continued from page 15

technologies to a diverse range of industries

using its capabilities in mechanical engineering and precision

manufacturing .

Other speakers are Lawrence Davies,

Deputy CEO of UK Trade International

(UKTI) for the Automotive Supply Chain and

Geraint Castleton-White, Head of

Operations at Lotus Lightweight Structures.

UKTI will play a major role in meeting David

Cameron's pledge to make the UK "the reshore

nation". With automotive one of the

target sectors, Mr Davies is in a position to

throw light on how the expertises and quality of the UK manufacturing sector - and

automotive as a good example - is being

promoted overseas.

It was in a speech to the World Economic

Forum in Davos in January that the Prime

Minister said the Government is determined to

build on the trend where production once offshored

is now coming back from East to West.

"Part of the story is about rising costs in the

emerging markets, a natural consequence of

16

GTMA

SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS these economies developing and their people becoming wealthier,"

he told delegates.

"At the same time, there are a number of

factors pulling companies back home. Some

companies are choosing to locate production nearer

to their consumer markets in the

West. By shortening their supply chains, they

can develop new products and react more

quickly to changing consumer demand."

The returning firms include the model train

manufacturer Hornby, which is bringing

some manufacturing from India to Britain;

food manufacturer Symingtons (China to

Leeds); Raspberry Pi computers (switching

production to Wales); Jaeger (10 per cent of

its production to Britain) and Vent Axia

(China to Crawley).

"His words echo what we have found in the

GTMA," says Julia Moore. "Our members

are reporting growing dissatisfaction about

outsourcing and increasing interest in placing work back in the UK."

Free registration for the event, where there is

free parking, restaurants and light lunch, on

the websiite. Visitors attending last year included Airbus, Jaguar Land Rover,

Kawasaki,

Rolls-Royce, Cosworth Group and Dyson.

• Work has already started on the special

Reshoring Briefing publication and if you

want your company's achievements highlighted please email Colin Swindells on

colin.swindells@tiscali.co.ukls" target="_blank" title="Visit colin.swindells">colin.swindells@tiscali.co.uk

www.gtma.co.uk

TOP 3 REASONS

THEY COME HOME

A survey by the Manufacturing Advisory

Service (MAS) shows that companies

cite costs, quality and reducing lead

times as the top three reasons for moving production

back to the UK.

The new Government campaign will also

trumpet a strong and stable economy,

competitive corporate tax rates, a good

regulatory environment, strong legal

frameworks and a dynamic labour market.

Autodesk Inc. completed its acquisition of

Delcam, one of the world's leading suppliers of advanced computer-aided

manufacturing (CAM) software,

on February 6.

Delcam will operate as a wholly-owned,

independently-operated subsidiary of

Autodesk, with no significant changes

planned for Delcam's business.

"Autodesk brings to Delcam increased financial

strength, unparalleled expertise in design, and

a long history of making technology accessible

to broad audiences. Through sharing our

technology and expertise, this transaction will

transform industries and improve how the

world is designed and made," said Delcam's

Chief Executive, Clive Martell.

"By maintaining the basic structure of

Delcam's business, Autodesk is reflecting its

trust in, and respect for, Delcam's solutions,

leadership and organisation. We are excited

to come together and further the vision,

development and implementation of technology for digital manufacturing."

"The acquisition of Delcam is an important

step in Autodesk's continued expansion into

manufacturing and fabrication and beyond

our roots in design," said Buzz Kross, senior vice president

for Design, Lifecycle and

Simulation products.

"Together with Delcam, we look forward to

accelerating the development of a more comprehensive

Digital Prototyping solution and

delivering a better manufacturing experience.

We welcome the Delcam employees, customers, partners and community to Autodesk."

www.delcam.com

An exciting development for digital manufacturing:

Pictured, centre, Carl Bass, President and Chief

Executive Officer of Autodesk with (left to right)

Glenn McMinn, President, Delcam North America;

Clive Martell, Chief Executive, Delcam; Steve

Hobbs, Development Director, Delcam; and Bart

Simpson, Commercial Director, Delcam.

Supplier GTW Developments is a

world leader in developing slicers

for composites used in advanced

engineering applications in sectors

including aerospace, automotive

and wind turbine blades.

Its Airbond product has already shown

the way in the glass and fibre business,

with its class-leading 110, 113 and 114

splicers. Now its latest patented technology is set to transform the business.

The 701 moves standards up a gear

and is even simpler and more versatile

than its old ones, joining a huge range

of counts in modern fibres. It is also

lighter, handier and quicker to maintain.

It represents a leap forward in design,

out-performing all others in one simple, elegant package. Strengths

of 90

per cent of the parent yarn are easily

attainable, in the widest range of

counts ever. GTW won a Queen's

Award for Enterprise Innovation in

2013.

www.gtwdevelopments.co.uk

Autodesk completes

acquisition of Delcam

NEW AIRBOND

PRODUCT FOR

COMPOSITES