FABRICATION COMPANY DEPLOYS INNOVATION TO REDUCE COSTS

Abingdon-based LTi Metaltech, an award-winning designer and manufacturer of complex components, has won praise from a Bristol-based business after achieving significant cost savings for them.

LTi Metaltech, which employs around 100 people, achieved significant economies in the production of a specialist pressure vessel for vacuum experts West Technology, which is capable of withstanding intense workloads for use in electrical testing systems.

To meet West Tech’s challenging requirements for improved manufacturability at reduced cost, LTi reviewed the vessel’s design using 3D modelling and computer aided design. The result was radical cost-saving changes thanks to removing large numbers of assembled parts.

The manufacturer also added a counter-weight using material which would have otherwise been wasted in the vessel’s manufacture, making it more secure and stable.

LTi Technical Director Edgar Rayner, said: “The project with West Technology, with which we’ve long had a successful working relationship, proves what is possible through innovative design processes.

“Producing vessels at the highest quality for the lowest overall costs is a challenging balance to get right, which is why it was important that we worked closely with West Tech through the all-important redesign process.”

With an annual turnover of circa £23 million, LTi Metaltech is one of the largest group of coded welders in the south of England.

GKN to drive new era of electric powertrain development

An ambitious project to position the UK as a global leader in electric powertrain research and development is taking place at the GKN Automotive Innovation Centre in Abingdon.

The project, ACeDrive (Advanced Cooling and Control of High Speed e-Drive) is backed by match-funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre at Warwick.

ACeDrive is aiming to be the world’s lightest and most efficient electric vehicle powertrain suitable for the volume market.

It aims to achieve the level of technology and performance outlined in a roadmap for 2040, published by the industry-run Automotive Council, and be ready for production by 2023.

Consortium partners include Drive System Design in Leamington Spa.

Gordon Day, General Manager at GKN Automotive Innovation Centre, said: “Our ambition is to help the UK take the lead in electric powertrain design and manufacturing capability.”

Domestic appliance manufacturer for the aspirational, SMEG, whch is still run by the founding Bertazzoni family, has its UK base in Abingdon. This smart Italian brand launched in the 1950s and really ramped up its creative credentials in the 1970s, when it began a series of partnerships with internationally known architects.

The brand first arrived in the UK in 1989, and now supplies more than 750 products across the country.

The fast-growing ATOM Abingdon Science Festival is an annual celebration of scientific companies and organisations in the surrounding area. The 2020 Festival is scheduled for March 14-22 next year.

This year’s festival hosted a range of events for professionals, families and young people considering science as a career choice.