Hosokawa Micron Ltd was delighted to recently welcome North West-based manufacturers, makers and creators to their factory in Runcorn for a site visit.
The visit was part of the groundbreaking Made Smarter Leadership Programme, created in collaboration with Lancaster University Management School and some of the world’s largest, most successful businesses.
Billed as the ‘UK’s international brand for the Fourth Industrial Revolution’, Made Smarter is the UK’s, government-backed, Industry 4.0 Accelerator initiative, designed to help SMEs embrace the concept of ‘smart manufacturing’. Participating businesses will be able to stay ahead of the curve in the future by reaping the rewards of becoming a ‘smart factory’, driving manufacturing growth, productivity and transformation through the implementation of cutting-edge digital technology solutions.
What is the Made Smarter North West Pilot
The North West of England was chosen by the government to be the first region to roll out the Made Smarter programme in a two-year-long pilot scheme – two of the deciding factors for the choice were the North West’s excellent reputation for manufacturing and also for its innovation. The scheme aims to engage with no fewer than 3,000 businesses in Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region, with the goal of generating a 25% increase in productivity and adding £115 million to the North West economy.
The multi-faceted Leadership Programme gives business leaders an insight into how they can audit themselves (to assess how digital ready they are) and adopt the latest digital technology to refine their processes, implementing practical changes to increase productivity and driving business growth whilst positively engaging with employees and empowering them to be part of a new business vision through up-skilling.
Why Did Hosokawa Micron Get Involved?
Hosokawa Micron has been at the forefront of embracing Industry 4.0 and digital technology in its powder processing manufacturing for some time. Our own digital toolkit, Hosokawa Gen4, allows us to convert real-time data into action. The technology can also be applied to new powder-processing machinery we manufacture and can even be incorporated into plant upgrades.
We are proud to be the first manufacturer to be invited to host a Made Smarter Leadership Programme site visit. The event showcased how Hosokawa Gen4 intelligent software has given us the tools to improve our production processes in a smart factory environment and look forward to welcoming more businesses engaged on their Made Smarter digital journey.
