February 2020

THE BOURNEMOUTH-BASED motor manufacturer, Parvalux Electric Motors, has announced plans to build a new 13,000m 2 (140,000ft 2 ) factory and headquarters in nearby Poole, where it will amalgamate its existing operations. It has bought a 3.54ha (8.75-acre) site in Cabot Lane which was previously occupied by Barclays and Siemens. Construction is due to start later this year with occupation scheduled for 2021. “Parvalux has been a major employer in the Bournemouth area since 1957 and this is an incredibly exciting move,” says managing director, Nick Spetch. “We chose Cabot Lane because it uniquely enables amalgamation of our three existing factories to create a single purpose-built manufacturing centre and importantly, is easily accessed by our highly-skilled workforce. “Following hot on the heels of the acquisition of Parvalux in December 2018, this significant investment underlines our parent company maxon’s commitment to the local economy and to growing the global Parvalux brand.” Parvalux has been making fractional horsepower geared motors for more than 70 years and is UK’s largest manufacturer of these products. It has been headquartered on the same site in Wallisdown Road since 1961. Parvalux currently employs about 200 people, most of whom are expected to move to the new site. In addition to three existing manufacturing sites in Poole and Bournemouth, it operates a service centre in Birmingham. Parvalux was acquired by the Swiss motor manufacturer, maxon, in 2018, adding technologies such as AC motors and worm gearboxes to its portfolio, and expanding its activities in areas such as medical technology and industrial automation. At that stage, Parvalux was generating annual revenues of about £23m with more than 40% being exported. February 2020 www.drivesncontrols.com 10 Southern Manufacturing & Electronics 2020 11–13 February, 2020 Farnborough, UK Around 800 exhibitors and 9,000 visitors are expected to attend the annual event which now takes place in the new 20,000m 2 Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre, which offers easy access and free onsite parking. www.industrysouth.co.uk Hannover Fair 2020 20-24 April 2020 Hannover, Germany The industrial mega-showwill host around 6,000 exhibitors fromaround the world, presenting a wide array of industrial technologies. Among themany themes and topics being highlighted at the 2020 Fair are robotics, artificial intelligence, logistics and data security. www.hannovermesse.de Drives & Controls 2020 21–23 April, 2020 NEC, Birmingham The UK’s leading event for drives, power transmission and motion control returns to the NEC. As well as a comprehensive exhibition, the event will include a full conference programme and a live robotic demonstration area. It will run alongside the Mach, Air-Tech, Fluid Power & Systems, Smart Industry Expo, and Plant & Asset Management exhibitions. www.drives-expo.com UKIVA Machine Vision Conference and Exhibition 14 May, 2020 Milton Keynes The annual event which has grown year- on-year since its inception in 2017 will, for the first time, include a panel discussion session where a group of experts will answer questions on aspects of machine vision. The event will otherwise follow a similar format to previous years, with a programme of technical seminars supported by an exhibition. www.machinevisionconference.co.uk Automatica 2020 and Sensor Show 16–19 June 2020 Munich, Germany For the first time, an application-oriented sensor technology exhibition and congress will be integrated into the Automatica automation and robotics event. The aim is to increase the focus on sensor, test and measurement technologies, and to cover areas that will attract new visitors. www.automatica-munich.com Hillhead 2020 23-25 June 2020 Buxton, Derbyshire On the back of a record-breaking event in 2018, which was attended by 546 exhibitors and 19,753 visitors, the organisers of the quarrying event have decided to extend it again for 2020. An extra 2,200m 2 of stand space has been created in the quarry floor by extending the showground into the demonstration area. High-speed fibre-optic broadband will also be installed across the site. www.hillhead.com n NEWS Parvalux announces plans to expand into a new factory in Poole Parvalux’s new factory and HQ in Poole will bring together activities from three existing sites IGUS HAS INVESTED £4m in a company that is building a first-of-its-kind plant in Cheshire that will recycle plastic waste into synthetic oil that can be re-used to make new plastic products. Construction is due to start this year on the first commercial catalytic hydrothermal reactor (Cat-HTR) plant consisting of four reactors that will be able to process more than 80,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year. The patented technology has been tested for more than 10 years in a pilot plant in Australia. It can process end-of-life, non- recyclable plastic waste can back into synthetic crude oil and chemical by-products within 20 minutes, using only high pressures, high temperatures and water. Igus’managing director, Frank Blase, became aware of the Cat-HTR technology last year and contacted its German inventor, Professor Thomas Maschmeyer, in Sydney. After intensive research, igus is investing £4m in Mura Technology which is building the plant in Wilton, Cheshire. “Chemical recycling offers new solutions to the problem of recycling mixed plastic,” says Blase. “We are committed to the achievement of a state of balance in the world of plastics with technical solutions and, after seven months of analysis, have backed Mura to accelerate the adoption of chemical recycling for mixed plastics.” In the process, the plastic feedstock is first processed into a powdered formbefore being mixed with water to form a slurry. This is then subjected to high temperatures and pressures, and undergoes a chemical reaction in which water hydrolyses the biomass. Oxygen is removed in the formof carbon dioxide, and hydrogen from the water is used to create a synthetic formof crude oil which can then be blended with fossil oil in refineries. The heat is recycled. The process is said to be more resource- efficient than extracting fossil fuels from the ground. At present, most plastics are incinerated and only 14% are recycled. Mura is planning to issue licences for its technology around the world and to build further plants. Igus invests £4m in pioneering UK plastics recycling plant