The agreement between the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and the Jeonju Institute of Machinery and Carbon Composites (JMC) covers joint research and development on carbon composite materials, including joint proposals for technology development projects.

The memorandum of understanding was signed at a ceremony at the AMRC Factory of the Future. Signatories were (from left) Hun Kim, director of the JMC; Professor Keith Ridgway, research director of the AMRC; Ha Jin Song, mayor of Jeonju City; Myeong Yeon Lee, vice chairman of Jeonju city council; and Jeong Youle Kim, representing local companies from Jeonju City.

Carbon fibre composite materials are increasingly used in aerospace, marine, automotive and other high-value industries. They provide a valuable combination of light weight and high strength, but present a host of manufacturing challenges.

The AMRC Composite Centre focuses on areas including automated production, machining, and advanced curing technologies. The Composite Centre will move into expanded facilities in the new extension to the AMRC Factory of the Future in April.

Jeonju City is at the centre of a world-leading cluster of carbon composite industry and research. For more information on the Jeonju Institute of Machinery and Carbon Composites, see http://www.jmc.re.kr/

The Boeing Company issues the award annually to recognize suppliers who have achieved superior performance. The AMRC maintained a Silver composite performance rating for each month of the 12-month performance period, from October 1, 2010, to September 30, 2011.

This year, Boeing recognized 529 suppliers who achieved either a Gold or Silver level Boeing Performance Excellence Award. The AMRC is one of 407 suppliers to receive the Silver level of recognition.

Prof Keith Ridgway CBE, research director at the AMRC, says: “This award is a tribute to the talent and dedication of our team in Sheffield. We are currently expanding our activities significantly through our work in the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and the new University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Institute, and this is proof that we still lead the world in innovative research that delivers real value to industry.”

Last year, the AMRC was recognised as Supplier of the Year 2010 in the International (Technology) category by The Boeing Company.

For more information: Boeing Performance Excellence Awards.

Sr Jaguaribe visited Sheffield to see how academics and business are working together. As well as the University of Sheffield AMRC and Nuclear AMRC, he visited the Centre for Sport and Exercise Science at Sheffield Hallam University.

“There is a very good interaction between research and industry in a number of places around Sheffield,” the Ambassador told journalists. “This is something we desire to increase in Brazil significantly.”

Brazil is an increasingly important export market for UK manufacturers. It is developing its own initiatives to link industry and academia, including the Science Without Borders programme to fund the education of Brazilian students at leading universities worldwide.

The latest event from the AMRC’s Advanced Manufacturing Forum looks at why industry primes are introducing new robotic technologies into their facilities, and what it means for suppliers and manufacturers.

Production robots are widely used in high-volume manufacturing sectors such as automotive for simple repeatable tasks. Now, innovative technologies are allowing robots to perform complex tasks in aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors. How can your business take advantage?

The AMF event on Thursday 29 March 2012 features presentations from companies including BAE Systems, Nikon Metrology, Electro Impact, Kuka and ABB.

For more information, download the AMF flyer (PDF).

The BIS committee held a formal session at the AMRC Factory of the Future on 6 March, as part of an inquiry into apprenticeships.

Committee chair Adrian Bailey MP said: “Apprenticeships can help equip young people throughout the UK with the skills necessary to drive forward broad and sustained economic growth, spread across a range of sectors and across the entire country. We need to look at what is working and where the current structure is falling short, not only for companies running apprenticeship schemes but for apprentices themselves.”

AMRC research director Keith Ridgway, projects director John Baragwanath, and advisor Richard Caborn told the committee how a national programme of apprenticeships could help the UK achieve its aim of increasing manufacturing’s share of GDP.

“There’s been a huge recognition in the past few years that the skills base is getting older,” said Ridgway. “There’s nobody coming through at the younger level.”

Caborn added: “We’ve got to define what an apprenticeship is – it’s got to be valued, properly policed, have a national programme of achievement, and funded in a way that’s a partnership between government and the private sector. That ownership of national standards is very important.”

The AMRC team underlined the need for national standards for engineering apprenticeships, of a kind provided by the Engineering Industry Training Board (EITB) until the early 1990s.

“We don’t believe in this country we have these national standards,” Caborn said. “If we are serious about moving the per capita GDP of manufacturing nearer to that of Germany, there has to be that kind of intervention to make that happen.”

The team also highlighted the new Advanced Manufacturing Institute Training Centre, which will take over 200 apprentices a year from autumn 2013.

Managers and apprentices from local manufacturers Sheffield Forgemasters International, Firth Rixson and AESSEAL also gave evidence to the committee.

Lewis Nicholson, who completed his apprenticeship at the AMRC and is now working as a qualified technician, talked about his experiences. “I’ve been here six years and have never stopped learning,” he said. “You can take it as far as you want to go, so long as the company’s behind you.”

The AMRC is proud to host the inaugural lecture of the new Sheffield branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

The lecture will be given by John Roberts, Chief Engineer of the Airbus A380, and will look at the engineering challenges associated with keeping the world’s largest passenger airliner in the sky.

The evening event will be one of the first public events to be held in our new Knowledge Transfer Centre, located next to the AMRC with Boeing and Nuclear AMRC buildings on the Advanced Manufacturing Park. The KTC provides dedicated meeting and training space to help us engage businesses along the manufacturing supply chain.

For more information and to register, see the RAeS event page.