Celebrating success as £43M construction programme takes shape at TWI
‘The government is right behind TWI in its work to deliver specialist skills in structural integrity and materials joining into industry. We in South Cambridgeshire are very proud to be a part of a success story focused on the core technologies that are vital for our economic growth.’ Andrew Lansley CBE MP
A visit to TWI on Friday 7 March 2014 by Member of Parliament for South Cambridgeshire and Leader of the House of Commons Andrew Lansley CBE, and Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts, has given the seal of approval to the company’s 25,000 square metre expansion programme at its Granta Park headquarters.
Andrew Lansley and David Willetts, accompanied by Vicky Ford MEP and Sir John O’Reilly, the government's Director General of Knowledge and Innovation, visited the South Cambridgeshire R&D premises to lead a site ceremony alongside TWI Chief Executive Christoph Wiesner and staff member Sarah Preston to mark the end of the steel construction phase of the build programme.
The ceremony, which included lowering into the ground a friction-stir welded capsule containing examples of research and innovation in materials joining and structural integrity technologies, was held in front of invited guests from the region, the design and build teams, government funding bodies, and partners representing the new National Structural Integrity Research Centre.
David Willetts said:
‘I am delighted to see the new Centre making such great progress and to be present to celebrate an extraordinary success. We have a need for R&D centres that stand between universities and upstream research, and commercial and business application. TWI began this process as a research association shortly after the war and has continued to deliver as a modern-day Catapult, becoming ever bigger and stronger in Britain's industrial environment. I applaud the company in its fantastic achievement.’
Following the burying of the time capsule, the event concluded with a short tour of TWI’s engineering laboratories to see examples of project work in structural integrity and inspection technologies, followed by cutting of a ceremonial cake - a small-scale replica of the finished buildings.
Ends
Notes to Editors
In 2013, TWI welcomed government support from the UK Regional Growth Fund to launch the expansion initiative. This, together with funding put forward by the company itself under the auspices of the industry-led Structural Integrity Research Founding, will supply new laboratories and facilities for research and development, with provision of the new centre for postgraduate studies in an industry environment at the centre of the building project.
The completed TWI facilities will cover 36,000 square metres approx. and contain laboratories for the study and performance of materials and the impact of welding and joining techniques as applied in industry. These will be supported by a full range of information services, including the library – the world’s most comprehensive library of welding and joining related publications – together with meeting and conference rooms, and restaurants.
The build programme is being managed by Bedfordshire-based construction company SDC, and is on schedule for completion by the end of this year.
About TWI
TWI is one of the world’s foremost independent research and technology organisations, with expertise in solving problems in all aspects of manufacturing, fabrication and whole-life integrity management technologies.
Established at Abington, Cambridge, UK in 1946 and with facilities across the globe, the company has a first-class reputation for service through its teams of internationally respected consultants, scientists, engineers and support staff.
The company employs over nearly 900 staff, serving 700 Member companies across 4500 sites in 80 countries. TWI also houses a professional institution, The Welding Institute, with a separate membership of over 6000 individuals.
TWI, Granta Park, Abington, Cambridge CB21 6AL. Tel: 01223 899000. Fax: 01223 892588. E-mail: twi@twi.co.uk. Web: www.twi.co.uk
About the National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC)
The National Structural Integrity Research Centre (NSIRC™) is a state-of-the-art postgraduate engineering facility established and managed by structural integrity specialist TWI, working closely with lead academic partner Brunel University, alongside the University of Cambridge and the University of Manchester and leading industrial partners. The Centre also receives long-term industrial commitment from key TWI Industrial Member companies.
NSIRC combines industrially driven academic excellence to address the need for innovation, while delivering a supply of appropriately qualified staff to work across the supply chain and generate very significant economic benefits, both to industry and the UK as a whole. The Centre is funded by:
- UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) through its Regional Growth Fund (RGF).
- The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
- SIRF (Structural Integrity Research Foundation), a funding vehicle set up by TWI to fund and operate NSIRC.
91/14 catherine.condie@twi.co.uk 7 March 2014
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