Rounding up the key events & developments for the Process Industry in 2013

As 2013 draws to a close, PIF takes a look back at some of the standout moments of this year for the Process Industry and engineering in general.

January

• Process Industry Forum was born - providing a global online platform to share technical solutions and transform PI stakeholder engagement.

• UCAS revealed an 8.4% increase in applications to study engineering, plus engineering and advanced manufacturing apprenticeships rose by more than 85% over the last two years, according to Semta.

 

February

• UK government and industry announced £200 million of investment to strengthen manufacturing supply chains, creating 11,000 new jobs and safeguarding 5,000 more.

• BAE Systems announced plans to recruit nearly 400 engineering and business apprentices across the UK in 2013 - its highest intake since 2008.

 

March

• World Wide Web pioneers Robert Kahn, Vinton Cerf, Louis Pouzin, Tim Berners-Lee and Marc Andreessen won the £1 million Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering.

• Land Rover launched the world’s first nine-speed automatic transmission for a passenger car at the Geneva motor show

May

• Hitachi Rail Europe and Merchant Place Developments signed an £82m contract to build the next generation of British Intercity trains in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

 

June

 

The Airbus A350, made up of fuel-efficient lightweight carbon-fibre, took off for its maiden flight from Toulouse.

The Brazil Offshore International Conference and Fair, for the oil and gas sector, returned for its biannual visit to Macaé.

 

 July

• Schneider Electric buys out Invensys with a £3.4bn takeover, provoking rumblings of job cuts from the French group.

• Bentley announced £800 million of investment and 1,000 new jobs at its Crewe headquarters to produce their new Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).

August

• Edwards Group, the UK vacuum pump manufacturer, was bought out by Swedish giant Atlas Copco; in a takeover worth up to £1 billion.

September

• Engineers from 26 nations completed the parbuckling of the stricken Costa Concordia at a cost of more than £500m.

• RWM 2013, Europe’s leading resource efficiency and waste management exhibition, gave visitors an insight into the industry’s most pressing issues.

• SPE Offshore Europe 2013, Europe’s leading offshore exhibition for the oil and gas industry, took place at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.

• Process Expo invited food manufacturers to descend on Chicago for the US’ largest trade show event dedicated strictly to the food and beverage industry.

• Sensors & Instrumentation Exhibition once again showcased the latest in instrumentation solutions at the NEC, Birmingham.

 October

• Emerson Process Management acquired safety and environmental control equipment leaders Enardo LLC.

• Alexander Bell topped an IET poll of the greatest British engineers of all time.

• PCVExpo, one of the biggest events in Russia and Europe, brought together producers and consumers of industrial pumps, compressors, pneumatics, valves, actuators, engines and seals.

• EDF Energy rolled out plans for the new £16bn Hinkley Point nuclear power station and Hitachi forged ahead with proposed Horizon plants at Wylfa and Oldbury.

November

• The HS2 Bill for high-speed rail came before UK government amid budget, viability and environmental concerns and will rumble on well into 2014 and beyond.

• International Water Week welcomed Water Industry experts, and more than 800 Aquatech exhibitors, to Amsterdam during the first week of November.

• BAE Systems axed 1,775 UK shipbuilding jobs, including 940 jobs in Portsmouth and 835 in Glasgow, Rosyth and Filton, near Bristol.

• Samsung Heavy Industries finished the world’s largest, most powerful wind turbine (196m, 7MW capacity) at the Fife Energy Park, Scotland.

December

• EADS, the defence and aerospace giant, announced 6,000 job losses Europe-wide to reduce costs.

• The biannual Chem Show brought delegates from across the Chemical Process Industries (CPI) to New York to showcase and witness the latest technologies.

 

Here at PIF, we wish you a Happy Christmas and hope you have had a excellent year filled with advancements, innovations and success!