INDUSTRY NEWS
£ 37.6m UK Digital Twin Centre for Belfast
The Belfast Region City Deal and Innovate UK have announced a £ 37.6m investment into the UK Digital Twin Centre , a centre of excellence that “ will revolutionise how industries develop products , services and systems across the UK .” Led by Digital Catapult , the Centre has been endorsed by UK industry , launching with co-investment from three major industry partners : Thales UK , Spirit AeroSystems and Artemis Technologies . Enabled by a core investment from Innovate UK into this new Centre and the associated programmes , the partners will deliver an initial six use cases to demonstrate the potential of digital twins in transforming the maritime , aerospace and defence sectors . In a step-change from traditional research and innovation centres , the UK Digital Twin Centre aims to accelerate industry ’ s adoption of digital twins through providing access to the latest technologies , reducing the costs of producing a digital twin and developing skills in the workforce — therefore removing key barriers that businesses face . The Centre will also provide a collaborative space for industry , academia and the public sector to foster crosssector innovation .
Increasingly being adopted across global industry , digital twins are virtual models of a physical object or system which can be informed by streamed data from a real-world version or environment . The digital twin can provide unique capabilities including rapid prototyping and real-world control mechanisms , enabling businesses to make smarter decisions , achieve better outcomes , shortening time to market , reducing costs and lowering emissions .
The £ 15m of funding from the Belfast Region City Deal will help to support core research and the building of skills and capability . This investment will underpin the region ’ s ambition to build innovation and digital capability , increase productivity , support reaching net zero targets and create more and better jobs . The Centre has committed to contributing 230 new jobs in the manufacturing sector across the UK , and to generate £ 61m for the local economy in Northern Ireland by 2033 .
Deborah Colville .
To enable digital twins to be more accessible , better understood , more easily developed and more meaningfully applied , the UK Digital Twin Centre will also run a series of programmes for all levels of industry , from SMEs to large enterprises , to drive innovation and realise new value .
UK Digital Twin Centre Director at Digital Catapult , Deborah Colville , explained : “ This announcement is a pivotal moment in realising the real-world value of Digital Twins for the UK . The Centre will give businesses across the UK access to the expertise , technology and resources necessary to accelerate the adoption of Digital Twins to reduce design and manufacturing costs , help meet net zero targets and drive competitive advantage globally .”
The UK Digital Twin Centre will open later this year in Belfast . See : www . digicatapult . org . uk / expertise / programmes / programme / uk-digital-twin-centre / n
www
. digicatapult . org . uk
www . belfastregion citydeal . co . uk
CBM celebrates metalforming award winners
A supplier of millions of components every day to cars , lorries and engines has been named as the Confederation of British Metalforming ’ s ( CBM ’ s ) ‘ Company of the Year ’ at a prestigious event in the UK recently . Sertec Group , which employs over 2200 people across ten global locations , won the main award .
Judges were reportedly impressed by ‘ its journey to excellence ’ that has seen it enjoy a major increase in productivity , improvements in on-time delivery in full and the implementation of a comprehensive employee engagement approach .
With 200 people in attendance at The Grand Hotel in Birmingham , the Coleshillheadquartered company in the UK was joined on stage by KMF Precision Sheet Metal ’ s Kayleigh Simm ( Apprentice of the Year ) and G-TEM , which was a double winner on the evening ( HSE Initiative and Energy Efficiency ).
“ The latter , a global manufacturer of vehicle body structures , has demonstrated a clear passion for implementing ISO 45001 with the aim of creating a safer working environment , whilst its commitment towards
( Left to right ): Darren Wilding and Joshua Wood ( G-TEM ); Kayleigh Simm ( KMF Precision Sheet Metal ) as well as Ben Higgins and Martin Hinckley ( Sertec Group ).
Net Zero by 2035 has seen it introduce quarterly energy audits and commission a 200 % increase in its solar power capability . Emissions have decreased by more than a quarter ( 28 %) because of these initiatives , with sales also growing by a staggering 56 % due to major new business awards ,” commented the CBM .
Steve Morley , President of the Confederation of British Metalforming ( CBM ), commented : “ It has been another difficult year for the metalforming sector , who are facing up to global conflicts , continued supply chain disruption and high inflation . In spite of all this , our members have continued to show great resilience and innovation to post increased sales , export growth and investment in safety , people and new technology .”
19-year-old Kayleigh Simm is putting ‘ girl power ’ on the industrial map after she was recognised as the CBM ’ s Apprentice of the Year . She joined Newcastle-under-Lyme ’ s KMF Precision Sheet Metal in 2022 and her drive for engineering has shone through as she progresses within the company and , importantly , in the way she champions vocational learning to other young people .
This has seen her lead a KMF team at 15 school and college career fairs , as well as acting as an apprentice advocate on its Apprenticeship Open Day . She is now setting her sights on a degree in Manufacturing Engineering .
The CBM represents the interests of over 200 UK manufacturers of fasteners , forgings , pressings , cold rolled and sheet metal products . Its awards were sponsored by Crowe UK ; Greenfields Energy Group ; Steel & Alloy Gonvarri Industries and the AMRC . n
www . thecbm . co . uk
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