University News Last updated 28 November 2012
Birmingham City University will be showcasing The Story of JCB at a major conference this week, which will allow visitors a glimpse into the history of one of the UK’s most iconic brands.
‘The Story of JCB’ was unveiled last year as a permanent exhibition within the grounds of the JCB world headquarters (Rocester, Stafford UK). Described as ‘stunning’ by The Construction Index, the exhibition takes visitors on a journey back to the Bramford family’s humble beginnings as blacksmiths in the 1820s to becoming one of the largest construction and agricultural equipment manufacturers in the world.
It is this unique exhibition which drew Professor David Edwards, Head of Research and Director of the Centre for Business Innovation & Enterprise at Birmingham City Business School, to host this year’s Plant and Equipment Management Innovation Conference (PEMIC) at the JCB World Headquarters.
The Plant and Equipment Management Innovation Conference (PEMIC) is an annual event, taking place on Thursday 29 November 2012, to celebrate, promote and showcase industrial innovation within the sector.
International awards
The conference is also host to the Off-highway Plant and Equipment Research Centre (OPERC) International Awards for Excellence. These honours are given to celebrate outstanding contributions made by professionals throughout the sector in recognition of particular industrial, professional or scientific endeavour. Additional awards are also made to leading academics who have consistently demonstrated sustained leadership and research output of international standing.
Unable to attend PEMIC 2012, a special awards ceremony was held for Professor David Tidmarsh, Vice-Chancellor at Birmingham City University, on 1 November 2012. Professor Tidmarsh was recipient to the OPERC Gold Medal for his outstanding contribution to UK academia and for providing leadership that has seen Birmingham City University leap 30 places up the Universities league tables.
The annual PEMIC conference is organised by Professor David Edwards and Professor Gary Holt from The Centre for Business Innovation and Enterprise (CBIE), which is based within Birmingham City Business School, in partnership with OPERC.