British businesses encouraged to host open house events for national manufacturing day
Donna Edwards, programme director Made Smarter North West Adoption, encouraged firms to host open days to raise awareness.Pic: Made Smarter
UK trade organisation, Made Smarter, encouraged manufacturers across industry including snacks, confectionery and bakery producers to open their normally restricted access premises for educational visits and to the public, surrounding the recent national manufacturing day, writes Neill Barston.
Backed by a number of sectors, the event on 26 September, has been funded by the government, in a bid to raise awareness of technology, skills and employment opportunities, with connected events staged across the country.
Now in its third year, the national manufacturing day saw companies being encouraged to host open house events to offer an insight into the behind the scenes workings of many manufacturers behind some of the country’s most well-known products and brands, and how they’re engaging the latest technology in their manufacturing programmes.
Donna Edwards (pictured main image), director for Made Smarter North West, which was among the UK regions participating in the initiative, said: “I am delighted that Made Smarter and manufacturers involved in our adoption programme are demonstrating support for Make UK’s campaign. NMD24 aligns perfectly with the programme’s ambitions to help SME manufacturers achieve their digital transformation with a people-led approach and using technology as a tool. It is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate UK manufacturing and emphasise the role of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to encourage more students to pursue these subjects, something Made Smarter is passionate about.
“By opening their factories, which are normally closed to the public, it is the perfect opportunity for manufacturers to showcase the huge progress that has been made from the traditional oily rag image towards the smart modern factory. I would encourage more manufacturers to join the campaign.”
Elsewhere in the country, Made Smarter Yorkshire and Humber are hosting workshops demonstrating the benefits of better data capture and management, as well as how manufacturers can unlock innovation through new technology.
From a national perspective, Brian Holliday, co-chair of the Made Smarter Commission, which leads the Adoption and Innovation programme, will share his insights for a special ITN programme to highlight the positive impact of the manufacturing industry. The show, ‘Manufacturing: Industry, Innovation and Impact’, will go out on NMD24 and will feature contributions from Made in Britain and The Manufacturing Technologies Association.
Stephen Phipson, CEO of Make UK, the manufacturers organisation added: “National Manufacturing Day is a really exciting day where the whole manufacturing sector will come together to celebrate the amazing things that Britain designs and makes.
“Britain’s manufacturing companies are at the forefront of global renewable technology development and some of the most innovative engineering developments seen anywhere around the world. This is a sector with amazing opportunities and we hope this third National Manufacturing Day will give people who have never had the chance to see inside their local businesses just what is going on and the opportunities available to them.”
