Editor’s View

Remember the Department of Trade and Industry? You knew where you were then. Since then the Government department responsible for manufacturing has gone through an alphabet soup of iterations and host of Ministers from backgrounds as various as banking, accountancy, financial services, hedge funds, law and so on. You get the picture, not many manufacturers or industrialists.

The final iteration was as BEIS – the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – which sounded promising. Then this year BEIS broke up into three separate entities: Business & Trade, Energy and Net Zero, and Science, Innovation and Technology. Industrial Strategy was nowhere to be seen. And to be honest, it was a bit of a fraud including it in the name of BEIS in the first place.

To quote the trade body Make UK ‘Ten years ago Make UK (then EEF) set out its case for an industrial strategy. Since then we have had six plans for growth but now find ourselves without one.’

So now manufacturers are taking it upon themselves to put the pressure on.

A few months ago we wrote about Andrea Wilson’s indefatigable campaign for a dedicated Minister of Manufacturing. She is still banging her head against the wall. Check out her updates on LinkedIn and see www.supportukmanufacturing.co.uk.

We have also seen large and small groups of manufacturers put forward their own proposals for an Industrial Strategy. The MAN group of companies put forward its own MANifesto closely followed by Make UK.

There isn’t space to do them justice here, but you can read them for yourself online at bit.ly/MANifestoEC and bit.ly/MakeUKstrategyEC

ONS figures show that production output rose by 0.7% in March 2023, the strongest monthly growth since May 2021 – and the latest CMI (see page 7) shows a very healthy subcontracting sector. So we are doing our best, but a bit of Government help would be welcome.

Andy Sandford, Editor

A steel design and manufacturing company has joined forces with a Manchester galvanizing firm to complete a project for the Jodrell Bank radio telescope.

The observatory worked with Pendle-based fabricator DP Structures, to create 17 galvanized frames to form an architecturally stunning installation called ‘First Light Pavilion’, as part of a new £25 million pound project.

David Palmer, Managing and Creative Director at DP Structures, said: “In 2021, we were approached by Realm Projects to assist in designing and manufacturing projection frames for a brand-new interactive area at Jodrell Bank. The interior had been designed by London architects Casson Mann, who had planned to utilise material from the old steel radio telescope dish to retain part of a heritage feature, inside the new attraction by creating a curved amphitheatre.”

Tasked with their creation, DP Structures used sub-frames that formed a cradle which allowed for the integrity of the antique patina of the original dish to remain intact. Due to bearing significant weight, the legs were fabricated using 200x200mm and 180mm RHS steel sections before being slotted together.

“The legs of the frames were adjustable – with their height and angle able to move to align with the projection equipment – and so galvanizing was a necessity,” David continued. “The alternative