Micromotors in space: engineering new frontiers 4th March 2021

New research into the extent of the skills shortage has found that the manufacturing and engineering industry is the worst affected with 85% of businesses currently feeling the strain from a lack of skilled workers. The report, by Search Consultancy, also added that on average, businesses in the industry are 18% understaffed with the average lead time to hire a suitable candidate standing at just below four months.

WEG has extended its warehouse in Belgium. The expansion will increase storage space at the site by 1800 square metres (m²), facilitating future growth for the company, increasing flexibility for customers and providing new office space for staff. The additional 1800m² of storage expands on the current 4200 m² warehouse, extending the total size to 6000m². The expansion allows for the installation of three extra docks. 

You cannot build a great building on a weak foundation - and the same principle can be applied to smart factories and their security. Here, Reinhard Mayr, Head of Information Security and Research at COPA-DATA, explains why building a secure architecture in your plant is key for securing digital processes.

In the past, standard IT systems have been separate from Operational Technology (OT), but this picture is now changing with IT/OT convergence and we’re seeing areas like industrial IT revolutionised by new connectivity. In this article, Martin Hodgson, Country Manager, Paessler AG explores how monitoring boosts factory floor efficiency.

A UK-based manufacturing, assembly and testing specialist for the subsea energy sector is flying high in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200. Express Engineering appeared 11th in this league table which rank’s Britain’s mid-market private companies with the fastest-growing international sales, measured over the latest two years of available accounts.  

A Coventry University apprenticeship graduate says his underprivileged start in life no longer defines his future in a message of hope to aspiring apprentices. Lawrence Powell is one of 13 product design and development apprentices employed by the UK engineering firm, Renishaw who have graduated from Coventry University - the first group to do so via this route. He defied his underprivileged background to turn his teenage passion for engineering into a professional career.

To help ensure equal and inclusive work conditions in STEM, European research initiative, the Graphene Flagship, is holding a career event as part of its Diversity in Graphene programme. The Diversity in Graphene Career Event 2021 is a digital event, taking place over two days, 8th to 9th March 2021. The first day will include sessions on topics from equal opportunities in STEM, to the experiences of diverse Graphene Flagship speakers working in industry and academia.

Whether hydrogen fuel holds the key to delivering widespread renewable power remains under heavy debate. What cannot be argued is the shear investment that backers are putting into the energy source - as much as €470bn by 2050. When sceptics protest hydrogen’s potential, as both an effective and eco-friendly fuel source, it’s important that they see the bigger picture. Mats W. Lundberg, Head of Sustainability at Sandvik, examines the hydrogen roadmap.