Bradford Manufacturing Week – Updated

Bradford Manufacturing Weeks brings manufacturers, schools, young people together through tours, work experience, seminars, exhibitions and learning events held at manufacturer premises and key locations across the district. The weeks are running from Monday 7^th October to Friday 18^th October and involve our Year 10 engineering and technology students visiting various manufacturers across the Bradford District.

The Solenis Bradford plant, which began manufacturing in 1953, primarily produces polymers and flocculants for wastewater treatment in a variety of heavy industrial markets, including pulp and paper, mineral processing and upstream energy.

Students learnt about the various roles within Solenis, including engineering, finance and production – this included a talk about apprenticeships and a careers panel that was hosted my many employees within the company.

Students also had a tour around the facility which included a detailed explanation of how a chemical plant works.

TF Automation design, engineer and manufacture process automation solutions and special purpose machinery for a wide range of industries, using the latest in robotics and pneumatic technology.

Students learnt about different properties of materials and how they can be used in different ways to provide a solution to a manufacturing problem. After a presentation and a material ‘show and tell’ exercise, students were then taken to the warehouse where they met a variety of engineers. In the warehouse, students rotated around various machines, observing the advanced technology and programming behind them. This included students inputting data into laser technology to engrave their very own coaster to take home!

Christeyns stands for premium chemicals, reliable equipment and flexible, customised service. Their portfolio includes hygiene solutions for professional textile care, food processing & retail, the professional cleaning industry and the medical and life sciences sectors.

Students had a fun and engaging day as they became Christeyns employees for the day! A challenge was set by Christeyns for students to make a new washing up liquid brand to sell to customers in a ‘apprentice/dragons den’ style activity. This included students completing consumer research, buying raw materials from real life manufacturers, working out costs and sell price and promoting their new brand. At the end of the day, the two groups had to do a business pitch to the managing director of Christeyns. A big shout out to the team ‘Mr Clean’ who won the challenge and received great feedback from the managing director. Students also had a tour around the facility which included the laboratory for testing chemicals and the offices.

Massive thanks to Solenis, TF Automation and Christeyns for their efforts in hosting our Year 10 students during Manufacturing Week(s).

Kemira is a global leader in sustainable chemical solutions for water-intensive industries. Their customers include industrial and municipal water treatment operators, and pulp & paper industry among others.

After learning about the company, the students had a full tour of the warehouse where they observed automated systems such as packaging, which was completed by a machine. Students also learnt about sustainability and the companies strategy to become Carbon Neutral.

Mansfield Pollard are an engineering company who are one of the UK leaders in the design and manufacturing of ventilation systems and acoustic control products.

On two separate days, students had a fantastic experience learning about manufacturing at Mansfield Pollards new facility in Bradford. Students learnt about air handling systems, data centres and acoustic control by listening to a variety of people within the company including HR, marketing, engineering and the chief executive officer.

Students then took part in a competitive challenge to create a box that controlled acoustics (sound). The winner of the challenge was determined by which box was the quietest, when a ringing iphone was placed inside the box. The winning team on the 2^nd visit (Friday 18^th October) broke the all time record for the lowest decibel reading on their box!

Massive thanks to Kemira and Mansfield Pollard for their efforts in hosting our Year 10 students during Manufacturing Week(s).