THE METAL
MAGAZINE
www.themetalmagazine.com
© 2022
March 2022
The road to
£10,000,000 The rise and rise of Flocon
Engineering Graduates for Industry
How NMITE is working with industry to prepare engineering graduates for life in the real world. Prof Gary C Wood
The Auditor’s Report
Counterfeit Parts: Knowing what they are, managing the risks, and how blockchain could change the game. Andrew Milner
The role of steel in creating a net-zero carbon economy Dr Richard Curry
3D printing revolution
How 3D printing with titanium will revolutionise the aerospace industry Chris van Dam
Van Leeuwen
Why the company have invested heavily in stocking carbon steel fittings in the UK
How circular saws can save you money Joe Johnson, KR Saws
What’s inside 4
COVER STORY - THE RISE AND RISE OF FLOCON
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BLOCKCHAIN: THE AUDITOR’S REPORT ANDREW MILNER
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VAN LEEUWEN INVESTING HEAVILY IN CARBON STEEL PFF IN THE UK
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THE FUTURE CIRCULARITY OF STEEL DR. RICHARD CURRY, SWANSEA UNIVERSITY
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HYDROSCAND GROWTH DURING A PANDEMIC
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3D PRINTING WILL REVOLUTIONISE TITANIUM MANUFACTURING CHRIS VAN DAM
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ENGINEERING GRADUATES BY DESIGN PROF. GARY WOOD, NMITE
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AMRON ARCHITECTURAL THE FUTURE OF WORKSPACE DESIGN
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KR SAWS HOW CIRCULAR SAWS CAN SAVE YOU MONEY
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COMING SOON IN THE METAL GUYS PODCAST
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HOW YOU CAN FEATURE IN THE NEXT EDITION
All of our articles are published on The Metal Magazine website, which you can find at www.themetalmagazine.com
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The Metal Magazine
A statement of intent from the Publisher The Metal Magazine is a modern response to the demand for industry news, which is more reactive than a printed magazine, avoids the clutter and distraction of LinkedIn, and features genuinely newsworthy articles.
In producing this publication, we aim to disrupt the status quo and bring the concept of sharing news with your industry peers and potential customers into the 21st century. With contributors from a variety of specialities and backgrounds, the articles give a broad view of the current and future states of engineering and the metal industry. Articles will be added to the website as soon as the news can be shared, meaning that you don’t need to wait for a physical magazine to be printed, and can remain informed as the news happens. The Metal Magazine will also be released quarterly in this format of a digital magazine, with pages that you can flip through to see a collection of that quarter’s most popular articles.
About the Publisher The Metal Magazine is proudly published by Comton Media, a division of Comton Group Ltd. Comton Media are a media and marketing agency who provide videography, photography, online marketing, email marketing, brand strategy and consultation services to companies across the metal and engineering sectors. This makes us ideally placed to provide this impartial, independent insight into the industry, sitting outside the hierarchy of the various stages of industry from raw material to finished product, and having oversight of all of the stages through the various connections that we have with companies, organisations and academic centres across the sector. Based in Birmingham, England, we are centrally located near to national and international transport links, and able to visit your project or site to gather newsworthy material while it’s relevant, and then share that content with our subscribers here.
Peter Comerford COMTON GROUP DIRECTOR
* We don’t propose that this magazine will ever be available in physical print format, but we’ll never say never...
Where other magazines feature reams of text and sales pitches, we will make sure that the content is newsworthy and we will prioritise the use of video to communicate wherever appropriate. We intend to break down the barriers between the author and reader, and invite you to join us behind the shutter doors as we step into the offices, factories, warehouses and exhibition stands of companies across the industry, to show you the voices behind the words and the real people behind the real stories. We will make your experience of browsing the magazine informative and entertaining, as we bring you the stories behind the careers of leading figures across the sector, developments in technology, tooling and techniques, and in-depth analysis and editorial comment from industry professionals and our own editorial team. While the articles, interviews and features presented here are free to access, Comton Media reserves the right to insist that attribution is given to The Metal Magazine for any material provided here that is shared on other websites or social media. We’re really excited to share this pilot edition of The Metal Magazine with you, and we look forward to hearing your feedback. © March 2022
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The rise and rise of Flocon Three second-generation directors are building on the successes of their fathers to continue to grow towards an annual turnover of
£10,000,000
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The Metal Magazine
As businesses across the world have been affected by the pandemic, with many still facing uncertain futures, it wasn’t all bad news for some. Successful family-run business, Flocon, has defied CoVID-19 with a growth curve of over 40% throughout 2020 & 2021. Peter Comerford visited the South Wales-based firm to learn more about the company’s history, and to discover what’s in store for its future as the business hits the road to £10million.
Read the article → © March 2022
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The Auditor’s Report by Andrew Milner
“In the future, I believe that blockchain technology has the potential to play a significant role in the war against counterfeit materials.”
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The Metal Magazine
Counterfeit Parts: Knowing what they are, managing the risks, and how blockchain could change the game.
Read the article → © March 2022
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The big carbon steel PFF push
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We feel the time is right to build on our solid base and take advantage of the global strength of the group.
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The Metal Magazine
Read the article → © March 2022
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The future circularity of steel
“ We’re changing
the face of the UK steel-making industry. Dr Richard Curry SUSTAIN Programme Manager https://www.sustainsteel.ac.uk/
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The Metal Magazine
”
Read the article → © March 2022
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EXPANSION DURING A PANDEMIC
New production lines have increased productivity by
140%
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The Metal Magazine
Increased productivity, higher sales, happier customers: Clever investments mean that business is booming at Hydroscand UK.
Read the article → © March 2022
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3D printing will
revolutionise titanium manufacturing Chris van Dam
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The Metal Magazine
“3D printing with titanium can yield a very high raw material to product conversion rate, and means that highly complex geometries, which may not otherwise be possible using traditional manufacturing techniques, can be produced relatively easily, without needing bespoke tooling.”
Read the article → © March 2022
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Engineering Graduates for Industry At the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) in Hereford, the team believe that engineering education can be improved, the current prevailing methods of educating engineers are not as effective as they could be, and that by working together with industry to introduce a new model of engineering education, they could open up the profession to new and different kinds of thinkers and practitioners with the potential to achieve great things. In this article, Professor Gary C Wood explains why NMITE is developing engineering degree courses that are linked closely with industry partners, incorporating modules that reflect real-world challenges, and producing graduates that can hit the ground running when they graduate.
Professor Gary C Wood Academic Director, NMITE https://nmite.ac.uk 16
The Metal Magazine
“Industry supplies the challenges and opportunities for students, and our educators will help shape them into learning experiences.”
Read the article → © March 2022
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The future of workspace design “It was very evident at this year’s Workspace Design Show that there is a big shift in the mentality towards the office environment.”
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The Metal Magazine
Read the article → © March 2022
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Circular saws can out-perform band saws, save you time and money, and lower your carbon footprint 20
The Metal Magazine
Read the article → © March 2022
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BONUS PODCAST EPISODE! Exclusive new episode for The Metal Magazine readers.
As well as publishing this magazine, Comton Media also produce the only independent podcast dedicated to the metal and engineering industry. You can listen to the latest episode now, which features an exciting conversation with Edwin Kroon, who explores the possibilities of advanced laser technology. 22
The Metal Magazine
SEASON TWO, COMING SOON Featuring conversations with TW Metals, FC Laser, the British Stainless Steel Association and more, Season Two of the podcast will be released soon. You can catch up on all of our previous episodes by subscribing to the podcast using your preferred platform. The Metal Guys Talk Business is available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Acast, Overcast and all other good podcast service providers.
© March 2022
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How YOU can feature in the next edition
With this magazine, we provide a modern alternative to the traditional ‘trade magazine’, and as you’ve reached this page you’ll appreciate that it’s somewhat different to other magazines that have preceded it. We genuinely and wholeheartedly believe that the stories that this industry has to tell can be engaging, entertaining and informative, and shouldn’t be reduced to a couple of paragraphs in 6pt font in the latter pages of a printed trade publication. With our team of journalists, videographers, web developers and graphic designers, we can react quickly to breaking news and produce eloquent, entertaining and engaging videos and articles, to share with our global readership. By presenting your news in this magazine, you will be presented to interested parties from across the spectrum of the metal industry - from mills to stockholders, manufacturers, fabricators and end users. We would love to hear your feedback about this pilot edition of the magazine, and welcome constructive comments.
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The Metal Magazine
We are keen to grow our base of regular contributors to the magazine, particularly where educational institutions and industry experts have valuable contributions to make to the development and progress of the industry as a whole. We also welcome contact from companies and organisations looking to advertise their business in a news-led format. For all contributor and advertising enquiries, please contact the team via: contact@themetalmagazine.com Alternatively, you can call the team during normal office hours (Mon-Fri 0800-1700 GMT) via: +44 (0) 121 285 4287 For more information about our privacy policy, code of conduct, and what to do if you wish to make a complaint or correction about anything that we’ve featured, please visit our website: www.themetalmagazine.com
14 - 15 September 2022 NEC, Birmingham The only event that brings together the entire metals supply chain https://ukmetalsexpo.com/
Registration is now open for the annual Comton Cup 5-a-side football tournament The event will take place on Sunday 26th June 2022 at GOALS at Star City in Birmingham, and will give you the chance to play against teams from across the metal and engineering sectors. If you would like to enter a team, either privately or on behalf of your company or organisation, click the button below to register.
REGISTER © March 2022
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© 2022 The Metal Magazine is published by Comton Media, a division of Comton Group Ltd. All rights reserved.