Membership voice, March - April 2010

TWI is working to improve Industrial Member benefits through its engagement with Europe and its research priorities through the Framework programme.

Advanced manufacturing is a cornerstone of most TWI Industrial Members, and developed and developing economies, and in the current climate greater emphasis is placed on the tangible asset that manufacturing offers in comparison to certain service sectors.

This means that governments, as well as businesses, are addressing how manufacturing companies can be supported to sustain them through today's downturn and make them stronger internationally going forward.

TWI, with its headquarters and main R&D facilities in the UK, is ensuring that it plays its role in supporting the drive to advance new manufacturing techniques, particularly welding, surfacing, additive manufacturing and inspection, that meet future challenges of changing markets (energy, life sciences, the carbon economy), changing demographics (different age profiles in the workforce and new skills) and new technologies.

We have already made strong inroads into developing research collaborations and proposals that support the strategic direction of TWI and its Industrial Members, to the extent that more than 25% of its income comes from UK and European Commission sources to support R&D.

The next step has been to ensure a direct engagement with Europe to help shape future research calls rather than just responding to calls as they become public. The prime route to do this is through European Technology Platforms with the most relevant to TWI and its Members being Manufuture.

TWI is a member of this Platform and its associated Public-Private-Partnership, the European 'Factory of the Future'. TWI works alongside European businesses and other leading Research Associations and Universities, to help address the key priority themes for joint government and business investment where Europe can make an impact in the global market.

If you are a European business or a business with R&D capability in Europe, TWI can work with you to provide insight to the Framework Programme and how it may support you, and can find the best fit within the range of European programmes to develop consortia and proposals to support your business plans. It can also provide another voice for your research priorities into the 'machine' which is Europe to ensure future calls are relevant to your business.

If you are operating outside of Europe, TWI can provide open information on strategic priorities that are relevant to Europe; plus the R&D that is developed by TWI in European programmes is still available on a commercial basis within the agreements of specific programmes.

TWI does not stop at Advanced Manufacturing and Manufuture, it is also engaged to different levels with Platforms including:

• Laser technologies - Photonics 21 - TWI contact Paul Hilton
• Additive manufacturing - Rapid Manufacturing Platform - TWI contact Rob Scudamore

Sue Dunkerton is Associate Director and Business Manager - TWI Co-Director HealthTech and Medicines KTN

'The mission of the European Technology Platform Manufuture is to propose, develop and implement a strategy based on Research and Innovation, capable of speeding up the rate of industrial transformation to high-added-value products, processes and services, securing high-skills employment and winning a major share of world manufacturing output in the future knowledge-driven economy.'