Real potential for growth
in Bristol as Vince Cable opens National Composites Centre
A multi-million
pound site in Bristol, which will speed up new products going from
the laboratory to the shop-floor, was opened today by Business
Secretary Vince Cable.
The National Composites Centre is a new 8500m 2 state-of-the-art
building offering laboratory space for SMEs to develop new
products. It is also one of seven research and technology
facilities which form the High Value Manufacturing technology and
innovation centre.
The Bristol city-region is already at the forefront of composites
development, both as an international research hub and as a
world-leading manufacturing base. The National Composites Centre
will capitalise and build on this.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
“Here in the UK we are very good at invention, but we need to do
more to innovate and turn our ideas into products and jobs. I
don’t want the UK to miss out on any opportunities to create
economic growth through manufacturing.
“This centre will work with our world class universities and
international businesses based in the South West and across the
UK, to develop and commercialise new technologies. Its work will
strengthen our manufacturing sector, exploiting the next
generation of advanced composites materials and helping maintain
our global lead in this technology area. I look forward to seeing
what they produce.”
During the day, the Business Secretary also visited EADS and
Airbus at Filton, who have received conditional offers of funding
from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund. This £1.4 billion fund
is supporting projects that will create jobs in areas dependent on
the public sector.
Vince Cable said:
“The South West is becoming a real hub for composites and
aerospace manufacturing, and is exactly the sort of place where
targeted Government support through schemes like the Regional
Growth fund, can have a real benefit.
“By helping companies large and small unlock their potential for
growth, we can make sure that we rebalance the economy and emerge
with a stronger and more diverse industrial base.”
EADS plan to use the Government support to fund the development
and industrialisation of additive layer manufacturing which uses
laser or plasma energy beams applied to powdered material to build
a 3D product up in layers. During his visit, the Business
Secretary saw a bicycle that had been made using the process.
Airbus have received conditional approval for their bid to
support the expansion of aircraft wing design, manufacture,
assembly and equipping capabilities. Their application supports a
wider investment by Airbus in the project.
Notes to editors:
Core activities at the National Composites Centre (NCC) include:
Providing manufacturing facilities at an industrial scale and
rapid manufacturing processes capable of building prototypes to
validate design concepts. Being the hub of the UK’s effort to
develop and implement rapid composites manufacturing technologies
and systems. It will also co-ordinate the regional network of
composites centres. Providing direction and focus for fundamental
research and collaborative links with UK universities.Helping to
develop and co-ordinate training to support the skills base
necessary for applying advanced and specialist composites
technologies. A skills Academy is being established at the NCC.
The NCC received funding from the Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills which provided £12 million for the centre
with the rest coming from SWRDA (£4m) and ERDF (£9m). The EADS RGF
bid is now going through due diligence. On completion, the firm
will be awarded funding from the government support. Airbus was
one of the successful bids from the second round of the RGF,
announced on October 31. It is in the process of finalising the
terms and conditions of the conditional offer, and will then
proceed to due diligence. Bids from the second round, if they pass
the necessary legal checks, are expected to start accessing their
funding from the spring. The High Value Manufacturing technology
and innovation centre was opened in October 2011. The centre will
receive £140 million of funding over six years.For more
information on the technology and innovation centres, visit the
Technology Strategy Board website
www.innovateuk.org.BIS's online newsroom contains the
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