SME producers within the north west of England will profit from an extra £230,000 in funding to speed up the adoption of superior digital applied sciences and strengthen their competitiveness.
The Division for Enterprise and Commerce (DBT) has awarded the additional funding to Made Smarter Adoption North West, enabling no less than ten extra companies to introduce transformative instruments similar to sensors, robotics, and 3D printers.
The money injection comes as welcome information for the digital adoption programme, which is because of proceed from April 2025 below the federal government’s £16 million pledge to roll out comparable help initiatives throughout all English areas.
Made Smarter offers smaller manufacturing and engineering corporations with entry to expertise recommendation, management improvement, and abilities coaching, in addition to grants for digital internships and implementation tasks. The objective is to assist firms improve productiveness, improve development, create high-value jobs, and help decarbonisation efforts.
Alain Dilworth, Programme Supervisor at Made Smarter Adoption North West, stated: “We are delighted that the DBT has allocated a further £230,000 to support our ongoing mission. Most of this funding will help businesses accelerate their digital transformations, and we urge any manufacturers who haven’t yet engaged with us to get in touch.”
Launched seven years in the past, Made Smarter Adoption North West was set as much as assist SMEs missing the in-house assets to embrace digital instruments. Run by a crew of 16 specialists in manufacturing, expertise, and organisational improvement, it has already engaged 2,500 firms and provided personalised recommendation to greater than 500.
Of those, 330 companies have secured over £7 million in grants to co-fund 379 tech tasks, with a complete funding of £25 million (together with £18 million from collaborating corporations). This mixed backing is predicted to create 1,700 new jobs, upskill 3,200 current roles, and add £267 million in gross worth added (GVA) to the economic system over the subsequent three years.
Greater than 200 producers have improved their operations by digital abilities programmes, with half of the 75 internships facilitated by Made Smarter resulting in everlasting roles.
Donna Edwards, Director of the programme, stated: “This extra funding recognises the numerous influence Made Smarter North West is having on the area’s manufacturing sector. Our method is constructed round specialist recommendation to assist corporations choose the simplest applied sciences for development and resilience.
“As we enter our seventh year, we’re more determined than ever to reach even more SMEs and illustrate how digital innovation can transform their operations, workforce, and environmental footprint.”
Impressed by its success within the north west, the Made Smarter mannequin has since been adopted in a number of different English areas, together with the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber, the West Midlands, and the East Midlands. This blueprint will information the programme’s additional growth in April 2025.
