As part of the development of the training activity Namtec has taken possession of Swinden House in Rotherham, which will become a national training and conference centre
The UK National Metals Technology Centre (Namtec) has officially launched its new research and training activities.
The launch was addressed by Alun Michael, government minister for industry and the regions.
He complimented Namtec on its success to date: "Since its inception the centre has more than lived up to expectations - it has established itself as part of the knowledge base of the country and provided essential support to a wide range of industrial companies".
Namtec has recently undergone a significant enlargement through the development of a research and training capability.
This enlargement programme has been supported by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTi), Yorkshire Forward, Objective 1 (South Yorkshire) and the Learning and Skills Council (South Yorkshire).
As part of the development of the training activity Namtec has taken possession of Swinden House in Rotherham, which will open in September 2005 as a national training and conference centre for the metals and manufacturing industry.
Namtec will be providing an extensive range of training programmes as part of its core support services to industry.
Namtec is also working in partnership with Corus RD and T centres, to make Corus's extensive research and test facilities available to companies across the UK.
Alan Partridge, CEO of Namtec said: "The training facilities offered by Swinden House, combined with the research capabilities available through Corus's Swinden Technology Laboratories, will provide important and much needed support, both regionally and nationally, to the metals sector, and will ensure that the sector maintains its competitiveness in the global market".