June 2020

NEWS n 5 Gambica members are back to working at 75% of capacity MEMBERS OF THE Gambica, the trade association which represents companies in the UK’s automation and instrumentation sectors, are now running their operations at about 75% of their full capacity, according to the organisation’s chief executive, Steve Brambley. Gambica has surveyed its members nine times since mid-March to allow companies to benchmark themselves, and to feed the impact back to the government.“The positive news is that no businesses stopped – albeit often operating at a reduced rate,”says Brambley.“On average, the industry is now running at 75% capacity, as orders slowly start to increase from the low point of mid-April. “The impact depends strongly on the customer segment, with automotive being one of the hardest hit, compared to food and drink which has largely maintained full operation,”he continues.“In contrast to this, one in ten members have seen an increase in orders, mainly in the areas of healthcare and research, for sales of laboratory technology and PPE.” According to Brambley, a third of Gambica member companies’ employees continued in their usual place of work throughout the lockdown, especially where manufacturing, distribution or service required a physical presence. They have implemented distancing, shielding, one-way systems and increased hygiene and PPE to mitigate any risks and continue to operate. More than half of Gambica members’ employees have been working from home, with many reporting an increase in productivity due to reduced commuting and travel. The industry has used the government’s furlough scheme to safeguard some jobs in the face of reduced orders, but this requirement has been reducing and now accounts for around 15% of the workforce. Brambley was speaking at a press briefing given by manufacturing industry leaders earlier this month. Another speaker, Paul O’Donnell, head of external affairs at the MTA (Manufacturing Technologies Association), reported that the lockdown period has had a profound effect on the Association. “We took the decision quite early to reschedule the Mach exhibition,” he said. “In January, we were concerned about how we could bring people over from China,” O’Donnell recalls. “But then we had Italy – the first indication that we were going to have to deal with a significant issue – and then things escalated at pace. Because it's a working show, going online was not an option for us.” The event has been rescheduled to January 2021. • Almost three quarters (74%) of the UK public believe that manufacturers stepped up to meet the challenge of supporting the UK as the Coronavirus took a grip on the nation, according to a survey conducted by Populus for Cadence Innovation Marketing. A similar number believe that a strategic long- term plan to help UK manufacturers to be more productive and competitive, will help insulate us from future pandemics and go some way to protect UK GDP, of which manufacturing contributes over 17%. Furthermore, three quarters (75%) of the UK public believe more strongly in the importance of the UK manufacturing as a result of coronavirus. “The impact depends strongly on the customer segment, with automotive being one of the hardest hit, compared to food and drink which has largely maintained full operation.” www.drivesncontrols.com June 2020 Brambley: no businesses stopped SIEMENS HAS ANNOUNCED plans to spin off its Flender mechanical power transmission business, which it describes as “the world’s leading manufacturer of mechanical drive systems”. The spin-off, which is part of Siemens’ programme to reorganise its portfolio, will begin by the company integrating its wind energy generation business into Flender. Siemens says that the combined operation will be a technology leader with a global presence, a competitive cost base, an attractive service business and annual revenues of around €2bn. Siemens then plans to list the combined company publicly via a spin- off. Its shareholders will vote on the proposed spin-off in February 2021. Friedrich Flender AG was founded in Düsseldorf in 1899, originally making wooden pulleys. In subsequent decades, the company expanded to become a leading manufacturer of gear systems. Siemens acquired Flender for €1.2bn in 2005, along with the Winergy brand for windpower technologies. The business – whose headquarters are in Bocholt, Germany – has a portfolio of gear systems, clutches, drive applications and services. It claims to have the world’s largest portfolio of industrial couplings. Flender has around 6,500 employees, and nine manufacturing sites in Germany, France, the US, China and India. Since 2017, Flender has operated as a separate, wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens. Suggestions that Siemens was looking to sell the business started soon after this creation of a separate company. Siemens plans to spin off its Flender gears business