Manufacturing TV

12/07/2024

The window of opportunity to save the UK industry is alarmingly narrow, according to former Nissan and Aston Martin leader Dr. Andy Palmer.
Thanks to a lack of in recent years, we only have half the 100GW battery manufacturing capacity we need to sustain an EV manufacturing base by 2030, while China is already flooding the world market with low-priced EVs and other countries are racing to catch up.
He says we can have a car industry if we want one. We already have a brilliant innovation base. What we need now is strong leadership and long-term political support.
Andy was talking to Nick Peters on the latest edition of which you can watch at ukmfg.tv or listen to via your favourite podcast platform.

27/06/2024

The Labour Party has vowed a new Labour government will make an industrial strategy central to its drive to grow the UK economy.
How big a challenge will it be?
We asked Giles Wilkes who ran industrial strategy with Sir Vince Cable during the Coalition and the 2017 strategy with Greg Clark during the May government.
His answer? It won't be easy! 😬
The full interview with Giles is on the new episode of The Production Line here, together with links to podcast platforms.

14/06/2024

New Episode of our new video/podcast series The Production Line is out now.

On the day the Labour Party announced their election manifesto, what's in store for manufacturing?
Will Hutton, author of This Time No Mistakes: How to Remake Britain, tells Nick Peters https://facebook.com/nickyp001 that manufacturing - indeed the whole UK economy and society - could be on the cusp of a renaissance to match the burst of energy in 1945 when a post-war Labour government laid the foundations for the modern welfare state.
Hutton says he is optimistic, so long as a new Labour government, if elected, understands the need to invest heavily in R&D, manufacturing, infrastructure and training.

Watch the full interview with Will Hutton on https://ukmfg.tv/the-production-line/
or listen to The Production Line podcast on your favourite platform.

Will's book is out in paperback - a must read! (according to Keir Starmer at least) Order here https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/this-time-no-mistakes-9781804549391/

31/05/2024

ManufacturingTV is proud to announce a new series called The Production Line.
TheProductionLine is a regular programme from the team that brings you ManufacturingTV. It is available as both video and podcast for you to enjoy when and where you please. Want the audio? Just search for The Production Line on your favourite podcast platform. (Any issues, there's an email to contact us on below.)
In this first edition, we talk to Shane Geary, Senior VP Manufacturing and Operations at Pragmatic, the rising star of the UK semiconductor industry. We discuss a new survey into public perceptions of the manufacturing sector with Dr Robert Stewart of the University of Strathclyde and the outcomes may surprise you!
And Henry Anson of The Manufacturer talks about the 2024 Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week show - more like a festival! - at the NEC.
Please subscribe to us on YouTube and on your podcast platforms. And keep an eye on social media for future editions.
(And if you have any story ideas, please email [email protected]).
Link to the programme in comments.

27/04/2024

🏭💼 Dive into the crucial role of UK manufacturing with Professor David Bailey from Birmingham Business School in our latest ManufacturingTV episode.

Uncover the unseen impact of the manufacturing sector on the UK’s economy and why it's key to our future. 📈

Full interview: https://youtu.be/3F4vevb_0Po

26/04/2024

Watch "Cinderella or Belle of the Ball?" now.

It's our report on that sensational report "The True Impact of UK Manufacturing" which says manufacturing drives nearly a quarter of the UK economy, contrary to the commonly cited 8%!

Discover the strategic importance of nurturing this sector for improving productivity and regional development.

🔗 [https://youtu.be/3F4vevb_0Po]

25/04/2024

Manufacturing in the UK - Cinderella or Belle of the Ball?

For decades, it has been very much regarded as the former, but the recent report by the MTA The True Impact of UK Manufacturing confirms it is very much the latter - a powerhouse of the UK economy whose importance has been undervalued, and often undermined, for decades.

It's time to give it the respect - and support - it deserves.

Full interview with David Bailey here: https://youtu.be/3F4vevb_0Po

14/04/2024

MACH 2024 opens its doors at the NEC on Monday. Held every 2 years, MACH is the largest exhibition of manufacturing technologies in the country, expecting over 25,000 visitors and 600 exhibitors over its four day run.

It is a vast exhibition but James Selka, CEO of the Manufacturing Technologies Association, which organises MACH, says the Education Zone and the Knowledge Hubs are particularly worth a visit.

Full interview https://youtu.be/3PdVI8zbYcA

13/04/2024

MACH 2024 starts at the NEC Monday, expecting over 25,000 visitiors and 600 exhibitors over the four days it runs.

A key feature of this year's event is the increased participation of the HVM Catapult and its centres the AMRC and MTC.

James Selka, CEO of the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), which organises MACH, paid tribute to the increased determination - and ability - of the UK's R&D sector to help homegrown technologies and companies achieve commercial success.

Full interview https://youtu.be/3PdVI8zbYcA

12/04/2024

MACH 2024 opens its doors at the NEC on Monday. Held every 2 years, MACH is the largest exhibition of manufacturing technologies in the country, expecting over 25,000 visitors and 600 exhibitors over its four day run.

James Selka, CEO of the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), which organises MACH, says there is unprecedented excitement around the event, which he believes says a lot about growing optimism in the sector.

Full interview https://youtu.be/3PdVI8zbYcA

07/04/2024

We have another roundup of your sector news 📰

Watch and don't forget to share! 🔁

05/04/2024

The CPI celebrates its 20th birthday this year, boasting a stellar track record in helping UK companies turn innovation into commercial reality.

CPI is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. Based on Teesside, and firmly rooted in that region's petrochemical history, CPI has managed hundreds of millions of pounds worth of R&D projects and helped trigger over £3bn of private investment in UK companies in the bioscience, agriculture, energy and materials sectors.

We asked Graeme Cruikshank, CPI's Chief Technology and Innovation Officer: if CPI didn't exist, would it have to be invented?

03/04/2024

Incase you forgot, ManufacturingTV provides media solutions for manufacturers and any company working to support the sector. 🎥

And a lot else besides! 😁

(Let us know what we can do for you. Drop us a DM or email [email protected])

31/03/2024

We have another dose of your sector news 🗞

Watch and don't forget to like 🎞 👍

26/03/2024

Our very own Editorial Director, Nick Peters, has written a short article on the subject of Chinese cyberattacks.

Read below via the link and don't forget to repost/join the conversation 📣



https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/china-crisis-nick-peters-vhcse/?trackingId=Rb6LluvtwSmeJUECH%2FHCJQ%3D%3D

25/03/2024

The Airlander 10, the world's most efficient large aircraft, has been given a production programme location by Hybrid Air Vehicles Ltd and the City of Doncaster Council.

Watch to find out more

24/03/2024

We have another episode of our weekly roundup 🗞

Watch to find out your latest sector news 🎞

20/03/2024

A snippet from our chat with Simon Ashworth of AELP, discussing with our own, Nick Peters, the changes made to the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017 compared to recent announcements. 🤔

What do you think about Rishi Sunaks' recent announcement of reforms to the Apprenticeship Levy? 📢

Watch the full interview linked in the comments 🔗

19/03/2024

The government announced reform for the apprenticeship Levy on Monday, with the changes in place from April 1st.

Nick Peters spoke to Simon Ashworth of AELP about the announcement and its benefits.

15/03/2024

The UK’s first spaceport, SaxaVord, recently secured £10 million of funding from the UK government.

Find out more in our News Bite 🎞

13/03/2024

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11/03/2024

The architects of the revolutionary Omnifactory® project at the University of Nottingham's Institute for Advanced Manufacturing faced a challenge.

Based on a backbone of Siemens hardware and software, they had worked out how to use the same production line to create a variety of low volume high value products - but changing the line for every run would take days of downtime, undermining the cost efficiency of the project.

The answer? A bespoke software package from Fairfield Control Systems that allows reconfiguration to take place within a single shift, effectively on the fly.

08/03/2024

Happy International Women’s Day! 💘

⚙ In the manufacturing industry only 26% of all workers are women.

“I was told I should not study aviation from the start, because I’m a woman, because I’m from Syria, because I’m an Arab. And I was told I would never get a job because of that.” - Maya Ghazal


Maya worked at the MTC as Graduate Research Engineer and now she’s a trainee pilot whilst giving talks and attending panels, fighting for refugees' rights and education, and equality in today’s society.

“One of the things I really wanted to do, which we delivered in 2020, was to make it a safe space for women to talk about women’s health in the workplace. So the menopause, to talk about periods…” - Kirsty Davies-Chinnock



Kirsty is the Managing Director of Professional Polishing Services Ltd. She also founded the Women with Metal organisation, hosting workshops and conventions for women in industry to attend and to learn.

“The onus is on manufacturers to really inspire the next generation because they're very conscious of climate change and what needs to be done. Let's inspire them to go into careers that will enable that.” - Ayantika Mitra

Ayantika is Business Strategy Director at TISICS Ltd. She has also co-founded a mass-customisation manufacturing start-up. She is passionate about sustainability and educating young people about manufacturing.

Let’s keep talking about women in manufacturing and celebrating their achievements! 🎉

07/03/2024

Written by the advertising guru Dave Trott, whose collected writings can be found here. https://davetrott.co.uk/
While it is a cautionary tale aimed at advertising folk, it has some deep truths about human nature - and how you, just like Sherlock Holmes can exploit it.:

Recently I saw a post from someone called Annie, she said:

“Every time I have a programming question and I really need help, I post it on Reddit and then log into another account and reply to it with an obscenely incorrect answer.

People don’t care about helping others, but they LOVE correcting others.

Works 100% of the time.”

This is very smart on Annie’s part, but it turns out Annie is using Cunningham’s Law.

This was coined by Steven McGeady in 2010 and states: “The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, it’s to post the wrong answer.”

McGeady says he learned this from Ward Cunningham, the inventor of Wiki.

But Cunningham wasn’t talking specifically about the internet, his advice was more general: “People are quicker to correct a wrong idea than to answer a question”

For us, this is a very interesting: Bernbach says, in the communications business, “Our proper area of study is simple, timeless, human truths”.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a student of human nature, it’s what gives his detective, Sherlock Holmes, an advantage over others.

In ‘The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle’ Holmes needs information from a salesman.

The salesman refuses to help, so Holmes makes a bet with him that is clearly incorrect:

“I’m always ready to back my opinion on a matter of fowls, and I have a fiver on it that the bird I ate is country bred.”
“Well, then, you’ve lost your fiver, for it’s town bred,” snapped the salesman.
“It’s nothing of the kind.”
“D’you think you know more about fowls than I, who have handled them ever since I was a nipper? I tell you, all those birds that went to the Alpha were town bred.”
“You’ll never persuade me to believe that.”
“Will you bet, then?”
“It’s merely taking your money, for I know that I am right. But I’ll have a sovereign on with you, just to teach you not to be obstinate.”
The salesman chuckled grimly. “Bring me the books, Bill,” said he.”

(The salesman opens the books he previously refused to open. Holmes inspects them, gets all the information he needs, then surrenders the sovereign.)

Later Holmes explains to Watson:

“When you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the ‘Pink ’un’ protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet,” said Holmes. “I daresay that if I had put £100 down in front of him, that man would not have given me such complete information as was drawn from him by the idea that he was doing me on a wager.”

Holmes sums up the simple timeless human truth: “People don’t like telling you things, but they love to contradict you”.

The people who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, help you do the job will always tell you what’s wrong with it after it’s done.

For instance, the people who write the brief and can spot exactly what you should have put in the ad once you present the finished work.

Their suggestions weren’t written in the brief where they would have been helpful before you did the work.

But after you’ve done the work, they are keen to say exactly what’s wrong with it, and a new brief is issued.

Because it’s more interesting to crit someone else’s work than to put in the effort to do the job properly in the first place.

That’s why it’s important for creatives to question the brief before starting work on it.

As Robin Wight used to say, “Creatives should tug at the brief like a dog pulling at a piece of cloth, if it holds it’s good, if it comes apart it isn’t”.

TRAINING PLANNERS TO DO ADVERTISING - Dave Trott's Blog

06/03/2024

The revolutionary Omnifactory® project at the University of Nottingham's Institute for Advanced Manufacturing allows for multiple low volume high value products to be produced from the same line.

The project runs on a backbone of Siemens hardware and software that can be reconfigured on the fly thanks to bespoke software from systems integrator Fairfield Control Systems.

But with only one line, how can manufacturers design, test and prototype products?
The answer: do it all virtually.

05/03/2024

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🤔 Why not find out what we could do for you?

📧 Get in touch: [email protected]

04/03/2024

One of the challenges of advanced manufacturing is how to make small run, high value products cost effectively?

One solution being trialled at the University of Nottingham's Institute for Advanced Manufacturing is Omnifactory®, which allows for multiple low volume high value products to be produced by a single production line that can be reconfigured on the fly to handle different designs and materials.

The project is built on a backbone of Siemens hardware and software, brought together by systems integrator Fairfield Control Systems.

03/03/2024

We have another week of news for you in our round up! 🗞

Watch below 👇

01/03/2024

What would the future of manufacturing look like if advanced manufacturing units could be set up in towns and villages, away from huge industrial sites yet capable of producing a wide variety of low volume high value products from the same production line?

That's one of the possibilities presented by Omnifactory®, a 5 year project being run by the University of Nottingham's Institute for Advanced Manufacturing.

Built on a backbone of Siemens hardware and software, and brought together by systems integrator Fairfield Control Systems, Omnifactory® is a reconfigurable production line that can be repurposed to make multiple products from multiple designs within the space of a single shift.

And that means manufacturing can come home, returning to smaller towns and villages anywhere in the world.

28/02/2024

The Omnifactory® project at the University of Nottingham's Institute for Advanced Manufacturing is creating an entirely new way of looking at the production process.

Ultimately it could mean a move away from large, multi-production line factories, towards much smaller, more flexible units capable of meeting a wide variety of customer needs for low volume high value products with just one line.

The project is built on a backbone of Siemens hardware and software, brought together by systems integrator Fairfield Control Systems.