Ff Supplement 2013

Reports

Event review DRIVING SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORKFORCE

AUTOMATE UK Summarising key lessons learned at two Future Factory events

Researched and delivered by:

DRIVING SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORKFORCE AUTOMATE UK The Future Factor y Series of events, produced by The Manufacturer, aims to explain what key business, market and social trends might mean to manufacturing businesses in the UK. The series of conferences, workshops and factory tours help manufacturers benchmark their reactions to these themes with peers across sectors and to define potential for improving their competitiveness.

The Future Factory Series was launched in 2012 and, to date, events have addressed: Flexible Workforce Innovation

What’s in this report?

This report summarises key findings and highlights from tow recent Future Factory event help by The Manufacturer in London.

Skills Development in the Workforce

This event aimed to define best practice in workforce engagement, training and development.

Presentations linked excellence in these areas to demonstrable benefits for the competiveness of their companies and wider industry.

p03 In it together

Neil Lewin of Festo explains why acknowledgement of the importance of soft skills in manufacturing was such a positive aspect of the Driving Skills event

p04 Sorting out skills

Jane Gray, editor of The Manufacturer, whisks through highlights and top quotes from the event pinpointing favoured methods for school engagement, SME versus big company approaches to workforce development and the UTC revolution in 14-19 eductation.

Automation

Supported by:

Skills Development in Workforce

Sponsored by:

Forthcoming events in 2013 will address: Energy Management: July 16, Birmingham

Automate UK

Exports Editorial

Compiled for The Manufacturer magazine by: Jane Gray, Editor j.gray@sayonemedia.com George Archer, Reporter g.archer@sayonemedia.com

Design

Martin Mitchell, Art Editor martin@opticjuice.co.uk

Marketing

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Jon Tudor, Events Director j.tudor@sayonemedia.com In order to receive your copy of the The Manufacturer kindly email p.kealy@sayonemedia.com, telephone 0207 4016033 or write to the address below. SayOne Media cannot accept responsibilty for omissions or errors.

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This event set out to define the automation imperative for UK manufacturing and to help individual companies scope, source and fund their automation needs more effectively.

p07 The engaged autopilot

Marc Wellington of Festo summarises why the importance of workforce engagement in automation projects was the most important message to emerge from the Automate UK event

p08 Playing catch up

George Archer, reporter at The Manufacturer, pulls out a few of the highlights from Automate UK and discovers scope for better communication between industry, financial stakeholders and the general public about the motivations for investing in automation.

Supported by:

Sponsored by: Copyright Š SayOne Media 2013.

Driving Skills Development in the Workforce: Sponsor overview

Set supply chain scraps aside and open your eyes to collaboration

In it together W

ith Jaguar Land Rover among the presenters at TM’s recent Driving Skills event, it is unsurprising that several learning and development audience questions centred on the problem of talent poaching – conscious or otherwise – by big consultant at Festo Didactic, names with bulging order books.

But Neil Lewin was encouraged by the after TM’s Future Factory: big brand responses. “There was a welcome acknowledgement of skills supply chain problems Driving Skills Development in from the top down,” he says, highlighting how Jo Lopes from JLR showed it is trying to reduce the Workforce event. drain on the UK’s meagre engineering talent pool through its Technical Accreditation Scheme (p4).

“Ultimately though,” emphasizes Mr Lewin, “growth is a good thing and companies, large or small, cannot stop development because they are afraid people will leave,” or on the contrary because they are afraid others will blame them for poaching capability.

“They key to avoiding skills supply chain problems is to all take action together,” he continues. “A key moment at this conference was when one speaker emphatically told delegates that ‘There is no reason why any company should feel isolated in their desire to educate young people or schools about career opportunities in their Neil Lewin, firm or their sector.’ This is absolutely true. There is a wealth of initiatives to help learning and companies engage with schools efficiently and effectively.” development consultant at Festo Didactic One initiative, mentioned several times by multiple speakers, was STEMNET. “It is an extremely time efficient way for smaller firms in particular to start making a difference,” acknowledges Lewin. “The ambassador programme asks very little as a minimum and is a great way to get a feel for the influence you can have, without fear of committing unmanageable amounts of time.”

Lewin commends schools engagement and says it is the root solution to resolving the debilitating skills gaps UK manufacturing faces today. But it was another element to discussion at Driving Skills which particularly pleased him.

on skills issues says Neil Lewin,

“Growth is a good thing and companies, large or small, cannot stop development because they are afraid people will leave” Neil Lewin, learning and development consultant, Festo Didactic

Report

Support needed

Lewin is clear that “the onus is on industry to work together to resolve skills shortages.”

While he admits that it would be nice to simplify the complex landscape of skills schemes, initiatives and frameworks, he points to small firms like Quick Hydraulics, who presented at Driving Skills, as living proof that some time and effort will uncover appropriate skills solutions for firms across sectors and size brackets. Lewin encourages business leaders to use conferences and networking events as well as regular meetings with local or sector peers to make this challenge easier on themselves.

That said, Lewin does not let government off the hook. “There ought to be a direct and simple tax rebate for every pound a firm invests in training its staff,” he states. “Simple as that!”

Management matters

“The strongest feature of the day was its focus on how to nurture leadership and management skills rather than becoming overly concerned with technical skills,” he says.

“There is a real shortage of good management in manufacturing today and this is a fundamental issue to address if we expect the industry to retain talent.

Nearly every speaker highlighted this which is great to see.”

Lewin says that organisations where existing staff are not equipped to manage and develop apprentices are facing big problems. “Those companies need to question themselves closely about the expectations they project. Senior management must equip mentors and trainers at all levels. Not only does this go hand in hand with retention of new recruits, but it gives a sense of pride and fulfilment to existing employees.”

The Manufacturer thanks Festo Didactic for its sponsorship of Future Factory: Driving Skills Development in the Workforce

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Driving Skills Development in the Workforce: Conference highlights

Snatching key lessons from TM’s Driving Skills Development in the Workforce event, Jane Gray attempts the impossible in rounding up an

Sorting out skills C

ompanies don’t get much more dissimilar on first impressions than tech experience sharing driven car giant Jaguar and networking.

Land Rover and family owned, niche food manufacturer The Authentic Food Company.

But as TM’s Driving Skills event unfolded it became obvious that manufacturers of all shapes and sizes face similar skills issues and that ideas can be swapped about how to address these issues between some unlikely seeming peers.

Encouragingly, the diversity of success stories at Driving Skills proved that, while investment is necessary to develop an effective and engaged workforce which can support a growth strategy, solutions to skills gaps do not rely on having piles of cash to throw at the problem.

While BAE Systems told delegates that it spent £83 million on apprenticeships in 2011, Andrew Esson, managing director of SME Quick Hydraulics, successfully supported a 74% increase in employee numbers with effective IT, technical and leadership training in under two years with a budget of just £12,000.

Jose Lopes, head of technical excellence at JLR, got the conference underway with a bold display of the booming car manufacturer’s commitment to guaranteeing continued investment in UK capacity by developing a highly skilled workforce which can make the most of those investments.

immensely valuable day of

Mr Lopes showed how JLR consciously maps its product development process to skills requirements. “We spend £2 billion on product development every year,” shared Lopes. “We need to understand the skills needed at every stage in the development cycle.”

A key challenge in the UK is finding maths talent that matches JLR’s rigorous product development and testing process. “Every product must have around three million simulation results signed off,” he said. “Confident maths and physics are fundamental to this.”

A shallow talent pool of emerging graduates, coupled with the need to develop the skills of existing, experienced employees to create capacity for progression in the company, pushed JLR to develop an innovative solution to its top end skills gaps. The Technical Accreditation Scheme (TAS) partners with a variety of UK universities to deliver modular masters level training. There are now 53 modules available for staff to take in bite-sized chunks, as and when they want or need to.

So powerful has the scheme proven that sector skills council Semta took the template and has replicated it for other companies to take advantage of – look up the Advanced Skills Accreditation Scheme to find out more.

Main areas for reform to make the UK a leader in innovation Improve education in trade, academic and training in new technologies

40% 35%

Develop culture of research and innovation

32%

Increase tax incentives for innovative companies Develop more stable and attractive policies for sustainable investment Develop entrepreneurship Develop venture capital and other financial tools 4

26% 17% 16%

Source: Ernst & Young’s 2012 UK Attractiveness Survey.

Data used in presentation from Jose Lopes, Jaguar Land Rover

Report Softer side

But while core academic and technical skills were an important element of the Driving Skills event, there was unanimous agreement among speakers and delegates that the most valuable capability a company can build are leadership and management skills – not just for senior individuals, but at all levels. This recognition is indicative of a move away from thinking of manufacturing employees simply as ‘labour’ and towards enabling self managing teams with the confidence to problem solve.

Brian Chapman of AkzoNobel had some fascinating insights into how the paint company is working to build this culture from scratch at its new £100m plant in Ashington. “A greenfield site affords certain unique opportunities for designing workforce and culture,” said Mr Chapman.

Such opportunities can spring up in the very fabric of the buildings. “We made last minute changes to the architect’s plans when we realised that the design would not support the ‘one team’ vision we have.”

Another key lesson from AkzoNobel was the importance it has put on creating accountability to the community around its new factory. “This far more powerful in motivating success and productivity for the

factory than internal accountability,” he said.

Paul Harnetty, operations director at Manchester-based The Authentic Food Company demonstrated resoundingly in his presentation – the most popular of the day according to delegate feedback – that he agreed.

The company undertakes a phenomenal number of CSR and engagement activities with local charities and community concerns. This includes corporate fundraising for and food donations to hospices and respite centres, but also fostering the independent charitable interests of staff members.

Staff engagement events, internal awards, safety training and other personal and professional development options also act as regular motivators. Does it all make a difference to the bottom line though?

Mr Harnetty is convinced that the company’s consistent growth, staff retention record and productivity are all founded on its commitment to developing people and community. Pre tax profits were up 15% in 2012 on the previous year and turnover rose 10% to £40m. This is expected to jump to £50m by the close of 2013 and the company has confidently sunk £2m into site expansion to accommodate this.

“It’s a good time to be seeking support if you are an SME.” Andrew Esson, Quick Hydraulics

“Our research showed us that including the work ‘forklift’ in a preliminary job description immediately eliminated 80% of female interest in the role.”

Brian Chapman, AkzoNobel

“The present education system is incapable of producing the requirement of cross sector technicians, the unique way in which University Technical Colleges heavily involve employers in shaping and teaching the curriculum can resolve this shortfall.”

Lord Baker, Baker-Dearing Trust

32 in total 5 currently open 14 to open 2013 13 to open 2014

University Technical Colleges

Lord Baker, Baker-Dearing Trust, reported on the spread of University Technical Colleges

“In two year TAS has seen the completion of 5,000 one week modules by employees either at partner universities or remotely.”

Jose Lopes, Jaguar Land Rover

Making time

Perhaps the most impressive thing about all this activity on the part of an SME is the time management find to make it all happen.

Time is commonly cited by employers as their biggest barrier to negotiating the complicated skills landscaping and finding the solutions that fit their needs – but attendees at Driving Skills had a few tips on how to soothe time tensions.

Firstly, Andrew Esson stated that membership of trade bodies like EEF and local business networks are a handy way of keeping your ear to the ground for available funding or advisory workshops. He also pinpointed the Manufacturing Advisory Service and the Growth Accelerator, a £200m government initiative, as support bodies which matched the financial and business characteristics of resource stretched smaller firms.

Specifically on finding time to engage with schools and the education system to attract talent and promote a better industry image, several delegates said that STEMNET, a 10 year old programme to promote STEM careers, is an extremely time efficient way to start participating in outreach activities which, everyone agreed, are strategically critical to the future prosperity of both individual companies and UK manufacturing as a whole.

“Don’t be afraid to be selective in your intake for school visits.

Ask for certain proportions of girls and/or ethnicities.”

Simon Collins, Caterpillar

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Report

Automate UK: Sponsor Summary

Myth busting and better communication strategies would solve the root cause of British industry’s tentative tech culture says Marc Wellington,

The engaged autopilot C

omfortingly for Marc Wellington, Automate UK delegates universally in response to discussion at TM’s acknowledged that automation technologies must play a role in recent Automate UK event. the future of their companies – even if they are SMEs. Mr Wellington insists that these companies can and must be bold in adopting the best manufacturing technologies in order to survive and compete in geographically expanding markets with escalating customer expectations around lead times and mass customisation.

While Festo is a large global entity, its UK business unit comprises a relatively small team and Wellington says he can Marc Wellington, empathise with the insecurities faced by British manufacturing national sales manager SMEs in today’s uncertain economic climate. “I am personally at Festo passionate about the benefits that automation will bring to this country and to my children’s future – both in terms of their home and work environment,” enthuses Wellington.

“It was a relief therefore, to find there was no question over ‘if ’ automation would be important to future of any business at Automate UK. The question was ‘how’?”

national sales manager at Festo,

How to

The Manufacturer thanks Festo for its sponsorship of Future Factory: Automate UK

Building an understanding of how to implement automation intelligently and strategically among UK manufacturers is important to Wellington and Festo. “Ultimately it is damaging to Festo’s business if we allow ‘white elephant’ automation projects to continue.”

What Wellington refers to here is projects which are undertaken without proper scoping and without the involvement of the people who understand the manufacturing process best – those on the front line.

“It was good to see an appreciation of this at the conference and the lesson was driven home in some excellent presentations,” continues Wellington. “My concern, which was shared by many of the forward thinking delegates at the event, was how to carry the message outside the room. How to influence colleagues, peers and those outside industry to think about automation opportunities in the same way.”

There are still too many people, both in manufacturing companies and in the general public who see automation investment equating to job loss concludes Wellington. “In fact the opposite is true, as was proven in the presentations.” (p8)

Technology lure

For Wellington, there was an important realisation among delegates at Automate UK that the general misunderstanding of automation, and the motivations for investing in it, link directly to broader perception problems about what it means to become an engineer or work in manufacturing.

“This is a well recognised issue for initiatives like Bloodhound and the Big Bang,” says Wellington. He hopes that delegates at Automate UK will now tap into local branches of these and other education initiatives to bring an exciting automation vision to the next generation of industry workers.

“We all have to take responsibility for this kind of communication,” states Wellington.

“Festo is small in the UK but we are actively involved in industry networking and communication.” Not just as a vague careers advice endeavour, but with an emphasis on the technologies manufacturing professionals interact with on a day to day basis. Such detail is more powerful than many initially think, observes Wellington.

Were there other lessons learned at Automate UK that delegates, from both industry and its support networks, should have pocketed? “People talk a lot about the importance of long term planning both for government and companies,” observes Wellington. “Few firms work to anything longer than a three year plan. As we saw, this does not help with planning, or measuring return on, investments in automation and other advanced capital equipment.”

Given the difficulties SMEs in particular experience in planning, Wellington says he hoped representatives from government bodies realised the opportunities that could be opened up by more effective investment incentives. “Direct, simple and immediate tax relief should be attached, not only to manufacturing technology investments, but also to the training investments needed to support them,” states Wellington.

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Automate UK: Conference highlights

Automate UK made it crystal clear that Britain’s global competitiveness as a manufacturing location relies on investment in robotics and autonomous systems. While jobs will be lost in some areas as a

Playing catch up I

nvesting in automation is a huge ones will be created. George Archer decision for small companies. And with reviews event highlights.

SMEs representing the huge majority of UK manufacturing, Britain trails behind most industrialised countries in terms of the implementation of automation in UK manufacturing plants.

Kent Savage of Apex Supply Chain Technologies proved this in his presentation at Automate UK. “Last year China invested $64bn investment in automation equipment - $40bn was invested in the Americas and only $35bn in the EU,” of which Britain’s share was minimal compared to Germany, France and even economically beleaguered Italy.

Chris Buxton, CEO of BARA and PPMA Group made the point that: “If it is all about replacing people, why are the Chinese the single fastest adopter of robotics?” He continued: “They have more low-cost labour than you can shake a stick at but they see the need to embrace automation.”

Mr Buxton also highlighted the fact that as the cost of labour continues to rise around the world, the cost of robotics and autonomous systems is falling, making investment even more financially viable.

consequence, new and more skilled

TWEETS FROM #AUTOMATEUK @TheManufacturer excellent presentation from Mark Ager – fascinating to see app. of #automation in niche sector Brian Holliday of Siemens: “#horsemeat food scare shows that #automation systems can help increase traceability” @TheManufacturer “only 6% of #engineering establishments take on graduates, down from 9% 3 years ago” Darren Race, SEMTA. @TheManufacturer @TheManufacturer great conference today, very encouraging to see so many enthusiastic experts on automation. Will certainly go back to work with ideas Glad to see Apex Supply Chain is overseeing a trend towards #reshoring of operations. #automation @TheManufacturer #automation projects need constant engagement with employees to ensure effectiveness: Marc Wellington, Festo @TheManufacturer @TheManufacturer Chris Buxton delivers an excellent presentation and confirms my belief that automation can create high value jobs

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Delegates in the AutomateUK conference room 2

Robots create jobs

For factory workers alarm bells begin to ring the moment automation is mentioned. However, Buxton shared an interesting statistic with the audience at Automate UK: “The direct employment due to robots is two to three million jobs created in the world. That is two to three jobs per robot in use.”

“Add to this indirect employment downstream which doubles the number. People need to service robots and manufacture spare parts for them,” added Buxton.

When Simon Faulkner first started at EcoPlastics, a plastics processing plant in Lincolnshire, staff were carrying out manual, inefficient picking work to sort feedstock and weren’t developing their skillsets. With the introduction of automation, workers were able to concentrate on training, they were taught how to use the control interfaces and how to drive forklifts and trucks.

This upskilling is typical when automation is introduced in factories. Capacity increases and people become more valuable.

“In 2006 we had one general plant technician, now we have six electricians, four electrical technicians, external support in implementation of new equipment and in ongoing support. We’ve gone from 40 people to nearly 200 people on site,” explained Mr Faulkner proudly.

2012 INVESTMENT IN AUTOMATION EQUIPMENT (BILLIONS $US) ASIA PAC

AMERICAS

EUROPE

Asia Pac invested more in automation technology in $35bn 2012 than Europe or the Americas

$40bn Source: IMS Research.

Data presented by Kent Savage, CEO Apex Supply Chain Technologies

MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA

$21bn

$64bn

Report We need YOU!

We know from anecdotal evidence and numerous survey and reports that British industry does not have a sufficient pipeline of qualified young engineers. It is also felt by many that those who do qualify, get lured to the bright lights of the City – though some say this is starting to be challenged by escalating engineer contractor costs in manufacturing (The Manufacturer, April 2013, p37).

Nevertheless, the idea of working in Solihull or other far flung UK regions where manufacturing has been a traditional strength, may not appeal to ambitious graduates. What can manufacturers do to change this?

Darren Race of Semta argued that in order to make manufacturing and engineering attractive or “sexy”, it will require the efforts of manufacturers – but also parents too.

Mr Race spoke of the “damaged brand” of manufacturing and urged delegates to reach out to young people and their key influencers – parents – to rehabilitate that brand. He urged delegates who were also parents to talk to peers at their children’s schools, informally and formally, to get the message across.

Investing in new technology and creating high tech manufacturing work environments in the UK is a critical element in altering perceptions, agreed Automate UK delegates.

Mr Race emphasised strongly that employers must take responsibility for communicating the changing profile of their factories and the opportunities within them. “The education system is under a lot of pressure,” he said.

With Semta data showing that 12% of the UK manufacturing workforce is aged 60+, Race warned of a “ticking time bomb” in skills capacity.

DELEGATE COMMENT John Hollands, director, Felcon: “A most informative day dealing with a difficult subject”

Loving your shop floor

Moving on to consider the engagement of existing employees with automation projects, Marc Wellington of Festo talked about the need to ensure workers understand how to use systems and how automation will improve working conditions and efficiency. He shared how it is still relatively common to be asked to perform covert automation scoping visits in factories for fear of unsettling staff. This perpetuates misconceptions around the purpose and consequences of automation he said.

Face-to-face communication with shop floor workers is critical in the success of automation projects insists Wellington. Conversation is key, not one way dialogue.

Reeling off a checklist of what needs to be done when implementing a new automation technologies Wellington said: “Engagement should happen continuously throughout a project, and you should involve yourself and listen; don’t just tell. You should create advocates to deliver peer-to-peer communication. Business leaders need to speak personally to their employees. Be open to questions and provide a timeline of key decision dates.”

A fascinating case study from Stage Technologies CEO Mark Ager corroborated that structured communication with prospective front line users of automation equipment during planning phases can make the difference between success and failure for an automation investment.

The panel debate, from left to right - Chris Buxton, Kent Savage, Darren Race, Mark Ager, Brian Holliday, Graeme Philp and Simon Tween

A leap of financial faith

Investing in expensive machinery is often a huge business decision, especially for SMEs at a time when funding is often difficult to secure in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Richard Holden from Lloyds TSB Commercial spoke about how the bank is geared towards lending to manufacturers. He related how Lloyds “trained 100 bank managers in 2012 to know more about manufacturing and related concepts such as lean and six sigma.”

According to Neil Brooks-Johnson, a Lloyds relationship manager who attended Automate UK with a key client, the event itself provided a great opportunity to build on this understanding. “The arguments allowed me to see better when we ought to be suggesting automation investments to companies or supporting those who want to invest. The presentations highlighted both the big picture arguments and specifics on which processes are likely to bring the biggest returns.”

Lloyds is keen to lend more the manufacturers for investment programmes insisted Mr Holden. “We want to increase our lending by a billion pounds over the next twelve months – over the past five months we have agreed to lend £600m to UK manufacturers.

We’re on the way to smash the target.”

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Enthuse young people to take up vital careers in engineering With not enough young people taking Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at further education, many UK companies are facing a skills shortage.

Independent, educational charity, The Smallpeice Trust is passionate about closing this skills gap and enthusing the next-generation of engineers.

Last year, a record 20,353 students participated in our university-based residential courses, in-school STEM Days and Clubs. Encouragingly almost 50% of our students were girls.

Working in partnership with some of industry’s leading organisations, we offer students an engaging, hands-on introduction to the rewarding careers available to them.

A corporate partnership offers a range of benefits including the chance to:

• Build a future talent pipeline and help you to achieve your HR objectives • Get employees involved to boost job satisfaction, motivation and skill development • Enhance your brand and profile amongst enthusiastic girls and boys, their families and their communities • Bolster your corporate social responsibility agenda • Maximise potential for PR and marketing opportunities • Offset charitable giving against company corporation tax From sponsoring STEM Days and Clubs, to mini competitions and residential courses, there are many ways in which your company can get involved with The Smallpeice Trust.

Smallpeice corporate supporters include: ARM, Babcock, BAE Systems, EDF Energy, Google, National Grid, National Nuclear Laboratory, Senergy, Southern Water, Ultra Electronics Controls… and many more.

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“At Babcock, we are very keen to encourage young people towards a career in engineering and the courses run by The Smallpeice Trust are a fantastic way of demonstrating the variety of options open to them as they start to think about their career choices. The wide choice of courses offered by The Trust gives students the opportunity to broaden their horizons outside of the normal curriculum.”

Rosemary Prout, Graduate Training Manager Marine and Technology Division, Babcock International Group To find out more about the benefits of becoming a Smallpeice Partner, contact our Chief Executive, Dr. Andrew Cave on 07885 227 342 or email andrewc@smallpeicetrust.org.uk.

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Report

Automate UK: Nissan case study

Nissan produces the cars of the future with automation from AP&T. Here we explore some of the technologies and benefits being employed at the car manufacturer’s Sunderland plant.

More effective production with automation T

he gateway to a brave new electric world.”

This is how the 100% electric Nissan Leaf was described when it won the 2011 World Car of the Year award.

Thus far the car model has only been manufactured in Japan, but production also commences at Nissan’s plant in Sunderland this spring. It will be one of the models being built using press equipment that has been upgraded with automation from AP&T.

Effective material utilisation

The Autoloader project at Sunderland is a key example of the way in which automation is making mass manufacture of leading automotive product competitive in the UK. Sheet metal, left over from manufacturing large car body parts, is used in the Autoloader project to produce small car body parts instead of scrapping it, as had previously been the case. This has improved total material utilisation by up to 10%.

Work is also performed much quicker and; at the same time noise levels have been reduced by around 15 dB. “The project is allowing us to reduce both our costs and utilisation of natural resources in the form of metal and energy.

“This is completely in line with the Nissan Green Program 2016, as we continue our focus on reducing environmental impact and contributing to a recyclingbased society,” says Andrew Tatham, planning engineer at Nissan Sunderland Plant.

Andy Tatham, planning engineer at Nissan, together with AP&T’s Peter Karlsson and Martin Sahlman.

AP&T has now delivered a blank feeder, a shuttle and two SpeedFeeders that are used as transfers in an existing 600 tonne mechanical press.

Cooperation with AP&T

Automation from AP&T plays a key role in the Autoloader project. Each operation that was previously performed manually is now performed by a blank feeder, a shuttle and two SpeedFeeders that are used as transfers in an existing 600 tonne mechanical press.

The entire process is performed in an acoustic enclosure, which muffles noise very effectively.

The equipment was ordered in November 2011 after a very careful selection and purchasing process.

“In 2010 we started looking for suitable press automation suppliers, and that is how we first encountered AP&T. We then initiated a procurement process and AP&T presented the best proposal – a customised solution based on standard modules,” says Mr Tatham.

“The automation equipment has been used for test production since it was installed in September 2012, but from the spring it will be used for commercial production of parts for the Nissan Leaf and other models.

“The trials have progressed entirely according to plan,” asserts Tatham.

“We are very pleased and have actually already started the next cooperation project where we are planning to automate another part of the pressing process,” he goes on.

Peter Karlsson, who is responsible for the transaction on behalf of AP&T says: “For us at AP&T, it is extremely gratifying to be able to help produce a more effective and environmentally friendly manufacturing process for the car of the future. And with our experience from the automotive industry, I am convinced we can develop more productive solutions together in the future.”

All electric Nissan LEAF was named the 2011 World Car of the Year.

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