MTC hosts fact-finding visit from Michigan
Published: 22 May, 2019
The Coventry-based Manufacturing Technology Centre has hosted a visit by top level officials from the US state of Michigan, keen to learn about the MTC's world-leading capabilities in advanced manufacturing.
The visitors included senior representatives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, along with manufacturing experts from the US Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) and the Advanced Propulsion Centre.
The group were keen to learn about the MTC's progress on light-weighting, in particular through the centre's leadership in additive manufacturing. They also focused on technologies associated with connected and autonomous vehicles. The State of Michigan has signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK Government to collaborate on advanced automotive technologies.
The visitors included Susan Proctor, strategic initiatives director at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and John Hopkins, chief executive of the IACMI. They were joined by Dr Faye Smith, materials and advanced manufacturing specialist at the Department for International Trade.
The MTC's chief technologist for technology strategy, Steve Nesbitt said, "The group were very interested in what they saw at the MTC, whose reputation is growing worldwide in the field of advanced manufacturing technologies."
The MTC also hosted 20 members of the Manufacturing Academy of Denmark who visited to learn more about digital manufacturing, metal printing and laser sintering, and also to discuss commercial links and joint research and development projects.
The Coventry-based MTC houses the National Centre for Additive Manufacturing (NCAM) bringing together the most comprehensive combination of equipment and capability in the UK. It is also home to the European Space Agency's additive manufacturing benchmarking centre.
The MTC was founded by the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University, the University of Nottingham and TWI Ltd. The MTC’s industrial members include some of the UK’s major global manufacturers.
The MTC aims to provide a competitive environment to bridge the gap between university-based research and the development of innovative manufacturing solutions, in line with the Government’s manufacturing strategy. The MTC is part the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, supported by Innovate UK.
Image caption:
Left to right: Dale Brosius, chief commercialisation officer, Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation, Ray Boeman, director, vehicles technology area, IACMI, John Hopkins, CEO, IACMI, Susan Proctor, CEcD, strategic initiatives director, automotive office, Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Steve Nesbitt, chief technologist, technology strategy, MTC.
