Keep on running with a Mitsubishi Electric service contract

With its 'make today, sell tomorrow' scheduling, the food and beverage manufacturing sector has an almost total intolerance to production breakdowns. They have developed sophisticated techniques to keep the lines working and the distribution channels full. Guy Kennett of Mitsubishi Electric explains that other sectors can benefit by adopting similar systems.

The robot revolution that never quite happened...

For Valentine's day, I offered my good lady wife a free choice of romantic movies at the Cinema, fully expecting to be dragged off to see The Invisible Woman, or Endless Love, or About Last Night, or Winter's Tale. In the event, the redoubtable Mrs Simms opted for the remake of Robocop. I wasn't complaining, although it does seem virtually impossible these days to do any sort of science fiction without some artificial life form or other. Actually, it wasn't a bad romp although, as Mrs Simms pointed out, it lacked a lot of the punch of the original. And she should know, having watched the 1987 version just the previous week while doing some ironing. It made me wonder how different things might have been if we owned one of those new ironing robots. My wife may never have revisited the original Robocop, probably wouldn't have been tempted by the remake, and I'd have lost two hours of my life in some celluloid period romance.

SEW Eurodrive completes move to new premises

SEW Eurodrive has completed a move to a large, new, purpose-built plant in Normanton, West Yorkshire, just a few miles from its old site. The impressive, high-tech new building, designed by architects AEDAS, is designed not just for production, Service and storage, but as a welcoming open-house for customers. It features a permanent working exhibition demonstrating all of the company's products, along with a range of modern training and meeting rooms to cater for all requirements.

Siemens Industry appoints food and beverage sector lead

Siemens Industry has appointed Keith Thornhill as a lead for the food and beverage market in the UK and Ireland. He will be working with a dedicated team to address the key business and technological challenges food manufacturers face. In his role as Food and Beverage Business Manager, Keith will provide support for the sector in the areas of industrial technology - in particular automation and drive technologies.

Processing, packaging and logistics innovation at Foodex 2014

As the largest manufacturing sector in the UK, with a turnover of £92 million, its prime time for food and beverage manufacturing professionals to discover innovations for processing, packaging and logistics at Foodex 2014, at The NEC, Birmingham, 24-26 March 2014. The exhibition is a one-stop shop for manufacturing professionals across the full industry spectrum including bakery, beverage, dairy, fresh, ingredients, logistics, meat and seafood.

In-house assessment centres develop technical staff competence

Working with a number of well-known companies across the food, drink, pharmaceutical and car manufacturing sectors, MCP are providing engineering maintenance skills assessment and development programmes. The "˜Centres' are established within the organisation and provide a thorough practical assessment of technical staff and support their own skills development programmes.

HSE to present at Manufacturing Health and Safety Conference

HSE Head of Manufacturing, Nick Ratty, will be speaking at the RoSPA Manufacturing Health and Safety Conference 2014, Made in the UK - safe steps to success. This event is supported by The Manufacturing Institute and takes place on Tuesday 18 March 2014 at Thinktank, Birmingham.

Full Pilot MES integration support package from Optimal

Optimal is announcing a full commissioning and support package for the innovative Pilot MES software suite from food and beverage automation software specialist FELTEN. Working closely with FELTEN's UK distribution partner P4A, Optimal has developed a flexible package of support and integration services that spans specification, design and installation of related process and control hardware from new PLCs, HMIs and machine controllers through to local support for all software system integration and ongoing maintenance requirements.