Made Smarter rolls-out innovative Leadership Programme

The roll-out gives more SME leaders, based in Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and the Liverpool City Region, the opportunity to learn the strategies to support the adoption of hi-tech and digitally-based manufacturing techniques into their own production processes. It also explores organisational culture and how to engage and enthuse employees and other stakeholders about their digital transformation journey.

Sarah Poynter, operations manager at Arden Dies, the Stockport-based die and tooling manufacturer, has signed up for the programme.

She said: “As a company we are at the start of a transformational journey. We have always invested in the best technology and machinery, but there are historic challenges that need our focus if we are to capitalise on the next stage of our growth.

“I was drawn to the Made Smarter Leadership Programme because it combines leading academic expertise with practical activities to apply that knowledge into our business.

“I am looking forward to connecting and collaborating with other leaders from different types of business and learning how they do things.

“Digitalisation should be the focus for all manufacturers and this programme is the perfect place to start.”

With social distancing measures likely to stay in place for the foreseeable future, the programme will initially be delivered predominantly online with a view to move to face-to-face workshops when this is safe to implement.

These include seven workshops led by both academics delivering leading edge thinking and business practitioners demonstrating adoption in real business settings.

Through the programme delegates will also embark on 'sprints' where they would test their ideas with employees from the business to build engagement and learning from each other.

Site visits will also be conducted virtually, until it is safe to do in-person.

For the Lancaster cohort they include Runcorn-based Hosokawa Micron, a manufacturer and supplier of powder processing systems and equipment which has transformed its production performance through the application of digital technologies, and Veka, a Burnley-based manufacturer of PVCu window systems.

The Liverpool cohort will also gain vital insights from visits with Hosokawa Micron as well as The Materials Innovation Factory, the centre of excellence at the University of Liverpool which is part-funded by Unilever and provides a collaborative workspace for academics and industry to share open innovations, robotic tech and digital capabilities to accelerate R&D.

Manchester Metropolitan University will be working with Hoskawa Micron, and additionally with Bindatex, an advanced manufacturing business based in Bolton, who have already benefited from the Made Smarter programme, introducing data analysis technologies for enhanced production tracking. MMU will also inspire the cohort by showcasing some of the local initiatives including the 3D printing at PrintCity and the AI Foundry.

Registration for the next Leadership Programme is now open. For more information or to apply for your place register your business now.