Welcome to the Friday Brief for week-ending 13 December.
Thoughts are now firmly focused on the MACH 2014 Exhibition and the MTA is delighted to announce that, with four months still to go until the exhibition opens its doors, this week saw the total space sold pass the 20,000m2 mark - the total space sold for the last MACH in 2012.
An important key feature of the MACH Exhibition is the chance for students and young people to be taken on conducted tours, visiting stands where exhibitors are able to show them exciting technology on display. This helps raise young people’s interest in a career in engineering based manufacturing and is a great showcase for the manufacturing technologies sector. In this week’s Friday Brief we have details of how your company can contribute to the tours.
The economic news this week saw the latest data for manufacturing output in the UK confirm the good news that we have seen in recent PMI data with output overall growing and - significantly for the manufacturing technologies sector - capital goods continuing to lead the way with growth rates that are stronger than the headline data for manufacturing as a whole would suggest.
We have a story this week highlighting the recent HSE Report on machine interlocks. The MTA’s Technical Committee is formulating a response to this Report and would appreciate your company’s input. Please see the Friday Brief story for more details.
The MTA’s Annual General Meeting was held on 4 December at the Gaydon Motor Heritage Centre, Warwickshire. During the AGM it was announced that Tony Bowkett, Managing Director of Nikken Kosakusho Europe Ltd had been nominated by the Board as the successor to Mark Ridgway’s Presidency. The guest speaker was Professor Sir Mike Gregory who spoke on the challenges facing manufacturing in the 21 Century.
Finally, if you have not already done so remember to book your places for the MTA’s Annual Dinner and Awards on 6th February 2014. Last year this event was completely sold out, so don’t miss what promises to be a fantastic evening.
Have a good weekend.