Pupils at a Swindon school will experience cutting-edge technology today with the launch of a hi-tech 14M long mobile demonstration unit for innovative manufacturing technology. It was showcased for the first time at Dorcan Technology College.

MANTRA (The Manufacturing Technology Transporter) is a specially modified HGV packed with the latest machinery and simulators. The truck will take to the road, visiting small businesses and schools throughout the UK to demonstrate manufacturing and assembly line technology of the future and help inspire young people to take up careers in engineering.

Established by the University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing (AMRC), and with funding from the Swindon-based Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), MANTRA aims to introduce companies to the latest production engineering technology and techniques helping them to innovate with new products, increase productivity and keep UK manufacturing competitive. It will also be used to show secondary school pupils how exciting manufacturing can be - using eye catching technologies such as virtual reality assembly and advanced modelling systems.

Atti Emecz, Director of Communications for the EPSRC said: "This demonstrator does two really important jobs. It connects UK industry with the latest tools and techniques to ensure UK manufacturing and engineering remain world class while developing the economy. It will also help to encourage young people to take career paths creating the next generation of world class researchers and engineers. I'm delighted that pupils at Dorcan Technology College will be the first of many to experience a facility that might be the beginning of a fantastic career. UK engineering is among the best in the world and MANTRA is an opportunity to illustrate how exciting engineering can be and remind everyone of the contribution UK engineering makes to the challenges of the 21st century".

Professor Keith Ridgway, Research Director of the AMRC said: We are delighted to have received the support of the EPSRC and our industrial sponsors, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Mori Seiki. It has given us the opportunity to equip the vehicle to the highest possible specification and build in a level of flexibility that will enable us to tailor visits to a wide spectrum of organisations including schools, colleges, SMEs and large companies.

Sir Roger Bone, president of Boeing UK, commented: "The technologies being showcased by MANTRA are already making a contribution to Boeing's products, such as the 787 Dreamliner. We are particularly pleased that the capabilities of the AMRC are being highlighted in this way, inspiring the next generation of engineers and scientists."

Hamid Mughal, Executive Vice President of Manufacturing Engineering at Rolls-Royce, said: "The development and application of advanced manufacturing technologies is a critical enabler for meeting demanding product and business challenges. The innovative environment and partnership framework of the new Rolls-Royce Factory of the Future will help to accelerate the development of these technologies and, as such, provide ongoing competitive advantage. The MANTRA project provides a travelling extension to the Rolls-Royce Factory of the Future allowing a wide-ranging and diverse audience to understand and benefit from the world-class activities of the centre." The high-tech truck aims to visit more than 400 companies and 30 schools over the next three years.

Notes for Editors

MANTRA was supported with an award of £500,000 from EPSRC's 2007 Knowledge Transfer Challenge, which aimed to reward and celebrate innovative approaches to supporting knowledge transfer in universities, making sure that research finds its way to end users in business and the public sector.

The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing is a £45 million partnership of the University of Sheffield and over 40 partner companies, which builds on the shared scientific excellence, expertise and technological innovation of the world's leading aerospace companies, and world-class research within the University of Sheffield's Faculty of Engineering. It develops innovative and advanced technology solutions for materials forming, metal working and castings. It also has internationally acknowledged research in the field of composite materials, an area crucial to the development of Boeing's next generation aircraft.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. The EPSRC invests more than £800 million a year in research and postgraduate training to tackle the challenges of the 21^st Century. www.epsrc.ac.uk