CKF SYSTEMS ACHIEVES ONE OF ITS BEST YEARS THANKS TO MANUFACTURING INVESTMENT

Leading robotics and automation manufacturer CKF Systems, achieved its second-best trading year in 2021 with £7.98 million in orders.

This success paints a positive picture for the growth of UK manufacturing as well as UK businesses’ continuing investment in the latest robotic and automation technology.

Jamie Quinton, Managing Director of Gloucester-based CKF Systems said: “We have received substantial orders from both large blue-chip companies and smaller upand-coming businesses.

“This just highlights the importance of automating your operations to remain competitive whatever the size of your business. This also shows how positive things are looking for UK manufacturing with substantial growth on the horizon.

The report, Robotics and Automation: A New Perspective, published last December by the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, said that to achieve the government’s target of doubling the contribution of manufacturing to the UK economy by 2030, automation and robotics must be more widely adopted.

The UK lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to productivity and ranks 24th for robot density per 10,000 manufacturing employees.

Yamazaki Mazak reports strong year for machine sales

Worcester-based Yamazaki Mazak reported its highest order intake across Europe in its history in October.

Alan Mucklow, managing director UK sales, Eire and national distributors at Yamazaki Mazak, said: “October was an outstanding month across Europe that was mirrored in UK machine sales. The rebound in general subcontracting, strong sales in food and packaging, resilient yellow goods (construction and earth moving equipment), and agriculture sectors, and continued strong levels of investment from the energy-related machine users delivered outstanding sales growth.”

The company has seen strong growth in automation.

He added: “Our growing list of entry-level machines are opening up a new user demographic to the benefits of Mazak technology. We’ve also benefited from receiving further investment into our UK manufacturing facility during 2021, at a time when many industries have suffered from severe supply chain challenges.”

Prima Dental invests in technology to improve dental safety

Gloucester-based manufacturer Prima Dental Group has received an award from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, to fund a project worth £472,000 which could improve the safety of dentists and patients across the world.

The Quedgeley manufacturer will use the grant to fund the development of game-changing technology to help reduce the risk of virus transmission.

This issue has been especially highlighted as a result of Covid-19 where the danger of virus transmission during routine dental procedures such as fillings, has had an enormous impact on the provision of dental care. According to the British Dental Association (BDA), there were 19 million fewer dental appointments in 2020 leading to a dramatic impact on the nation’s oral health and the economic viability of the sector.

Prima Dental Group will be partnering with King’s College London, internationally renowned for its dentistry education, for the 14-month project to develop the technology.