Why do we not build these machines new any more? Like many famous UK manufacturing companies we were victims to the imbecilic de-industrialisation policies of one UK government after the other during the past 45 years. Want to see great achievements during these painful years – download the history PDF. It’s 48mb but it’s worth it to see the full story.

Why we no longer design and build new machines. Successive governments destroyed UK manufacturing with the deranged policy to deindustrialize the UK that took off 40 years ago. They did not understand that machine tools are the mother of all manufacturing. My ranting is public on my web site https://www.age-fit.com/

We designed and built new Millennium machines that were producing very important defence and aerospace components for some of the world’s best companies. We can no longer build these machines new in the UK. That is a very sad story because the whole home grown UK machine tool industry was substantially destroyed in the 1980/90’s by government incompetence and ministerial lies. A disgraceful performance by our government.

VTT-WB continues the support for the Millennium and the other models we designed and built – Aeroturn, Evolution, Revelation and ManuPlus.

With loss of our millions of working capital over the ‘machine tools for Iraq’ we were subsequently at the mercy of funders. Twice we took Webster & Bennett back to a recognized world class position but twice success backfired on us. We have an exceptional range of designs, mostly well proven but the capital is not available for this industry – shame because I would have no trouble funding a coffee shop.

Before the Industrial Revolution there were hand tools and most components were made in wood. Industrialisation was initially benefitting agriculture and textiles but not so much transport and steam/power generation where metal parts would increase operating specifications and the life of the vehicles and machines used in transport and power. As different machine tools were invented and developed interchangeability of parts, a huge benefit, became possible.

During the second half of the 19th century machine tools became the largest industrial sector in the USA. The UK machine tool industry was also developing fast producing machines whose names would be amongst the most important world wide throughout most of the 20th century – Herbert, Wickman, Webster & Bennett all from Coventry, together with BSA in Birmingham. Smaller companies in these two great cities developed many specialized machine tools.

The machine tool industry in the UK and the USA were major contributors to our success in the World Wars. Since 1981 our ability to manufacture weapons and armoured vehicles has reduced with the decades of de-industrialisation policy. The UK manufacturing capacity that remains is almost full of machine tools built overseas, many in countries that we have been to war with or had a poor relationship with. If we fall out with them where do we get spare parts or replacement machine tools? Cars, airplanes, tanks, ships, railways, power stations – made them all but now we spend hundreds of billions for people to make them for us. Senseless.

The effects of these deindustrializing policies on Greenhouse gas effect? Not what most people think! They have their heads in the sand.

Want to read more or argue with me – I invite you to this link age-fit.com/govt/idiocy

The 1992 document shows the quality of our manufacturing facility in 1992 about to be destroyed. Our destruction was just one of many, as result of Government ineptitude. In the history document you can see more photographic examples of our achievements. See our 60 year old machine tool history