manufacturing Institute survey of business challenges among manufacturers in Northwest England signals improved confidence, with 48% of respondents stating that they expected their business to grow over the next 12 months, which
The Royal Naval marine and air engineering training facility, based at HMS Sultan in Gosport, recently hosted an event to acknowledge the Society of Operations Engineers (SOE) accrediting several of their courses.
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is calling all top female engineers to enter the 2009 Young Woman Engineer of the Year competition.
Sustainable power business ENER-G has opened an additional factory in Salford, Greater Manchester, to keep pace with worldwide demand for its renewable and energy efficient technologies.
James Smith CBE FEI, chairman of Shell UK, was elected Energy Institute (EI) President at the EI’s Annual General Meeting at the Institute of Directors in June.
In response to his election, James Smith CBE FEI, president, Energy Institute, commente
The skies of Oxfordshire were filled with dedicated fundraisers on Sunday 28 June 2009, as a team of 21 employees from Brammer UK took part in a parachute jump to raise thousands of pounds for Make-A-Wish Foundation UK. Make-A-Wish is the leading wi
Roger Evans, Plant Director at precision bearing and automotive component manufacturer Schaeffler (UK) Ltd. has been awarded an MBE (Membership of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, for his services to the Engineer
Professor Stathis Ioannides, SKF group director for Product Engineering has received the Tribology Trust's Gold Medal at a prestigious awards ceremony held at Buckingham Palace. The medal was presented to Professor Ioannides by Prince Philip, the Duk
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change is calling on UK business to take advantage of £100m in new funding available to help companies become more energy efficient. The vast majority will be delivered in England through the Carbon Trust
This year’s young winners of The Independent-Bosch Technology Horizons Award were announced at the Royal Academy of Engineering.The event was attended by students aged 14-24, their teachers and well-known personalities from the world of engineering
EEF, the manufacturers' organisation has published its manifesto for manufacturing.
'Manufacturing Our Future." sets out a vision for manufacturing at the centre of a more diverse and durable UK economy and makes bold recommendations to back it
A flagship qualification developed by industry to teach manufacturing and design skills in schools and colleges will be available in a further 20 areas around England from September 2010.
The Engineering and Technology Board (ETB) has responded to the CBI’s ‘Emerging stronger’ survey, and its assertion that there is high employer demand for both Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) employees, and work-ready employees with b
The British Safety Industry Federation is entering a new era - and embracing the challenges that accompany it. Over the past two years a number of long serving Federation Directors have retired. Combined with the current economic climate and the ev
The High Court ruling on 20 March that Total was to blame for the largest peace-time explosion in the UK at the Buncefield oil depot, sends a stark warning to company directors who are now subject to more stringent Health & Safety rules, says law fir
The Engineering and Technology Board (ETB)’s preliminary Engineers and
Engineering Brand Monitor (EEBM) reveals that dramatic change of attitude is required to get the best and brightest students into engineering and fulfil the
Government’s N
DFA Media, publisher of Plant and Works Engineering magazine has appointed Roberto Tondina as Advertisement Manager.
Tondina has twelve years publishing experience across a number of industrial and automotive titles, most recently working on DFA’s
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change is calling on UK business to take advantage of £100m in new funding available to help companies become more energy efficient. The vast majority will be delivered in England through the Carbon Trust
Professor Christopher Snowden, Deputy President of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), has represented the Institution at the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills (IUSS) Committee"s first evidence session on Engineering in Go
An 8% annual growth in the sales of commercial boilers above 44kW has taken the manufacturers reported annual total to above 20,000 units in the last 12 months. The increase continues the trend of the previous year and reflects the additional workloa
BITA, the British Industrial Truck Association has announced that its members will not face any increase in fees for the second consecutive year, with rates remaining at 2007 levels.
RS Components and the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) have entered into an agreement to work in partnership to support the continuing development of its new Centre for Engineering Excellence (CEE). The Centre was officially opened on 13th N
General Secretary of the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society (CMES), Zhang Yanmin met with IET chief executive, Robin McGill to discuss ways of future cooperation between the two engineering organisations.
Britain's manufacturers are continuing to defy the pervading economic gloom by posting their tenth consecutive quarter of healthy growth in the second quarter of 2008 according to a major survey published by EEF, the manufacturers" organisation and G
The recent 2008 BITA AGM saw the election of a new BITA Management Board, with Richard Close, CEO of Briggs Equipment, assuming the BITA Presidency from Brendon Sparks, director of Nissan's Industrial Machinery Division who is retiring from the indus
The Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Alan Duncan, speaking at the MACH 2008 Exhibition in Birmingham last month paid tribute to the resilience of the manufacturing sector despite the tremors across the wider economy.
The new Plant and Works Exhibition (PWE) attracted thousands of visitors, many of which were surprised at the wide range of maintenance options available to them.
Huddersfield based gearbox manufacturer, Hansen Transmissions Ltd, has announced that Taylor & Goodman has been appointed as its "Approved Service Partner”.
Britain"s manufacturing employers have strongly endorsed the Government proposal to introduce a 'well note', believing it will make a significant contribution to the culture change needed to tackle sickness absence.
Data released by the Chartered Management Institute suggests that managers in the engineering sector are putting in too many hours, for too few returns. The figures, which come from a report looking at the 'Quality of Working Life', have been issued
An Airbus A380 aircraft has successfully completed the world's first ever flight by a commercial aircraft using a liquid fuel processed from gas (Gas to Liquids - GTL) in the first stage of a test flight programme to evaluate the environmental impact
A comprehensive and focused seminar programme with speakers representing some of industry's most pre-eminent organisations, has been confirmed by DFA Media, publisher of Plant & Works Engineering magazine, for its series of exhibitions.
A biennial survey of registered engineers, conducted by the Engineering and Technology Board (ETB) in association with the Engineering Council UK (ECUK) reveals that the median total earnings for both Chartered Engineers (CEng) and Incorporated Engin
A report issued by the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology (UKRC) outlines a series of good practice recommendations designed to address the under representation of women in science, engineering and technology (SET) bo
Senior managers across the engineering sector are missing easy opportunities to hone their skills, as they fail to make use of the online resources available to them.
Business Secretary John Hutton called on UK manufacturers to respond positively to new opportunities created by emerging markets in the green economy, such as renewable energy and other low-carbon technology.