Uk firms pitch for £110million in supply contracts

Working with the Science & Technology Facilities Council (STFC), UKTI is bringing senior procurement officials to the UK who are looking to fulfil contracts in areas such as electronics and mechanical engineering. The UK companies will meet CERN officials at two roadshows. The first is being held at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire on 6 October and the second at the STFC Daresbury Research Laboratory in Cheshire on 7 October. UK Trade & Investment chief executive Sir Andrew Cahn, pictured, said: "Working with CERN is not only a feather in the cap for a British company but also an excellent business opportunity. Firms which meet the highest scientific standards required by this facility win not only business but also a world-class endorsement of their innovation and quality." John Womersley, director of Science Programmes at STFC, added: "This is a fantastic opportunity for UK businesses to be involved in one of the world's most exciting scientific projects, and for the UK to reap some of the benefits of the major scientific investment made by the Science & Technology Facilities Council in CERN." A large proportion of orders are placed by the centralised units at CERN via the Procurement Service. UK firms winning business at CERN include Berkshire based Cemgraft Electronics, which provided half of the 700 ROBin cards in ATLAS and eXception EMS, from Wiltshire, which manufactured the tracker front end drivers for CMS, an electronic system designed and developed at RAL. TM Engineers, based in the West Midlands, manufactured the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter endcap support structures.