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APRIL CALL NEWS:
Hewitt announces £30 million hi-tech network
Announced by the Trade and
Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt at the Farnborough Airshow
20 July, The National Composites Network is a new £30 million
network to disseminate lighter, stronger composites
technologies for aerospace, automotive and other industries,
and is the first recipient of the new Knowledge Transfer
Network grants.
The Network will have various
regional centres, each of which will specialise in particular
technologies; the first part of the network will be at the GKN
Centre on the Isle of Wight, and will focus on automated
manufacture. It will also help secure 700 high quality
manufacturing jobs.
The National
Composites Network will:
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bring
together industry experts in composites;
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share
knowledge in composites across different industries and
between companies; and
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help
smaller companies source their research and development
and access state of the art technology
The DTI
Technology Programme is putting £4.75 million into the
network, the UK’s various Regional Development Agencies are
putting in a further £14 million, with industry contributions
bringing the total funding up to £30 million.
The network
will be run by GKN, the Motor Industries Research Association,
the British Marine Federation, the Composites Processing
Association, Airbus and The Welding Institute (TWI). All the
other key players in the UK composites industry support the
network. From 1 September a dedicated telephone helpline and
web site will be in place but in the interim enquirers should
contact TWI via telephone 01223 – 891162 or web site
www.twi.co.uk
or e-mail
composites@twi.co.uk.
Full Press Release:
Hewitt announces £30 million hi-tech network
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