Bentley Motors has taken another step in its journey to the world’s most sustainable all-electric luxury car manufacturer with an innovative rite for a new paint shop in Crewe. The investment transforms an 85-year-old site for a new era of electrification and confirms Bentley’s commitment to its Crewe base.
The new facility at Bentley’s carbon-neutral headquarters will be an integral component of the brand’s agreements for the long-term production of battery-powered electric cars and will set a new benchmark for next-generation, flexible, high-value digital production operations. To mark the occasion, Andreas Lehe, Member of Bentley’s Board of Management for Manufacturing, and Jan-Henrik Lafrentz, Member of Bentley’s Board of Directors for Finance and IT, officially started the structure by breaking the floor of the structure.
The new 12,460 m² paint shop will be completed in 2025 and will offer consumers an expanded selection of paint colours of almost one hundred individual colours, uniquely celebrated as part of the building’s exterior design. In addition, there will be a four-storey building. This will bring the total to more than 370 Bentley colleagues.
The new build is part of a £2. 5 billion investment programme in long-term products and at the Pyms Lane factory in Crewe, where all Bentley models are built by hand. Andreas Lehe said: “The opening of this new build is a milestone and supports our purpose of a leading position in new technologies, capabilities and cutting-edge amenities to enable a truly virtual and highly flexible benchmark for luxury car manufacturing.
“By modernising our site, it obviously demonstrates our ambition and long-term commitment to Crewe and making Bentley a leader in sustainable luxury mobility. “
Bentley’s industry-leading Beyond100 strategy will enable the company to reinvent its entire product portfolio towards an electrified future, while achieving the prestige of end-to-end carbon neutrality through 2030. The company’s zero-impact virtual production facility will introduce a must-have zero-impact technology. address the environmental effects of production and lead the luxury automotive industry towards next-generation virtual applications.
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Envair Technology, the Heywood-based containment and blank air response business, is expected to post orders of £3. 75 million for the first quarter of 2024, following an era of consolidation following the successful integration of insulator manufacturer Envair and exhaust cabinet manufacturer Total Containment. Solutions (TCS). .
The strong start to the year was driven by an increase in orders from NHS and pharmaceutical customers across its product range. The company, which merged in 2021 under new CEO Andrew Ellison, will now make a profit of £12 million in 2024. , a 25% increase in its first two years.
The company plans to remove the Envair and TCS logos and now market itself as Envair Technology, which has undergone a general logo update. With a strong pipeline of projects and growing demand for its products in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors, the company expects sales in excess of £. 20 million over the next five years.
To prepare for this growth, the company consolidated its workforce into a single site, Heywood, Greater Manchester, and improved the employment of professional engineers. The company has also carried out 90% of its production and production in-house, having in the Previously outsourced about 50%. This has allowed the company to reduce lead times and earn more in its supply chain.
Chief Executive Andrew Ellison said: “What the company has been able to achieve in such a short time is extraordinary. By moving production to a single site, we were able to reduce lead times, quality control, and speed up research and development.
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Bury-based Premier Digital Textiles has unveiled two innovators.
At this year’s FESPA show in Amsterdam, a 100 per cent recycled cotton, ready for virtual printing, and a revolutionary biodegradable polyester also designed for the virtual printing industry were presented.
Nick Smith, Director of Premier Digital Textiles, said: “We are delighted to have unveiled two pioneering new products at FESPA 2024. Premier Digital Textiles is committed to overcoming the barriers of the textile industry and we offer our cotton one hundred percent recycled and biodegradable. Polyester does just that. “
Made from pre-consumer waste, Premier Digital Textiles’ 100 percent recycled cotton can be used in crafts, sewing, tote bags, and much more. One hundred percent polyester with biodegradable generation aims to decrease microfiber contaminants and artificial accumulation through degradation in landfills as herbaceous materials.
Nick added: “FESPA is an exhibition that brings together many industry figures to share concepts and gain knowledge. There is no doubt that this year’s occasion has raised the bar when it comes to the role we all want to play when it comes to combining sustainability with the most productive technology. Premier Digital Textiles champions the virtual textile printing industry and specializes in delivering high-quality textiles that redefine industry standards.
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The 92 Foundation, a Salford-based charity, which helps others in their lives through play and education, has recorded a historic year of support, offering over 17,000 hours of delivery across all programmes.
Several systems were implemented, adding the #F92DecembertoRemember campaign, which allowed the charity to donate over 2000 gifts to local communities. This is part of the charity’s progression of a diversity of highly innovative, personalised and life-changing workspaces, supporting over 13,000 other people in 2023 through various programmes, adding the ‘Dementia Friendly’ programme which provides over 500 visits and Bee Network which promotes restorative justice, Behavior and work replacement for young people.
Foundation 92’s diversity of state-of-the-art programs specialize in fitness and wellness, employability skills, networking, youth outreach, and fighting homelessness. Thanks to the charity’s efforts to tackle social immobility, more than 500 food parcels have been donated to families in need in Salford. Al same time, 140 individual school holiday spots have been set up at F92 holiday camps for those receiving free school meals.
A number of other pioneering programmes have been developed, such as the rail network promoting behaviour change and positive mobility, the launch of the new Wellbeing Hub, the educational offer that has supported more than 5,000 people in the last 12 months and an anti-social behaviour campaign. A crusade that supported 6,000 young people.
Tom Hutton, Director of Foundation 92, said: “We are proud to celebrate another successful year in Salford, but work is no obstacle here. We continually try to succeed with as many other people as possible in our community, whether it’s through wellness and intellectual fitness projects or physical activity programs, we sense the effect it can have on us.
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The Forshaw Group, based in Knowsley, celebrated the rebirth of Huyton last month with the Rothrough Sea Cadets building. The task of renewing the volunteer network was completed in one week through the INS-Pire Training and Learning Academy and the asset recovery specialist’s Knowsley Apprenticeship Partnership.
Ten of Forshaw Group’s first-, second- and third-year apprentices took part in the renewal and were supervised by their respective professional mentors. It was a celebratory morning with visitors including Forshaw Group chief executive Liam Hanlon and Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside Mark Blundell.
The renewal came as a result of a possible exchange of words between Liam Hanlon and Jan Cox at a meeting of the Armed Forces Pact. The Forshaw Group won the prestige of the Gold Armed Forces Pact Award in July 2022. As part of the INS-Pire Academy Apprenticeship, their trainees participate in a series of “development days” alongside their NVQs and specific business exercises. These days come with community days, charity, and challenges/adventures to attract, exercise, and retain the next generation in your industry.
This renovation task was selected as a network task, which also supported the Forshaw Group’s business volunteer hours with the Knowsley Chamber of Commerce’s Working Well Together initiative. Laim Hanlon said, “I would like to thank the trainees and everyone who has cared about the task as a component of our commitment to all the organizations here today. “
Jan Cox, Merseyside Regional Director of Employer Engagement, said: “It is glorious to see the Armed Forces Pact in action. A huge thank you to Knowsley Chambers and the Forshaw Group for honouring their commitment to the Armed Forces Compact.
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United Living Group, a provider of infrastructure, affordable housing, real estate, and telecommunications, revealed that its Warrington-based subsidiary, United Living Connected (ULC), has been awarded a prime contract with Cornerstone, a leading U. K. cellular infrastructure company.
The contract will enable ULC to supply a full range of telecommunications services, including procurement, planning, design and construction, across Cornerstone’s UK footprint. It will also expand Cornerstone’s partner network, enabling the expansion of virtual infrastructure and greater connectivity for its customers.
This partnership is expected to set new industry standards, leveraging ULC’s expertise, scale and expertise, as well as Cornerstone’s drive for delivery excellence to enable high-speed virtuality for local communities and businesses across the UK.
Scott MacGregor, Chief Operating Officer of United Living Connected, said: “This contract is a testament to our team’s hard work, determination and innovation in the telecommunications industry and underlines ULC’s commitment to delivering high-end facilities to enable critical virtual connectivity across the UK. We look forward to delivering exceptional pricing and Cornerstone, ensuring they can meet and exceed their strategic goals for years to come. “
Andy Train, Cornerstone’s Chief Network Officer, said, “Cornerstone is on a project to bridge the virtual divide and ensure businesses and communities across the country can take advantage of seamless virtual connectivity. We welcome United Living Connected to our circle of family and partners. and look forward to wonderful results. “
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A £49,887 grant from the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership’s Innovating for Success programme has unlocked a flagship study and progression task for Delkia, in Whitehaven, Egremont and Preston.
Delkia offers some of the most complex and capable systems in the UK. In its eleventh year of existence, the company, which operates in highly regulated sectors such as nuclear, aerospace and maritime, is on track to reach more than £10 million in revenue. .
The Bumblebee project, with a total cost of £99,775, is his first project of studies and progression. It focuses on the next generation that will enable the immediate progression of secure vehicle systems for submarines, ships, aircraft, and other complex defense and advertising systems.
Pete Hudson, Delkia’s Director of Research and Development, said: “We used this investment to take Bumblebee to a proof-of-concept demonstrator, employing a remotely operated submarine. The LEP grant from Cumbria helped us set up the Bumblebee team and acquire a must-have computers and equipment. The Bumblebee assignment has allowed us to turn a cutting-edge concept into intellectual assets and increase the price of our developing business.
Jo Lappin, Chief Executive of Cumbria LEP, said: “It’s wonderful to see the difference the Innovating for Success grant programme has made to Delkia’s Bumblebee project. It’s a wonderful example of why we introduced Innovate for Success. The aim is to inspire small and medium-sized large businesses in Cumbria to invest in innovation or decarbonise their businesses.