Plant & Works Engineering May 2022

News 0 6 | Plant & Works Engineering www.pwemag.co.uk May 2022 The AMRC has inaugurated its £20m applied research and development facility intended to help the UK’s advanced manufacturing sector to stay at the forefront of global developments. The new AMRC North West facility in Preston, Lancashire will have R&D expertise in areas such as digital manufacturing, 5G, robotics, additive manufacturing, autonomous manufacturing, batteries and low-carbon technologies. The facility was opened by Lee Rowley, Minister for Industry at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), who hailed it as a key innovation asset for the region and beyond. “This world-leading hub of research and development is precisely what will keep the UK’s advanced manufacturing sector ahead of the pack,” he said. “Not only will it help businesses unlock key productivity and sustainability gains, it will also drive our ambition to level up across the North West by supporting economic growth and jobs.” The applied research centre, located in the Samlesbury Aerospace Enterprise Zone in Preston, is part of the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). It has been built using a £20m grant from the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Deal and extends the University of Sheffield AMRC’s footprint across the north of England. The centre will be the primary site for the 5G Factory of the Futureproject, funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which is driving the adoption of 5G technologies in manufacturing through a consortium of industrial and academic partners from the manufacturing and telecommunications sectors. There are also plans to develop a Low Carbon Smart Building Demonstrator to show manufacturers how new digital technologies can be installed in existing facilities. It will create the road map for manufacturers of all size to cut their carbon footprints by 2030 and achieve net-zero by 2050. Since 2018, AMRC North West engineers have been operating from an interim facility at the University of Central Lancashire. They have already worked with hundreds of businesses across Lancashire, removing barriers to early adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies to drive growth, productivity and innovation, and support the region’s manufacturers to compete nationally and internationally. Speaking at the opening of the new centre, Professor Koen Lamberts, president and vice- chancellor at the University of Sheffield, described it as “a huge achievement”. “By bringing translational research to the doorstep of existing and new industry, we can help to boost productivity and attract more investment to Lancashire,” he said. “The AMRC has a strong 20-year history of working with manufacturers of all sizes to develop greener, more efficient products and processes, and we look forward to working with our partners in Lancashire to support the region’s economic growth.” AMRC North West was designed and project-managed by architects BDP and was built by Robertsons. AMRC inaugurates new £20m digital manufacturing R&D centre Chris McComb, managing director of the Manchester-based systems integrator iTech, has succeeded Bob Squirrel as chairman of PIUK, the UK operation of the Profibus Group. Squirrel has retired after almost 30 years in the post. “It has been a wonderful time for me,” says Squirrell. “We launched in the UK in 1993 with just seven member companies and now number around 50, having successfully weathered the storm of the Covid pandemic which brought about many changes in how organisations such as ours carried out their day-to-day business. But here we are, almost at the other side and ready to start another year of promoting the world’s most successful industrial networking standards. “Even though retired, I will be keeping an eye on the networking world, with a great sense of pride in what PUIK and its members have achieved,” Squirrel adds. “I know that Chris is ready to carry on and extend PIUK’s influence in the networking world. He will do a great job, of that I’m confident.” McComb states he “will endeavour to continue in Bob’s footsteps. I have known Bob for over 20 years, and he has been a foundation to our group. His leadership has forged a fantastic team, who through collaboration, support and best practice continue to support manufacturers, end- users and support organisations, such as iTech, to deliver successful and fully certified industrial network solutions across all sectors. “It’s my plan to continue building the group through new membership and increasing the value to members with informative seminars, webinars and focussed regional events,” McComb continues. “With continual developments in our technologies, there is an abundance of support and guidance we can give.” McComb succeeds Squirell after 29 years as chairman of PIUK