Sheffield and South Yorkshire R&D centre forges ahead with "major" industry players

Six major players in the forging and forming industries have joined the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) Group.

This development comes just months after it established an outreach office in Sheffield to support a cluster of “innovative companies vital” to the UK’s transition to a greener economy.

Keith Ridgway, executive chair of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, said: “South Yorkshire’s forging and forming skills are central to the UK economy, providing strategically critical components in the aerospace, defence, clean energy and infrastructure sectors.

“They are also crucial to combating climate change, providing a huge opportunity for the region including the potential to support the manufacture of small modular reactors and offshore wind.”

The six new members are: Sheffield Forgemasters, Forged Solutions Group, Independent Forging and Alloys, Maher, Castings Technology International, and Footprint Tools.

Keith continued: “Forging also has a vital role to play in the aerospace and defence sectors, which are experiencing a sharp upturn in orders and adding more than £35bn to the UK economy along with significant export earnings.

“To remain competitive the industry needs to innovate which is why the AFRC, part of the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, is connecting with small and medium sized firms in South Yorkshire to help them develop the technologies, talent and skills needed to grow their businesses.”

Ben McIvor, president of Forged Solutions Group (FSG), has “ambitious” plans for the industry and sees membership of the AFRC as an opportunity to bring the sector together to share ideas and insights and to tackle common challenges.

He commented: “Sheffield is a great place to do business and having the AFRC outreach office in the city provides direct links to some of the best research talent in the world, which is essential to us as we invest and grow.”

Richard Jewitt, director of Footprint Tools, added: “We are a family business with deep roots in Sheffield and a long association with Keith Ridgway. Becoming members of the AFRC gives us the opportunity to shape their research agenda in a way that meets the needs of small and medium sized forging and forming firms across the region.

Business development lead for NMIS-AFRC in Sheffield, Alan Lyons, said: “The response from industry in South Yorkshire and the Midlands over the last six months has been amazing. Having Sheffield Forgemasters join us as a Tier One Member and supporting them for the last six months on their industrial digitalisation journey has been hugely rewarding.”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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