November 2017

| Plant &Works Engineering | November 2017 News 8 EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation has called for a new, independent Foreign Investment Evaluation (FIE) process as part of a wider framework to assess the potential benefits of foreign takeovers of UK companies. The call was made in response to the Takeover Panel’s consultation on extending assurances given by overseas companies when acquiring UK assets which closes today. It also comes on the back of the Government’s recent Green Paper on foreign investment in critical infrastructure. Whilst EEF supports extending the assurances to be given by acquirers, it believes this is only a partial solution to ensure the best outcomes for businesses which are bought and their domestic supply chain. According to EEF, foreign investment has generally been a force for good in the UK. However, there have been cases where jobs, investment and the supply chain have been impacted when the intentions of foreign acquirers are not aligned with the UK’s wider economic interests. As such, while the Takeover Panel’s recommendations are welcome, EEF believes they need to be part of a new framework which strikes a better balance between ensuring the protection of key economic assets, whilst retaining the UK’s openness to beneficial foreign investment. EEF’s new proposal would see a new, FIE process carried out by a panel which would be independent to maintain political neutrality. The panel would take into account the wider effects of a takeover, such as the impact on supply chains or loss of technological capability, before determining on balance whether the takeover would be beneficial. If the takeover fails the FIE then the Independent Panel would inform the Secretary of State for Business who can then block it. Commenting, EEF chief economist, Ms Lee Hopley, said: “Manufacturers have an interest in ensuring the UK has the right frameworks in place to make sure foreign acquisitions work for all involved – the company, high value jobs and also the domestic supply chain. The Takeover Panel’s consultation is a welcome first step in starting to move towards a more transparent and robust framework that can work for industry and our economy. “However, this must be part of a debate about whether additional architecture is required in order to make clear judgements and potential interventions to prevent the takeover of assets which do not provide a net benefit to the UK.” Industry proposes new takeover procedure to monitor foreign acquisitions In mid-October, more than 400 industry experts and journalists from all over the world came together to celebrate Lenze’s 70th anniversary at the company’s German headquarters near Hamelin. Lenze celebrated its anniversary with the “Future Day of Machine Manufacturing”. The event provided an opportunity to take part in creative discussions on trends, challenges and intelligent solutions for modern machine manufacturing. Subjects debated included most recent automation trends, latest product developments and future ways to make machine building easier. Pre-eminent experts from varied business disciplines talked about digitisation, the IoT and the future challenges as well as the opportunities for machine manufacturing. What started as a trading company in Hamelin, Germany, has today developed into an international Drive and Automation company. Lenze said that it takes pride in being a real partner to its customers, developing intelligent solutions for the Smart Factory together. To make digital transformations possible cooperation is the key factor, Lenze CEO Christian Wendler said: “Our ability to develop the right solutions for the challenges faced by our customers has always depended on our people, and this will be the case in the future. The cooperation and partnership with the customer is most important for us. In order to create intelligent machines, the role of our people will increasingly be to work creatively in teams – cooperation skills will become the new core competence.” Industry 4.0 and the digital world also mean a change of role for Lenze itself. From a manufacturer of components, drive solutions and automation systems, Lenze is turning into a service provider that presents itself to its machine- manufacturing customers as a complete engineering partner. Lenze turns 70