New £40m MTC shortlisted for Lord Stafford Award
A £40m flagship research facility for high-value manufacturing has been shortlisted for the prestigious Lord Stafford innovation award.
The Manufacturing Technology Centre, which opened earlier this year at Ansty Park in Coventry, has brought together major industry players such as Airbus, Aero Engine Controls and Rolls Royce.
The centre, funded by regional development agencies Advantage West Midlands and the East Midlands Development Agency, is the result of a collaboration between the RDAs and the centre’s research partners, Loughborough University, the universities of Birmingham and Nottingham, the TWI, and the manufacturing industry.
Covering a range of sectors, including aerospace, automotive, ICT, energy and marine, the MTC has been set up to accelerate innovative product and process development in a wide range of innovative manufacturing areas.
The facility has been shortlisted in the open collaboration category of the Lord Stafford Awards for innovation.
The annual awards recognise best practice between businesses and academia.
Clive Hickman, chief executive of the MTC, said that over the next 10 years the centre would strive to meet the future needs of the UK manufacturing industry.
“The MTC is a facility that really has been designed for industry, by industry. The research partners, industrial members and the regional development agencies have come together to establish a facility which will have a major impact on the productivity of the manufacturing sector in the Midlands,” he said.
“Already we have major industry names on board such as Rolls Royce, Airbus, Aero Engine Controls and HP and are in discussions with others to create a network which can address the industrial challenges that will enable the UK to become prominent in High Value Manufacturing.
“Whilst the facility has only been open for a few months, it has taken many years of work by the partners involved to get to this stage, demonstrating a level of collaboration rarely seen in manufacturing.”
Awards patron Lord Stafford said: “Innovation in manufacturing is recognised as one of the key drivers of economic growth and the fact the MTC has been shielded from public spending cuts demonstrates the importance government places on innovation and the confidence in the MTC to deliver it.
“For years to come, some of the leading research and development in different industrial sectors will take place under this roof and will have a profound impact on manufacturing both in this country and worldwide.”
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony being held at the University of Birmingham Great Hall on Thursday November 17.
