This week Neil discusses the success of Festomane

THE Festival of Manufacturing and Engineering, known as Festomane, is well underway with three fabulous events having already taken place and the ever popular Exhibition in the Stroud Leisure Centre rounding things off this Wednesday.

The now regular Grow Your Manufacturing and Engineering Business event got things off to a flying start, showcasing the best of technology and innovation in the Stroud Valleys and Vale.

One aim of Festomane is to highlight the range and number of thriving businesses in the area and this was done as their leaders took the opportunity to describe their firms and products.

One new feature of the event was to hear from Jaguar Land Rover about increasing productivity, product range and expanding exports.

All firms had access to experts and resources to help their businesses develop and thrive.

Once again, the FRijj challenge took place at SGS College. This is a competition for school teams to design, produce and market a new milkshake. It is supported wonderfully well by Muller, a firm demonstrating valuable commitment to Stonehouse and is a market leader in milk based products. Pupils love the opportunity to learn the skills associated with the food and drink industry.

The incredibly popular Engineer your Future – the careers event for pupils from ages 13 to 19 – was hosted by Renishaw with fabulous workshops run by Delphi, Schlumberger, University of West of England and the hosts. Parents and children all joined in to make miniature electric motors, structures from spaghetti and marshmallows, and devices to transfer goods.

There are career opportunities all over the engineering sector being advertised Renishaw, as a case in point, is looking for 90 engineers this year.