North East Euro MP, Dr Gordon Adam, officially opened the Improving Productivity exhibition held at the Tyneside Welding Training Centre of South Tyneside, Hebburn at the end of 2001.
The theme of the exhibition was inexpensive methods of improving productivity by the more efficient use of processes and by the implementation of simple and cost-effective mechanisation and automation.
The exhibition was organised by TWI and held at the South Tyneside College, home of STC/TWI Tyneside Welding Training Centre. Funding was provided by the Joining Forces-North East technology transfer programme, a European Social Fund project aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to give guidance on the introduction and evaluation of best practice in materials joining technology and training.
In addition to the exhibition, a series of presentations was made by TWI staff on the topic of improving productivity. Welding clinics were also held on a one-to-one basis by TWI engineers throughout the two-day event.
The event was supported by twenty-five of the leading companies in the field and five of the largest distributors in the North East, as well as Plant Integrity Ltd, Woodhead Publishing and the Welding & Joining Society. TWI exhibited the latest technology in the form of a friction stir welding machine and also had available a demonstration of the JoinIT database knowledge system.
