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Quiet little town? Advanced Technology Centre?

Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2012-12-08 13:15:33 - Graham Ellis

We live in a quiet little town in the English countryside, set way back in time where nothing has changed for many years, right?

WRONG! It never ceases to amaze me how many advanced engineering skills we have in this town - how many innovative and international businesses where the technology you'll find being developed and used in Melksham come from, and is used, all around the world. And I'm very proud of that in our town.

It's lunch time on Saturday as I write this, and I've just been watching a demonstration at Well House Manor of a system for making the most effective and sustainable use of fuel on public transport systems - where there's little point in the transport arriving at intermediate stops early just to have to wait. Controlled acceleration, most effective coasting and gentle braking is order of the day, but within a system which knows the route ahead, and can adjust for gradients, vehicle metrics, and lateness of running that's perhaps been caused by slow-joining passengers at an intermediate point. And when you think about it, you're not just able to optimise fuel use, you're also able to optimise brake wear.

Our surrounding towns may think of Melksham as a bit of a backwater. Oh no it ain't - it's a great town, with great skills, great people, and a great future.