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UK manufacturing - amazing technologies for you and for industry

Innovation in manufacturing is an area where Britain excels - companies based in Wales are at the forefront of some ground-breaking work.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
Empire Cycles bike produced with Renishaw

Renishaw

Renishaw - 3D bike for Empire cycles

Renishaw is the UK’s only manufacturer of a metal-based additive manufacturing machine that prints metal parts. It worked with Empire Cycles to create the world’s first 3D printed metal bike frame. Empire Cycles designed the bike to take advantage of Renishaw’s technology, creating a titanium frame that is some 33% lighter than the original.

Concrete Canvas in action

Concrete Canvas - Bund Lining Marine Terminal Facility UK

Concrete Canvas Ltd manufacture a ground breaking material technology called Concrete Canvas that was originally developed for the award winning Concrete Canvas Shelters - a building in a bag that requires only water and air for construction. Concrete Canvas is a flexible concrete impregnated fabric that hardens on hydration to form a thin, durable waterproof and fire-resistant concrete layer. Essentially, it’s concrete on a roll.

Raspberry Pi

Photo by Solarbotics

Raspberry Pi is a brilliant piece of technology - a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It is hoped it will be used by kids all over the world to learn how computers work. Raspberry Pi originally made its credit card-sized computers in China, but Sony’s factory in Pencoed enabled them to reshore the work to south Wales, where they employ between 70 and 100 people. More than 3.5 million Raspberry Pis have been sold worldwide.

Business Secretary Vince Cable and Welsh Government Minister for Economy, Science and Transport Edwina Hart have announced an international investment conference ‘Embracing new technology for competitive advantage’ to be held on 20 and 21 November in Newport. It will focus on new technologies, presenting Wales and the rest of the UK as an outstanding environment for business growth and investment.

During his visit to Wales, Business Secretary Vince Cable said:

Wales is already home to many successful companies. Some started here whilst others have come here to invest and grow. This conference provides a good opportunity to show Wales’ strengths as an excellent place to do business and one that is open to foreign investment.

The government’s industrial strategy is giving businesses the confidence to invest over the long term, creating the type of high skilled jobs this country needs to thrive in the future. This will help create a stronger and fairer economy in Wales and the rest of the UK.

Updates to this page

Published 27 August 2014