Chemring reports improved results
Defence group Chemring has posted a full-year pre-tax profit of £8 million, reversing the previous year’s £9.1 million loss.
The company was boosted by the weaker pound, which increased its revenues for the year by 27% to £477 million.
Safran agrees to buy Zodiac Aerospace
French aerospace supplier Safran has agreed to acquire Zodiac Aerospace in a deal which values the plane cabin interiors specialist at €8.5 billion.
The boards of both companies support the deal, but it still requires shareholder and regulatory approval.
Airbus to test flying car by year end
Airbus' chief executive Tom Enders told a technology conference in Germany that the company plans to test a flying car by the end of the year.
Airbus has been working on vertical take-off and landing technology that would enable vehicles to pick up passengers in busy urban areas, and has said it expects to be putting them into production by 2021.
Carbon Trust launches innovation competition for offshore wind
The Carbon Trust’s Offshore Wind Accelerator has launched a new global competition to find and fund the development of innovative solutions to a challenge facing the offshore wind farm industry: how to monitor the condition of subsea cables to ensure that they are not damaged during the load out and installation process.
The competition closes on the 13 February 2017. Applicants can access full details of the competition here.
BAE creates deflector shield
BAE Systems is developing a new laser solution to enhance the military’s ability to observe enemy activities over greater distances.
The Laser Developed Atmospheric Lens simulates the reflective properties of the ionosphere and desert mirages by using a high-power laser system to exploit the ‘Kerr Effect’, in order to temporarily ionise or heat a small region of atmosphere, which can be used to magnify or change the path of electromagnetic waves, such as light and radio signals.
It can also be used as ‘deflector shield’ to protect troops from incoming attacks by high-power laser weapons.
Zenos Cars falls into administration
Norfolk automotive manufacturer Zenos Cars has gone into administration after suffering from a spate of cancelled export orders.
It is understood administrators Begbies Traynor are looking to sell the business as a going concern.
ETI says tidal energy plagued by cost discrepancies
Tidal energy is at risk of being priced-out of an increasingly cost-competitive low-carbon market in the UK, unless a successful Contract for Difference agreement can be implemented, according to the Energy Technologies Institute.
The ETI has called for a shift in focus to exploit tidal stream technology commercially. It says the technology can compete with other energy sources “over the coming decades” but only if costs are reduced.
MTC and DTI sign deal for greater collaboration
The Manufacturing Technology Centre has strengthened its relationship with the Danish Technological Institute.
The organisations have signed a ‘letter of intent’ signalling greater collaboration after working together for the past 12 months on a pan-European automation project called ROBOTT-NET.
First UK firm secures Nadcap accreditation
Worcester-based castings specialist Aeromet International has become the first UK company to achieve National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (Nadcap) accreditation for measurement and inspection.
Nadcap is an industry-managed approach to assess conformity of ‘special processes’ set by a group of technical experts from prime customers, suppliers and the UK’s National Measurement Institute.
Guide suggests diversification opportunities for oil and gas firms
Scottish Enterprise has published a guide for the oil and gas industry which highlights diversification opportunities markets including offshore wind.
Oil and Gas Diversification Opportunities highlights offshore grouting company FoundOcean and manufacturer Flowline Specialist who have successfully expanded into the offshore wind industry.