Industry news

MUSK PROCESS SERVICES UNDERTAKES UPGRADE FOR LALLEMAND ANIMAL NUTRITION

LALLEMAND ANIMAL NUTRITION, A YEAST AND bacteria producer, has chosen EJ Musk Process Services to undertake a £2,000,000 expansion of its Malvern site.

The investment will see the installation of new larger capacity fermentation vessels to increase production capacity, as Jonathan Wiffen, Operations Director at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, explains: "This investment and the improvements at our Malvern production site will help us to meet the growing demand for our products. The team at Musk showed a real understanding of the project, and with their other group companies, they were able to provide us with a full solution, from planning and design right through to manufacturing and implementation."

Charlie Price, Operations Director at Musk Process Services.

Musk, part of the Edwin James Group, is delivering the turnkey project from design to installation with fabrication handled via the Musk workshop in Swadlincote. Commenting on the project, Charlie Price, Operations Director at Musk Process Services, said: "We are working in partnership with Lallemand to deliver a turnkey project that will expand capacity at this key production site in the Malverns. It underlines the integration of services across the Edwin James Group to deliver everything from project design to fabrication and installation."

LAKERS EXPANDS INTO UK WITH ACQUISITION

Andrew John, Managing Director at Pump Supplies.

LAKERS AS, A NORWEGIAN company specialising in the service, sales and hire of pumps, has expanded into the UK market with the acquisition of Pump Supplies Ltd.

Pump Supplies owns and operates a hire fleet of electric submersible pumps and accessories, including pipework, spares, and accessories for a wide range of industry sectors and applications.

Established 39 years ago by Andrew John, Managing Director, in Port Talbot, the business has grown significantly to include a further four strategically located depots in Gloucester, Winsford, Bodmin and Wexford.

Commenting on the acquisition, Andrew said: "This is a great coming together of two businesses who will mutually benefit from the deal. It stabilises a mature business that is well regarded in its marketplace and provides a strong platform for the company's future development. It provides Lakers with a gateway for its plans to expand further in the UK.

"There will be no significant or material change to the running or organisation of the business in the near future. It's business as usual with the existing management team, including myself remaining in place with arm's length support from the Lakers team in Oslo. We'll continue to provide the same support and service levels going forward."

SIEMENS AND SCHAEFFLER COOPERATE ON INTELLIGENT DIAGNOSTICS FOR DRIVES

A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT between Siemens and Schaeffler, on intelligent diagnostics for drive systems, sees Siemens combine its Sidrive IQ IIoT platform with Schaeffler’s experience in designing, manufacturing, and servicing bearings.

Sidrive IQ integrates a number of functionalities into one solution and augments drive systems with AIbased analytics and digital content. For the end-user, this gives the ability to make better decisions when it comes to operation and maintenance measures for drive systems. Bearings experience all the loads and stresses that occur in the electric motor, so bearing diagnostics provides a crucial indicator of the overall condition and reliability of a motor.

The integration of Schaeffler’s analysis service for automated bearing diagnostics into Sidrive IQ makes it possible to determine the bearing condition with greater certainty and precision.

With the help of well-founded insights and specific information, operators can quickly determine whether the drive system can continue to operate or whether, in the event of impending damage, the bearing needs to be replaced at the next maintenance interval or if it should be replaced immediately. This reduces the effort and cost of maintenance and most importantly it helps prevent unplanned downtime.

BETTER HEALTH AT WORK AWARD RECOGNISES HOUGHTON INTERNATIONAL

HOUGHTON INTERNATIONAL HAS been awarded the Better Health at Work Bronze Award in recognition of several initiatives delivered to promote health and wellbeing in the workplace.

The award, endorsed and supported by Public Health England, requires businesses to demonstrate how they are working to deliver advice and support to employees spanning a range of health and wellbeing issues, including mental and physical health, healthy eating and kicking bad habits.

Judged by a representative from the Better Health At Work scheme, the award requires organisations to create and present an Award Portfolio, which is then judged against set criteria. Based on feedback from employees and backed by the HR department and management team, Better Health Advocates from across the business helped develop and deliver a series of health & wellbeing campaigns.

Commenting on the award, Craig Hutton, Operations Director at Houghton International, said: "It's fantastic to have completed the Better Health at Work Bronze Award scheme, and I commend everyone across the business for their efforts in working towards this achievement. This isn't just about a title or certificate – the wellbeing of our employees is of the highest importance, and completing this award has helped us explore new ways of creating meaningful improvements.

"We're proud of the support we have in place for employees, including Mental Health First Aiders, annual health checks, a holiday buy & sell scheme and flexible working, and an Employee Assistance Programme, which provides access to a range of support covering work, family, life, health and money as well as services such as on-demand GP appointments. However, we recognise that we can always do more.

"Achieving the bronze award has laid a great foundation for us to build on, and we will now work towards achieving the silver standard as we continue to work with the Better Health Advocates and employees across the business to improve health and wellbeing."

INCREASED BUSINESS RESULTS IN A MOVE FOR RIDGWAY MACHINES

RIDGWAY MACHINES, A DESIGNER and supplier of precision taping and winding machines for the electrical and energy industries, has moved its office and production facility to new premises in Leicester to accommodate an increase in business.

The new premises also allows for future growth as the business continues to thrive despite the pandemic.

A new Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipe development line is currently being installed at the new site to allow customers to have reinforced pipe samples made for testing.

DI-SPARK INVESTS IN HORIZONTAL BALANCER FROM CEMB HOFMANN UK

DI-SPARK OPERATES AROUND THE clock, manufacturing aerospace components, including parts and subassemblies.

The company has recently invested in a ZBT02 horizontal dynamic balancing machine from CEMB Hofmann UK, which has enabled it to dynamically balance its products and subassemblies in-house, offering a more complete service to customers – from design drawings through to delivery. Currently, this includes impeller and inducer components, parts and subassemblies, although the company has plans to expand its offering across its entire product range and additionally offer sub-contract balancing services.

Commenting on the investment, Rob Severne, CAD/CAM Engineer at Di-Spark, said: "CEMB Hofmann offered to testbalance some of our parts before we committed to purchasing the machine, and the results were impressive. This added value service is what made them stand out, and delivering proof of concept gave us peace of mind and confidence that we were investing in the right machine for our application." Installation and calibration of the new machine were completed by CEMB Hofmann UK in May 2021, and the company delivered training to Di-Spark at this time.

"The engineer was incredibly helpful and informed," continued Rob. "He delivered the training in a practical way that ensured we had the knowledge to do what we needed to without overcomplicating things. This was key to a successful implementation, and we are already seeing the benefits in the form of additional work from our customers."

By offering a balancing service inhouse, rather than having to subcontract the work, Di-Spark can save its customers money, and the additional provision has been well received.

ECONOMY 2030 INQUIRY: NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT

ACCORDING TO TOM BOUCHIER, Managing Director at FANUC UK, the newly-launched Economy 2030 Inquiry represents a major opportunity to generate the biggest economic policy change in a generation and could finally hold the key to unleashing British productivity, and the Net Zero transition. However, perhaps its most alarming message is the danger of facing up to these challenges without a significant change in mindset."

automation. However, as a society, we need to de-fear automation and change the narrative around what it actually means. For me, the key point is that automation is designed to replace roles, not jobs. When properly executed, it provides an opportunity to upskill an existing workforce, and make their working environment safer, more ergonomic and – I would hope – more rewarding.