All RDAs across England are closing by March 2012
(see transition and closure section).
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Progress on National Composites Centre (NCC)
August 2010
The NCC is making great progress in Bristol. Five industrial
members have signed membership agreements, each contributing
£300,000 per annum for three years. This will help to ensure that
the NCC is ready by August 2011.
The five are; GKN Aerospace, Airbus, AgustaWestland, Rolls-Royce
and Vestas. There are a few more in the pipeline.
The importance of the Centre cannot be underestimated. It was
reported in the Daily Telegraph that Dave Dawson, engineering and
technology executive for purchasing at Rolls-Royce, said: "It's
critical to our continued footprint in the UK. We need to have
access to this centre to develop these technologies and
intellectual property associated with it so we can manage a global
supply chain from a position of strength."
Richard Oldfield, technical director at GKN Aerospace, which has
its manufacturing facility for the Airbus 350 in nearby Filton,
said the centre was "the cornerstone" to its technology investment
in the UK.
"The key issue is for ongoing support for the development
programme that this centre will discharge," he said. "We need to
see a continued commitment from BIS (Business Innovation and Skills
Department) and other departments to fund collaborative research
programmes to maximise the use of this centre. Programmes are
beginning to ramp down now and what we are looking for is a
significant commitment to cross-sectoral programmes."
Graham Harrison, the RDA’s director of international business,
commented: "Composites have a leading role to play in reducing the
carbon impact of many industries. The National Centre is a unique
opportunity to position the UK at the forefront of this exciting
sector, and at the same time attracting hundreds of highly skilled,
high value jobs to the South West."
The NCC is owned and hosted by the University of Bristol.
Professor Guy Orpen, Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of
Bristol said: “Composites are and will be of critical strategic
importance to the UK’s economy and the centre is already an
exemplar of smart collaboration between business and high quality
research.”
The NCC has been supported by £25 million of public sector
investment, comprising £12m from the Department of Business,
Innovation and Skills, £9m from European (ERDF) funding and £4m
from the South West RDA.