The Manufacturer Q3 2025

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Smarter Tech. Sharper Strategy. Stronger Leadership.

Co-organiser:

WELCOME

Molly Cooper, Features Editor mcooper@nineteengroup.com

It is strange to think that the last time I was writing an editor’s note for the magazine, I was the newest member of The Manufacturer team with only four months under my belt. Now, almost a year and a half into my time here, it feels much more like home.

The team and I have done it again and delivered another incredible issue for you. But before I tell you what’s laying ahead, let's rewind a few months.

Back in June, not long after the last edition was published, we travelled to Birmingham for Smart Manufacturing Week 2025 at the NEC. In our new TM Studio – situated on the show floor - the team were back-to-back with interviews, chatting with exhibitors and manufacturers alike about their keynote topics and the current state of affairs in the sector. You can read the full Smart Manufacturing Week rundown featuring some exclusive interviews on page 14

This year the show featured an exciting keynote speaker, Guenther Steiner, engineer and former principal of the Haas F1 Team. Our very own Multimedia Editor, Tom St John, interviewed him at a jam-packed theatre delving into what it’s like to manage high-performing teams and big egos. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the interview on our socials, you can head to page 22 to read it.

Of course, a key part of Smart Manufacturing Week was The Manufacturer Top 100 Awards. An exciting date in our diary every year, we once again saw the great and the good of the manufacturing space come together to celebrate individual achievement. New this year is the digital portal where you can access all the key content for this year’s intake. Head to www. themanufacturer.com/top100alumni to check it out.

Staying with the theme of the exhibition, alongside this issue, we’ve also produced a dedicated Maintenance Supplement where we speak to some of the keynote speakers from the Maintec show (part of Smart Manufacturing Week). We look at the journey from reactive to predictive maintenance, the role of AI and the key products and services shaping this vital area of manufacturing. Go to www.themanufacturer.com/magazine for full access.

Even though I did have to jet off and leave the show and the team a day early for a wedding in Spain, they managed just fine without me. (Sorry, not sorry…). However, it was back to business straight afterwards and as always, the team have been out and about, even leaving the country on some exciting trips!

On page 44, read all about Tom jetting off to the Fujifilm Tilburg site in the Netherlands for the unveiling of a new electro-boiler which, along with five previously installed wind turbines, is helping the site’s ambitious goal to become carbon neutral by 2030.

Joe Bush had a very sunny trip to Porto, Portugal, for the annual conference hosted by PRODUTECH, the Production Technologies Cluster. Read about how our European neighbours are faring when it comes to bringing together manufacturing, technology, academia and government on page 32

Also, I got the chance to visit the Goodwood Festival of Speed and while there, I was lucky enough to catch up with astronaut Tim Peake and chatted to him about all things STEM. Find that interview on page 10

C D E M

@TheManufacturer www.themanufacturer.com

Williamson INDUSTRY ANALYST

Henry Anson DIRECTOR

Ashley Oulton CONFERENCE PRODUCTION MANAGER

Grace Gilling MANAGING DIRECTOR

Stuart Biddle STRATEGIC ACCOUNTS DIRECTOR & HEAD OF SALES

To receive your copy email: subscriptions_tm@nineteengroup.com telephone +44 (0)20 7401 6033 or write to the address to the right.

Email: info_tm@nineteengroup.com www.nineteengroup.com www.themanufacturer.com

LEAD FEATURE FIRST

28 From surface to seafloor A look inside Saab’s newest facility

32 Connecting the jigsaw How PRODUCTECH is bringing the sector together

40 X-ray perspectives

The next sustainability game-changer?

70 Swizzels Matlow It must be love

Data at the heart of production planning

Sector Focus

A spotlight on steel

44 Lights, camera, action! Fujifilm aims to be carbon neutral by 2030

48 Compliance through collaboration How Bentley is leading the way with cyber security

54 Gearing up for success Investment, growth and green

SME Focus

58 Powering progress The role of batteries in modern manufacturing

62 Torque of the town The rise of the axial flux motor

66 Engineering movement Redefining material handling with precision and purpose

The wait is over… the UK’s new Industrial Strategy

The big news since the last issue of The Manufacturer magazine has of course been the launch of the long-awaited Industrial Strategy. From reducing astronomical energy costs to trade with international markets, this 160-page document outlines the future roadmap for UK manufacturing for the next decade. How has the sector reacted?

Speaking at the annual SMMT Automotive Summit, a day after the launch of the Industrial Strategy, Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade, focused on three key elements of the strategy’s framework; namely energy prices, skills and trade deals.

He said: “I promise this won’t just be a talking point for a week, a month or a year; it’ll be something that in ten years’ time we can look back on as an important milestone for this industry and as the foundations for the sector to succeed into the future.

“This is certainly not the first industrial strategy or economic plan from the UK government. And over the years, many of these documents have just been allowed

to gather dust on a White Hall desk.

“The last government took that attitude to its logical conclusion, and didn't even publish an industrial strategy at all. But this plan is genuinely different. For one thing, it is the first time ever that the whole government has been united behind a single strategy.

“It's an ambitious ten-year plan to kickstart an era of economic prosperity by making it quicker and easier for businesses to invest. But the strategy is also a sign of how we're changing the rules of the game. We came into office on a mandate to build a pro-worker, pro-innovation, pro-wealth creation government. To fulfil that ambition completely, we need an approach where the UK rises to meet the demands of the decade ahead, instead of trying to play catch up.

“Our Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan sets out how the UK will solidify itself as the best place in the world to start to grow and to invest. In practice, that means an ambition to nearly double the annual business investment in the sector by 2035, helping to stabilise and grow our supply chain.

“We’ll be using the Industrial Strategy to tackle the sky-high electricity costs that UK manufacturers have faced for years. From 2027 the new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme will reduce electricity costs by up to £40.00 per megawatt hour for over 7,000 electricity intensive businesses in manufacturing. And we will do this without any increase in bills for any other businesses, households or through rising taxes.

“We will exempt eligible businesses from

“

I promise this won’t just be a talking point for a week, a month or a year; it’ll be something that in ten years’ time we can look back on as an important milestone for this industry and as the foundations for the sector to succeed into the future

Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade

the costs of the Renewable Obligation Scheme, the Capacity Market and Feedin-Tariffs. In practice we could go from being the outlier on industrial energy costs to being cheaper than the Czech Republic, Italy and roughly on a par with Germany.

“We're also going to reform our skills system, with an extra £1.2bn each year by 2028/29. Engineering is one of the priorities for that investment. We want to deliver more opportunities for people at all stages of life, to learn and earn in our high growth sectors, and that's why we're investing over £100m to boost the talent pipeline alongside new engineering technical excellence colleges.

“We're mirroring this level of ambition in our efforts on the global stage. Improving trade conditions is one of the most important things we can do. We've

already taken some big steps in that direction by signing three landmark trade deals in the space of a month.

“The UK was the first country to have signed a deal with the US and the economic prosperity deal reduces tariffs in key industries. There were those who said it couldn't be done and that the current administration in the US had no interest in doing a deal. There were others who said that it shouldn't be done - that we should ignore our single largest trading partner and sacrifice exports from key industries to score points on social media.

“That isn't serious government, and it's not worthy of the businesses of the UK. Everyone was always going to end up in some degree of negotiation with the US administration, and getting to the front of that queue simply made sense. And

“The vast majority of businesses in this country, including almost all small and medium sized enterprises, will not benefit from the Industrial Strategy. And even after the benefits finally appear in 2027, British manufacturers of all kinds will still face the highest industrial energy costs in the OECD

Andrew Griffith MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade

while no agreement is perfect, I believe we've turned a risk into an opportunity, and it's a sign of just how close the UK/US relationship remains.

"Despite calls from our opponents to also ignore our other closest trading partner, we have shown that we can pursue a deeper relationship with the US and the European Union at the same time. And you can see from the deal signed that we're all serious about resetting our relationship.

“The EU is our single largest trading market. So rest assured, we will keep working to remove barriers and to make exporting easier. There is more that can be done in the future, but the relationship we have now is better than it's been for many years.

“Of course, at the beginning of May, we were able to sign the long awaited trade deal with India, a deal that throws open the doors of industry to India's rapidly growing middle class. Those are just the fruits of the work that we've been doing for the last few months."

The opposition

Unsurprisingly, while the view from the other side of the political divide

welcomed elements of the Industrial Strategy, there were words of caution and criticism.

Andrew Griffith MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade commented: “I’m optimistic about the future of our country. The world still wants what we make, and even more so, it wants our skills, knowledge and experience. But as a former businessman of 25 years, I am deeply concerned.

“While we welcome the Prime Minister’s epiphany on energy costs, which has enabled the start of a process of slashing the additional green costs of energy, unfortunately, there is a long, long way to go. The vast majority of businesses in this country, including almost all small and medium sized enterprises, will not benefit from the Industrial Strategy. And even after the benefits finally appear in 2027, British manufacturers of all kinds will still face the highest industrial energy costs in the OECD. That is no basis on which our country can compete for the long-term.

“The imposition in the small print of the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, is a tariff by another name, and it is simply wrong for people to rail against tariffs when they are introduced

unilaterally by the US, and then to do precisely the same under the guise of climate here at home.

“Energy costs in Birmingham, Alabama, are four times lower than in Birmingham, West Midlands. That is no basis on which to compete, and yet this UK government has slammed the brakes on exploitation of North Sea oil and gas, giving us secure energy under our feet.

“We must also confront the reality that not one single person around the cabinet table has real business experience; to know what it’s like to take a risk, from signing off investment on a factory or new production line, to hiring employees or to raise capital, debt or equity, and then make a promise to shareholders to make a return on that.

“The direction we’ve seen from this government so far is regrettable. We’re seeing an exodus of capital as one millionaire leaves this country every 45 minutes, and now we have to manage the challenge of a 300-page Employment Rights Bill, which will drown businesses in red tape. That’s not the support that this brilliant sector needs, and particularly not at a time of such intense global competition.”l

So, how has the UK manufacturing industry responded? Make UK stated that the Industrial Strategy was a “giant and much needed step forward” that also tackled a skills shortage in Britain’s workforce and access to capital. The Confederation of British Industry said it was an “unambiguous, positive signal” that would provide a “bedrock for growth.”

Industry reaction

Stephen Phipson

CEO, Make UK

“The launch of the Industrial Strategy is one of the most important days for British industry in a generation. Jonathan Reynolds has demonstrated the government’s commitment to honour its promises and tackle the major structural problems that have blighted UK manufacturing for so long and we congratulate him for doing so.

“Make UK has led the campaign for a new Industrial Strategy for many years, highlighting the three major challenges that were diminishing our competitiveness, hampering growth and frustrating productivity gains: a skills crisis, crippling energy costs and an inability to access capital for new British innovators.

“The government has listened and the Secretary of State has acted decisively with a joined up strategy which reflects a wider commitment from the Prime Minister and Cabinet alike. The strategy sets out comprehensive and well-funded plans to address all three of these structural failings. Clearly there is much to do as we move towards implementation but, this will send a message across the country and around the world that Britain is back in business.”

Donna Edwards

Programme Director, Made Smarter North West

“This is a landmark moment for SME manufacturing. The government’s commitment to expand the Made Smarter Adoption Programme as part of the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Deal is a powerful recognition of the critical role our makers play in driving innovation, growth and sustainability.

“Launched here in the North West in 2019, Made Smarter has helped thousands of SMEs start their digital journeyproviding expert technology advice, leadership and skills training, and funding for internships and digital projects. It’s become a proven blueprint for successful rollouts across all English regions.

“The new £99m commitment, highlighted in the Industrial Strategy, gives us optimism for the future. While we await further detail on the proposals, this announcement is a huge vote of confidence in SME manufacturing and the impact of Made Smarter. It gives businesses the confidence to invest in technology, people and long-term transformation.”

"The new £99m commitment, highlighted in the Industrial Strategy, gives us optimism for the future"

Gareth Stace

Director General, UK Steel

“The uplift to Network Charging Compensation from 60% to 90% will reduce industrial electricity prices by £6.50 per megawatt hour (MWh) for the steel industry – an incredible £14.5m per year.

“Despite this impactful cut to electricity costs, there remains a £10.00-£16.00 per MWh difference between European electricity costs, which slaps £36m per year on steel bills. The reason for the energy intensive industries’ disparity is wholesale electricity costs, driven by the UK’s reliance on natural gas power generation.

“Tackling network charges, indirect compensation and the new British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme are welcome steps on the road to creating affordable energy and an effective business environment. UK Steel has the solution to eliminate industrial electricity price disparities between the UK and its European competitors. In collaboration with the respected energy consultancy Baringa, UK Steel proposed the introduction of a two-way Contract-forDifference to peg wholesale prices to those in France and Germany, thereby eradicating the price disparity.

“The Industrial Strategy is a step in the right direction towards competitive electricity prices and a better, more effective business landscape, but we are climbing slowly up the foothills of the mountain. This is an important milestone, but we are not out of the trenches yet. The Industrial Strategy must be the first of many changes if we are to fully unlock the potential of the UK steel industry to back the growth and stability of our economy.”

John Pearce

CEO, Made in Britain

“The £4bn Industrial Strategy and Advanced Manufacturing Plan won’t guarantee growth, but they could be the best and most plausible plan we’ve had in years to put British manufacturing back at the heart of the economy.

“Made in Britain’s 2,180 members are already building the future in vital sectors like defence, infrastructure, clean energy and transport. What they need now is action, not merely more ambition; we require a delivery that turns these bold words into real-world impact that improves the manufacturing economy.

“This is a long game – perfect for the greatest legacy sector of the UK. The challenge is sticking to the plan, persisting through policy updates, economic shocks and inevitable global turbulence. If government and industry can hold the course together, this energy-intensive strategy could be the springboard that British manufacturing needs to lead on the world stage through its strong focus on honing skills and global competitiveness.

“The whole world is watching, and they want to know exactly what we are making. With that in mind, it’s time to make ‘Made in Britain’ mean more than ever before. More than a mantra and more than a statement of provenance –a fundamental assurance that Britishmade products represent truly worldclass innovation, sustainability, and are, critically, built to last.”

Balwinder Dhoot

Director of Industry Growth and Sustainability, The Food and Drink Federation (FDF)

“It’s vital the government takes action to improve the business environment for UK manufacturers. The Industrial Strategy includes some welcome measures that could benefit food and drink businesses, such as the expansion of the Made Smarter programme, Growth and Skills Levy flexibility, more innovation funding, and reducing regulatory burdens for business. However, questions remain as to whether critical sectors, such as ours, can access the funding and support mechanisms outlined here.

“Food and drink manufacturing plays a vital role in ensuring the nation’s food security, provides 500,000 high-quality jobs in every UK region, and contributes £37bn to our economy. It’s clear that government has ambitions for advanced manufacturing, and we look forward to seeing how this will translate to supporting the growth of the UK’s largest manufacturing sector – food and drink.”

"...questions remain as to whether critical sectors, such as ours, can access the funding and support mechanisms outlined here"

Mike Hawes OBE

Chief Executive, SMMT

“The publication of an Industrial Strategy – one with automotive at its heart – is the policy framework the sector has long-sought and government has now addressed. Such a strategy – longterm, aligned to a trade strategy and supported by all of government – is the basis on which the UK automotive sector can regain its global competitiveness.

“Making the UK the best place to invest now depends on implementation, and implementation at pace, because investment decisions are being made now against a backdrop of fierce competition and geopolitical uncertainty. The number one priority must be addressing the UK’s high cost of energy, enabling the sector to invest in the technologies, products and the people that will give the UK its competitive edge.”

Stephen Morley

President, Confederation of British Metalforming

“It has been a long-drawn frustration for everyone involved in manufacturing that the previous government had ignored an industrial strategy.

“But not anymore. Labour has shown a commitment that goes a long way to getting us back on track. I have been critical of some of its measures in the past, yet I have to say fair play for listening to the voice of business and, specifically, manufacturing.

“The work of the Industrial Strategy Advisory Board, the B5 (especially the CBI and Make UK) has been

fundamental, and they have listened to our insights and the feedback of both our members and other important trade associations. This has all contributed a major part to where we are today.

“The recognition that high industrial energy costs, not just on electricity, have long been a millstone around the neck of UK manufacturing, particularly for our members in forging, stamping, fasteners and fabricated metals. This announcement is a major step towards levelling the playing field with European and global competitors.

“While recognising the government’s push to decarbonise, our members will rightly ask when will the support be delivered? Energy savings from 2027 won’t help firms in crisis today.

“Consultation must be rapid, transparent and inclusive, which means the continued exclusion of gas costs for high intensity users must be addressed. This is absolutely vital for the forging and heat treatment sectors, where prices per ‘therm’ have more than doubled since January 2022 and will never be returning to that price.

“The CBM will engage directly with the Department for Business and Trade and the B5 on the upcoming energy consultation process and will advocate for the inclusion of all core and supply chain metalforming businesses in energy support schemes.

“I believe the Industrial Strategy recognises the importance of SMEs, which is particularly pleasing. Made Smarter is a fantastic example of how targeted support can make a massive difference and it was good to see this being underpinned by access to ‘growth capital’ through public schemes like the British Business Bank.”

Peake practice

A CHAT WITH TIM PEAKE

In July, The Manufacturer’s Molly Cooper attended the Goodwood Festival of Speed to check out the latest innovations at the FOS Future Labs. While there, she had the chance to chat with Tim Peake about his career, getting young people into STEM and what technologies he thinks will change the world

To many of us, Tim Peake is commonly known as the first official British male astronaut to walk in space. During his International Space Station mission, he contributed to over 250 experiments, advancing research in areas like muscle atrophy, immune response and fluid dynamics in microgravity. He also supported robotics experiments and Earth observation studies, helping refine satellite imaging and disaster response capabilities.

Yet now, Tim is a leading STEM ambassador, promoting science education and space exploration across the UK. He remains active in the space sector and advocates for future missions, including a proposed all-British ISS mission, fostering UK leadership in human spaceflight and space science.

He is also the official ambassador of the FOS Future Labs, this year presented by Randox, and was at the most recent Goodwood Festival of Speed. FOS Future Labs is an exhibition that explores technology for a better world and highlights new and emerging ideas in areas like robotics, transport and space. Here Tim chatted with the cutting-edge technology companies about their projects and engaged with the young people attending about what opportunities could lie ahead for them.

Here’s what he had to say.

Reflecting on your own journey - from the British Army to piloting spacecraft - what role did early exposure to science and technology play in shaping your ambitions? Early exposure was hugely important in terms of helping me to prepare for a career as an astronaut. When I left school, I learned to fly an aircraft, and it allowed me to relate to some of the things I was learning at school but didn’t enjoy. It helped me understand how important they were and how they were applied in other areas, outside of the classroom. When you have something you can relate to, you become much better at learning more about it.

I achieved poor grades in my A-levels, so I got my degree in flight dynamics later in life. However, learning to fly an aircraft after studying was my inspiration because I was surrounded by science and technology as well as wanting to be a test pilot - it is fundamental to have that knowledge behind you.

“When you have something you can relate to, you become much better at learning more about it

Tim Peake

Exposure makes you curious. When I was in the US, serving in the US military, we were trying to integrate the Apache fleet into a fully digitised division. This was the first time they had attempted to do this and I had an instrumental role as the operations officer in doing that.

I was working with the US Air Force and the US Army to get Apaches to digitally communicate with every other vehicle on the battlefield effectively. That unlocked the ‘nerd’ within me and the ambition

LEFT: Tim Peake exploring the FOS Future Labs show floor

to become a test pilot when I returned home and learn more about science and technology in more detail.

STEM events give young people hands-on experiences. What advice would you give to a young student attending who dreams of becoming an astronaut or working in space science?

As we sit right now in the FOS Future Labs exhibition, we are looking around at these young people in awe and wonder about what they are seeing. It's brilliant because it inspires and ignites that curiosity.

These events are important because they open doors to opportunity and help us find the talent that is out there – and it’s everywhere. We must make technology accessible and available to as many young people as possible, so they have the best opportunities in life.

They then begin to ask questions and learn more, whether that be about flying over the moon’s surface, shaping gravity, a blob of dark matter or the deep-sea explorations we know so little about. Everything shown to them here sparks questions in their minds.

There are so many exciting careers that people could go into that are

“ We must try and bring industry and education together, and this will need government to play a role Tim Peake

represented in the exhibits that are here and for me, that’s the aim of STEM events like this. It’s to plant those little seeds of curiosity and inspiration to allow people to dream of a career they could have.

But what's interesting today, and perhaps different from when I was growing up, is when I'm talking to students who don’t believe they are very good at science or technology - and have greater interests in drama, literacy or art - they don’t always realise that every single career today is going to have an element of technology within it.

Everyone choosing careers right now will one day use AI within that role, no matter what they’re doing. You’re going to be using the latest computerisations, whether that's graphics to help you with your projects, or communicating with your colleagues using software that’s utilising new and emerging technologies.

As someone who’s been a tireless ambassador for STEM, what do you believe are the most effective ways we can engage young people in science and technology? We must look at the differences in the way young people learn, compared to previous

generations. Young people nowadays get their information from a variety of different sources, such as online and YouTube. Years ago, it might have been from watching Blue Peter on the BBC.

We must try and bring industry and education together, and we’ll need the government to play a role. We must empower schoolteachers to teach relevant topics and not be swamped by the curriculum. They need to have the freedom to be creative in how they teach.

We then need people in industry who are looking at what the education sector is doing, as they are the ones who will one day require those skills in the workplace. If there’s a gap that needs to be filled, then it’s the industry’s responsibility to question what young people are being taught or not taught; whether a particular subject should be included in the curriculum and if so, how should it be introduced? Bringing industry and education together is vital to keep the sector growing and thriving.

We need people from industry going into schools and speaking to students about topics that may seem dull and boring, but in reality are exciting, and to explain the real world situations it can be applied too.

What advice would you give to industry if they are unsure about how to reach out and communicate with schools and universities?

In the UK we have Space UK which is an industry body association where your voice can be heard, which is a great organisation to be involved with.

Firstly, it’s about knowing the many different groups and associations that are out there, whichever industry you are involved in. Secondly, you need to be proactive, involved and be part of those collaborations where you have a voice.

The government will appreciate the proactivity of the industry because they are always looking for people to help with what needs to be done, and those working in it know best.

What role do you think public engagement events like Future Lab play in shaping the UK’s future role in global space exploration and innovation?

Events like FOS Future Lab are amazing. I remember being inspired by air shows when I was younger, and that’s what made me want to become a pilot.

I would have loved to attend events like this as a young kid; to walk around and just be inspired by what I’ve seen and then to

leave and continue to learn about robotics, AI, space or oceans.

They allow people to be exposed to new and different parts of technology and how it might play a part in their future.

Looking ahead, what emerging technologies do you see as most transformative for space exploration or life on Earth in the next ten years?

Everyone is talking about AI and it’s incredible, but it's also important to put it into context. Many people only know about it from the sensationalised parts in the media - that it’s going to turn us into a utopian or dystopian society. But there is a

middle ground and AI is an important tool for us all to understand its challenges and benefits. It’s incredible at analysing massive amounts of data and pattern recognition.

Yet as humans we have nuance, intuition, empathy, consciousness and we've got ways of using this tool to our advantage, and so it's never going to just be one or the other. It's about a changing landscape of humans working with AI, and how we are going to use that to maximum effect. Over the next few years AI is going to have a huge impact.

The energy sector is exciting because in the next 20 to 30 years, we are going

Tim Peake “

We need to change the landscape of humans working with AI, and how we are going to use that to maximum effect

to decarbonise our energy production, which is going to have a massive impact. This is going to require a mixture of various sources; it won’t just be one golden nugget.

We already have space-based solar power moving rapidly forward, which has huge potential. Alongside that we already have wind, terrestrial, solar and tidal as well. Fusion power would also be incredible and is just around the corner. Battery technology is also improving and being used to store power and release it at appropriate times. All of this will allow us to have 24/7 decarbonised energy. l

Practical tips to

Future-proof your business

Featuring over 450 exhibitors, welcoming 13,500 visitors and including a packed seminar and conference programme with 223 speakers, Smart Manufacturing Week 2025 was the manufacturing and engineering community’s one-stop-shop for cutting edge solutions

The Manufacturer editorial team were of course on-site, running the TM Studio situated at the beating heart of the show floor. Not only did the studio host important individuals from the main exhibition, keynote speakers from

Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit also took the time to come by and share their insights and expertise.

Here, we’ve put together some of the key takeaways and most valuable insights from those interviews.

ABOVE: The range of theatres on the show floor were packed on both days

Booths across the show floor featured demos that showcased the emerging technology available;

Future Factory: supercharging tech adoption in food and drink manufacturing

Caroline Keohane

Head of Industry Growth, Food and Drink Federation (FDF)

Caroline spoke about supercharging digital innovation in food and drink manufacturing. The FDF has worked with a strategic consultancy to produce its Future Factory Report, focused on how to accelerate the adoption of AI, digital technologies and automation in the food and drink industry. The report revealed that there is a £14bn growth opportunity in food and drink which can be realised through technology adoption.

What are the unique challenges within the food and drink space?

CK: Not only are there challenges around introducing technology into manufacturing production processes, it’s also key that this transformation echoes down the supply chain. How do we encourage farming partners to also take on those digital technologies, for example?

Food and drink operates in a highly competitive retail environment and we tend to operate on short-term contracts. Therefore, making longer-term investments can be quite difficult. This is where collaboration is so important, right across the food landscape - from retail, hospitality, manufacturing and farming –to see where the opportunities are.

What are the key findings of the Future Factory Report?

The report revealed that UK food and drink manufacturing performs well compared to other G7 countries. However, the US, Canada and Italy are performing better, so there is still an opportunity to be world leading in this space. The UK sector is great at product innovation, but in terms of process innovation and technology adoption, there's more to be done.

The report also found that there were some key barriers to the adoption

“

of technology. Those aforementioned short-term contracts and the constant firefighting mode of the last few years have made trade very difficult. COVID, Brexit, the war in Ukraine and food price inflation have all had an impact on margins and impacted the sector’s ability to make longer-term decisions.

STEM-based skills are of course, not an issue unique to food and drink, but engineering skills are still a key shortage in our sector. However, we're doing some great things such as working with Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Wigan & Leigh College to develop a training programme to multi-skill engineers. We're hoping to roll that programme out across the Greater Manchester area, and then across the UK.

A third challenge is around customisation, and making sure that the technology being developed and deployed actually fits the sector’s specific needs. We’re a very diverse industry, so the bakery sector will have very different needs to the soft drink sector, for example, so we need to work with technology providers to make sure that their products are working well for the industry?

Finally, we have an issue with legacy assets. A lot of food factories have equipment up to 20-30 years old. How that integrates with modern technology solutions is a huge challenge.

Is there anything the UK can learn from its global competitors?

Launched off the back of the Future Factory Report, this is something that our new Food and Drink Technology Task Force is looking into. It will bring together academia, catapult centres, Made Smarter and organisations

A lot of food factories have equipment up to 20-30 years old. How that integrates with modern technology solutions is a huge challenge

such as Siemens, NatWest and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), who will take the findings of the report and develop industry led recommendations.

I'm sure there'll be some proposals for policy and government to take forward, but predominantly this is about how the industry can help itself. And as part of that, we will be looking into learnings from other countries.

The Future Factory Report was the starting point. It has identified barriers, suggested potential solutions and now the task force is taking that forward and bringing all the different groups together - collaboration is the key.

In such a diverse sector, there's no silver bullet and no one organisation that's going to solve the issues we have. So we need to work together to develop the right products, and make sure food and drink manufacturers are more informed consumers so they know what products to buy and that they perform to their full potential.

Your Life is Manufactured: how

manufacturing is making the UK more resilient, sustainable and equitable “

Professor Tim Minshall

Head of the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge

Tim has recently published a book that focuses on how we can be better at communicating the value and importance of manufacturing. A variety of factors are contributing to a current resurgence in the sector but if we don't have the best people to transform the way we make things, we have a very uncertain future.

What are the key takeaways of the book?

TM: It’s a book for people who might not have any awareness of how manufacturing really works. It’s very much written for the non-specialist, and makes the simple point that every single thing we see in our lives (unless it's a rock, plant or animal), has been manufactured.

For all the products that we use every day, someone had to realise that need, acquire the materials, conduct the processing, assembly, production, shipping and distribution. But for many people, that fact is just completely invisible.

The Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) conducts a huge number of student, consulting and collaborative research projects in the sector. So, not only are we constantly reminded of the problems facing manufacturing, but also of the really amazing things that are being done.

What's the best factory you’ve ever seen and why?

Best comes in many categories but one that I find particularly exciting is a project by British Sugar. The company took a process that was hugely energy intensive and generated a lot of waste byproducts, and not only did they come out and say that the factory would be zero waste, they went and did it.

It's a phenomenal example and really impressive. Not least because of the size of the site and the fact it is quite a traditional industry with long-standing assets. What's also great is that they've been very happy to talk about the project, warts and all; how changes were made and the challenges faced.

...transformation is starting to happen... it’s beginning to show the range of different jobs and skills in manufacturing

How can we ensure that people with the right skills go into the changing world of manufacturing?

One of the reasons for writing the book was to raise awareness of why manufacturing matters and the type of jobs available. A few years ago, I heard a terrible story about a colleague’s time at school in the 1980s. He was taken into a factory and given a very clear message from the teacher that if he didn’t work hard, this would be where he’d end up.

We need the complete polar opposite of that message. This transformation is starting to happen and it’s beginning to show the range of different jobs and skills that can be found in manufacturing.

A particular issue faced by many manufacturers is they have individuals who have been in the sector for a long time, with developed skills and an in depth understanding of what's going on. Then there are those coming into manufacturing who are digital natives. Both of those are needed, but there's a gap in the middle.

So we're seeing a really important role for people who can span those two boundaries and understand the nuances of both roles. That's something we're really interested in supporting and developing.

Scalable and sustainable digital factory transformation: f rom local pilot to global standard

Sofia Karlen

Smart Factory Product Management Lead, Mars

Sofia spoke about the pitfalls that can occur when a large, global manufacturing company decides to trial myriad new technologies and pilots. She explained the difficulties in this methodology and suggested some key factors to consider to ensure successful and sustainable transformation.

Is sustainability often overlooked when businesses speak about digital transformation?

SK: We all know about sustainability when we speak about the environment, but I also want to talk about keeping products aligned to cover certain capabilities.

Because technology is changing so fast, it’s easy to get distracted by something new and, on the face of it, more interesting. Manufacturers have a tendency to jump from idea to idea and project to project, despite having already invested money, time, people and resources.

Manufacturers should be asking how they can continue developing a project and building a better solution as an ongoing entity, rather than just tossing it away. That’s often overlooked in the sector and we tend to talk about the success of projects more than we do about their sustainability.

Is there a balancing act for manufacturers when it comes to scale and sustainability?

It might not be the most successful product that gives the best results, it may also be the one that can be kept for the longest time. It's very much a balance between a tactical and strategic solution.

A tactical solution might be the most successful at a given moment, but manufacturers also need to talk more about strategical relationships with vendors, and strategical choices when selecting products, instead of just thinking about the here and now.

That would lead to more long-term success, which is ultimately what we all want. However, it is difficult to convince

organisations and factories to go down that route. It can create issues when businesses need to report on certain values and benefits quickly. No one really wants to talk about what happens in five or ten years.

What does a culturally sensitive and locally customised approach to smart manufacturing look like?

When choosing to scale a product from a pilot, there's a massive difference in each location in terms of culture, interest and digital maturity. Therefore, when scaling and putting down a scope that includes 30 factories, for example, it is crucial to think about where all these locations are in terms of each of those factors.

There’s all sorts of questions to be asked around people, resources, time, funding, foundational IT and OT, and data quality. There's so many aspects that have to be looked at, and there needs to be a sensitivity around each and every location; there can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach. Off-the-shelf solutions are not as great as

they sound and without considering the differences of each location, there's a risk of that scaling programme failing or taking longer than expected.

What are the common pitfalls when manufacturers are implementing new technologies such as AI?

A common mistake I see is neglecting the foundational IT layer and checking whether it’s even in place. Is there a harmonisation layer, master data management system or data lake within the organisiation? Is the data accessible and understandable? Are there any issues with data quality or even the Wi-Fi? They sound boring but these factors really need to be in place before we start adding new technology.

Another common mishap is understanding the actual needs and expectations of a technology solution. Will it start to perform magic within a week? Absolutely not. Will you see some changes within a year? Maybe. AI, for example, is not a typical, direct, concrete solution that can be implemented on a line and the benefits seen immediately.

Manufacturers have to work with AI to make sure that the feedback loops are correct, so that the solution actually evolves over time and gets better. It's very much a living, breathing entity, rather than a static project that has a completion date after a few months. Therefore, mindset and foundations of the IT are two key elements.

There needs to be some sort of accountability in terms of roles and responsibilities, and having the people and skills in place in order to support a solution. Secondly, you need to have the technologies and data in place to be able to support any deployment. Thirdly, leadership needs the right processes in place to set the necessary standards?

18

Who said what?

"...if you're going to invest anywhere, invest in data quality management tools"

Ed Markey, Rolls-Royce

Ed Markey of Rolls-Royce, on how AI is transforming manufacturing

“I think the industry knows that it needs to adopt AI. But it needs to be tackled at all levels. Business leaders need to know what AI is, what it can do for them, how it can help and what skills they need to develop in their teams. Across the whole business, every function and department has a part to play.

“For us at Rolls-Royce, we have a wealth of data in our business; we know there's ‘gold in them there hills’ and there’s a veritable smorgasbord of opportunities for us to go after. Everyone is on a different journey in terms of their tech stack and some firms don't even have a MES or ERP, yet they are the spine of your data model. Businesses need to start taking data quality seriously, building a singular business ontology; so if you're going to invest anywhere, invest in data quality management tools.”

Prof. Henrik von Scheel (left), Industry 4.0 Originator, on the megatrends shaping the future of smart manufacturing

“There's a historical step change happening in manufacturing that hasn't been there before. Manufacturers in the UK have an ability to operate to grow, but they need to rethink in terms of inventory financing.

“Most manufacturers are burdened by energy costs, cash flow issues, and by just growing more, plus they're being asked to be sustainable without profiting from it. But these issues are turning around and a new discipline is emerging in manufacturing, which is called financial engineering. This means re-engineering assets to actually leverage them and it's a trend that’s emerging in the UK because it’s a mature market.

“Of course, AI is a big trend, but we need a reality check. There's no magic powder in AI, and the menu is not the meal. Avoid the big vendors who are saying that open AI will be the next big thing, because they're taking your data to resell it. My advice is, don't give your data

away. Grow your own data, be mature and profit from what you have invested in. It's time to operate to grow, and it’s time for manufacturers to take charge of what's on their own table.”

Marco Chacin of Airbus, on advancing automation and robotics in manufacturing

“In the case of aerospace, we're being very careful. One of the low hanging fruits for AI and automation is to be able to perform inspections; it's clearly something a machine could do, however, we're still a long way from getting certifications for something like that.

“We are trying in small pockets to test the technology, but the main thing we want to be able to do is look at the actual manufacture and assembly of the aircraft, which is something more deterministic. However, we’ll still need human intervention; this will change over time, but personally, I don't see our factories ever being completely automated.

“There are many processes that will always be difficult for machines, so the cooperation between humans and AI systems, robots and automation will always be there to some degree.

"You can see very automated factories in Asia, for example, but that is possible only because the product is made to be automated, so the design for automation aspect is key. This is very difficult to do for an aircraft, but we’ll probably see a boom around the manufacture of smaller components.”

Continues on page 21

AI is transforming manufacturing, from digitalised supply chains and predictive analytics to next-gen automation and data-led decision-making. Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit, which ran alongside Smart Manufacturing Week, focused on AI-driven transformation and we sat down with two of the summit’s keynote speakers to find out more

Ozgur Tohumcu

General Manager, Automotive & Manufacturing, AWS

Realising the promise of Industry 4.0 with AI Ozgur’s keynote at Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit centred around how AI is transforming and accelerating manufacturing’s journey towards Industry 4.0. While this has been a mere dream for many, the emergence of generative AI and AI agents over the last few years has accelerated this reality and extended the possibilities.

OT: Industry 4.0 is an aspiration and a combination of different technologies. AI has been an accelerant for that as it cuts across all the different phases of a manufacturer's journey, all the way from sales and marketing to the shop floor and what happens in customer care. But it has also opened up additional possibilities by becoming very easy to use.

How are your customers using AWS solutions to explore the possibilities with generative AI?

If you look at how typical manufacturers are rethinking their organisation and their company transformation, we see pockets of opportunity across every department.

When we look at product design, for example, especially complex, software embedded products, the use of digital twins and simulation technologies is leading to a shrinkage in the timelines of taking products to market and really fast innovation.

AI has also been transformational on the digital shop floor, in terms of quality control, predictive insights and knowing what to expect and where to expect it. It seems that every few years there’s some kind of major shake-up within manufacturing supply chains, from COVID, shortage of microchips and now the tariff situation. However, through the use of AI, we're now seeing how these vulnerable supply chains can become more agile and data driven.

Can you share any use cases?

We're working with elevator and escalator company, KONE, an organisation that moves two billion people per day. It's a massive global operation and around 1.6 million of their products are connected.

From the perspective of the end user, we all know how frustrating it is when an escalator or elevator is not working, so the pain point for KONE centres around how fast problems can actually be resolved.

With our help, KONE is using generative AI and bringing all the necessary information together, such as maintenance history, inventory of equipment in the field, IoT connectivity data and historic user manuals relevant for those products.

That means that when an issue occurs, a technician can troubleshoot through an AI equivalent which is looking at all this information through a conversational interface and can address the issue significantly faster.

Do you have any top tips for deploying generative AI within manufacturing operations?

When generative AI became the hot topic a few years ago, there were so many POC projects that never saw production, giving rise to the term ‘POC graveyard’. So always work backwards from the customer, and think about the business value it's generating.

As manufacturing looks more closely at the use of AI, we’ve also seen businesses start to question their data strategy, how they are connecting their enterprise and how to extract value from the data that currently sits in different silos across the enterprise. So, another recommendation would be to establish a clear data strategy.

We also see too much time spent in elaboration and thinking. My advice would be to just get going. It's so easy to experiment now. A lot of AI technology is conversational that you can use over the internet. You don't even need to have a system implemented. Being slow is a common mistake, it’s more important to get started.

What’s the future of generative AI in manufacturing?

Discussions around agentic AI are already moving towards implementation of agents. What we’re also seeing is current agents focusing on getting certain goals established, which is different than the assistants that we’ve seen before. In the future we’re going to see agents collaborating and interacting with each other to solve more complex problems.

Mark Hughes

Country Manager, Infor Diagnose, automate, optimise: transforming business processes with advanced technologies

Mark spoke about how to extract value from advanced technologies. Infor’s How Possible Happens research last year spoke to over 3,500 manufacturing distribution customers and asked what technology should be doing for them.

MH: My keynote identified a few areas where manufacturers excel, but it also identified what we're calling the value void – the gap between expectation and what actually happens in reality. Around 95% of C level professionals expect technology to deliver real benefit. However, far fewer believe that those benefits are actually being realised. So how do we fill that gap?

The reality is that sometimes, failing fast is as good as succeeding slowly, because it enables a business to pivot and change.

Mark Hughes, Country Manager, Infor

It’s possible that many manufacturing organisations are unaware that they’re running inefficiently. How can they be better at knowing what they don’t know?

The UK is not so good at being leading edge in terms of technology. It’s also not particularly proficient at being agile; recognising the need to change and then just doing it. If a process has always been done a certain way, there’s an inherent reluctance to change and there’s been countless occasions where I have gone

into businesses and seen that scenario.

And there’s clues to watch out for. If you walk around a shop floor and see piles of inventory, there’s an inefficiency in the manufacturing process. The same applies to business operations. If there's piles of paper on a desk or several people sitting around a single screen trying to perform a task, there's probably inefficiencies. For me, there are still very visual cues, so take a step back and have a look at what's going on.

Then you can get into process mining and use technology to help. But fundamentally it's about being honestjust because something has always been done a certain way, that’s no reason for the status quo to remain.

What impact will streamlining operations and reducing manual effort have on workforces?

It will allow people to do what they're really good at. People tend to get frightened about technology taking jobs away. But the reality is that technology will actually take away the boring, repetitive and uninteresting parts of job roles, and let the individual focus on the more exciting stuff.

And for those people who are really embracing that concept, you can literally see that lives are changing, especially with the next generation of people that are coming into manufacturing and engineering. We all know the sector

faces workforce challenges so by giving individuals exciting roles, that interact with technology, we’re suddenly making engineering and manufacturing a lot more attractive.

Is process optimisation tricky in complex environments like manufacturing?

The question is what can you do easily now? We heard an expression during Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit which I love – ‘good today is better than perfect tomorrow’. Again, in the UK we can be guilty of holding back on moving forward until everything is absolutely perfect. With process optimisation, it’s important to have the bravery to fail fast. The reality is that sometimes, failing fast is as good as succeeding slowly, because it enables a business to pivot and change. It’s a complex landscape, especially if you've got a very structured manufacturing process which is difficult to change, but even small tweaks can make big differences.

If you're going to take four years to make a one per cent process improvement, it’s going to be very difficult to get buy-in for that. However, if you can do something super-quickly, make a change and see the benefit, that can drive momentum and success.

What would be your top tips for success and how can Infor help?

Look at any digital transformation project in bite-sized chunks and identify the value add. No investment is going to get sign off unless there's a payback. But these days that payback can be rapid so look for the quick wins to get momentum going. In terms of Infor, we were traditionally a monolithic ERP provider, however, we now look at customer engagement and how can we deliver value. And cloud really helps with that, whether you’re planning to roll out a data lake, process mining or a specific AI use case.

No one wakes up and thinks they want to buy a new ERP system. It could be that your profit margin is too low, or the inventory is too high. And often as vendors, we lose sight of what we're actually trying to fix. So it’s important to think about an entire portfolio endto-end and the areas where we can extract value. The new world of tools and technology is delivering that value hyper-quickly.

Sarah Badesha of Chivas Brothers, on embedding circular economy principles in manufacturing

“Whiskey is an industry with a huge amount of legacy, but we wouldn't have survived since the 1700s without evolving. Technology helps us stay modern, efficient, safe and deliver consistent quality while preserving craft where it matters.

“You won't see too many operators in our factories. Instead you’ll see highly skilled people with a completely different set of skills from what they would have had in the past.

“We’re evolving from manual work to become much more automated and we’ve been able to upskill our existing workforce to accommodate these roles. Our future workforce is data-literate, robotics-aware and able to perform autonomous maintenance.”

Amelia Kallman, Futurist, on leadership in the age of AI

“You can think of generative AI in the same way as the evolution of a tool like the microscope or telescope. It lets us merge disparate data sets to identify patterns we wouldn’t be able to see otherwise.

“This will empower us to become workforce architects; designing the most efficient, effective and high-achieving workforce possible. In the age of AI, this is the ultimate differentiator.

“Manufacturing is very well positioned because of the complexities of its supply chains and processes; there is already a lot of data points to work with. And eventually, AI will be able to automate corrective behaviour. Machines, environments and supply chains will become like smart employees. And as smart data-collecting tools become more ubiquitous, manufacturing will become more vulnerable to disruption from startups and other industries.”

Phil Ware of Edwards, on data integration and strategy

“Replacement often isn’t possible with legacy systems and the old kit still does the job in many cases. So it’s about adding the right bolt-on technology without creating security risks. Everyone is on a data journey but legacy systems still dominate, and the challenge is always: how do I get common data from uncommon machines?

“Don’t do data for data’s sake. Start with your business strategy: where are you going, and what data do you need to get there? It’s also important to trust your data.

“Break down silos. Let each factory see the data from other locations. That will enable them to learn from each other and compete to be the best. The spirit of ‘I want to be the Gold Star factory’ is powerful - and it happens naturally once the data is visible and aligned.” l

A winning Formula

For Smart Manufacturing Week 2025, we wanted a show-stopping speaker. In Guenther Steiner, we got our guy. As the former boss of a high-performing Formula 1 team, he has often had to bring his tough side to the table. But like any good leader, there are levels to him. A captivated audience at the NEC in June, got a smiling, jovial and reflective Guenther Steiner. This legend of the sport shared with us his experiences, approaches and advice on everything from managing data, to managing egos. Tom St John reports

The stage was set, and the lights were about to come up for another epic instalment of Smart Manufacturing Week. There was a mix of excitement and apprehension among the team. For a few of us, the nerves came from the question: “Are enough of this audience Formula 1 fans?”

Picking your celebrity guest for a trade show is always tricky. I’ve been to business events where the choice bears absolutely no relevance to the theme of the week.

Paul Chuckle of The Chuckle Brothers once made an appearance at London Build – another Nineteen Group show attended by professionals from the construction industry. He asked if he could DJ, and the organisers let him. Apparently it was brilliant. The person you land on needs to have something unique to offer, and it needs to draw a crowd. When Guenther Steiner walked on to the show floor at the NEC, those slight pre-event nerves were quickly quashed.

I thoroughly enjoyed putting questions to him in front of a packed-out Technology Showcase Arena situated in the heart of the show floor. As did an enthralled, and at times, beaming audience. I was sure to leave a sizeable chunk of the session for audience questions and we had no problem filling that time, as hands went up left, right and centre.

‘He does not f**k smash my door!’ The unique element he offers? As well as his opinions on leadership and team

management, having been team principal for the Haas Formula 1 Team from 2016 to 2023, it’s his personality that has gained him a following.

Personalities, after all, are part of the reason people love sport. And this was the case in decades gone by; George Best, John Mcenroe, and for an F1 reference, James Hunt, to name a few.

In the modern age, sport is analysed, replayed and on-demand like never before. And the spotlight that shines on the entertaining personalities has never been brighter. Through this unprecedented age of access and insight, we’re given people like Guenther.

The documentary ‘Drive to Survive’ has become a hit since 2019. A collaboration between Netflix and Formula 1, it gives a behind-the-scenes look at the drivers, teams and races of the F1 World Championship.

One particularly memorable scene involving Guenther came in season two. While in his office, he gives a stern dressing down to two Haas drivers at the time, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean. He ends the telling off by firmly stating: “If you don’t like it, I don’t need you here. Do not come back, please.”

Having obviously taken issue with this, Magnussen smashes the office door closed on his way out. Alerted by the loud sound, an infuriated Guenther gives chase down the stairs. Unable to find Magnussen in the vicinity, he furiously strides across the room: “He’s not f***ing doing that to me!”

Then, with his finger pointing at the chest of a Haas team member, he delivers one of the lines of the series: “He does not ‘fok smash’ my door! Tell him that.”

Elite sports environments can be highly charged. And while this scene gives us a glimpse of Guenther’s ability to give ‘the hair-dryer treatment,’ the series frequently shows the other side to him. He’s often smiling, laughing and joking –even at himself.

I suppose you need a wide pallet of emotions when you’re the leader of a high performance team. And you need to know the right time to exude each emotion, depending on the circumstance.

We got a happy version of Guenther at the NEC. He was willing to share everything; he was thorough and insightful in answering questions on leadership. He was also magnanimous to the Haas team he left behind – there is no sense of hard feelings.

"Be honest, look problems in the eye and analyse them. Never find excuses, always find solutions"

Guenther Steiner

TM talks to Guenther

How did your journey in F1 start?

GS: I came into Formula 1 in a very strange way. To be invited into it from a guy like Niki Lauda – a three time world champion – was an honour. That happened in the early 2000s, after which I became the Managing Director of Jaguar Racing and Technical Operations Director of Red Bull Racing. Then, after some time out of the sport, I had the idea to set up a Formula 1 team in the US. This was firstly because I live there, but also because there are a lot of people with money in the US. And that is what you needed for Formula 1 at the time - an investor willing to spend the money with an appetite for risk.

I started off with writing a business plan which I showed to quite a few wealthy people, to see if anyone was interested in starting a team. I ended up finding Mr. Haas, and then in 2014 we got a licence.

I started to put a team together, which took around one and a half

years. Once we had built the team, we built the car, and then we went to our first race, The Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne in 2016.

And you were up against far more established teams - the likes of Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren

We were the new guys on the block, for sure. And there were new teams before us that tried to make an impact and failed.

It is tough because as a new team in F1, you’re immediately competing with the best of the best. It’s not like football, where you begin in a lower league and work your way up. In this sport, you go from nowhere straight into F1.

However, if you don't have success in the first three years, either your investor runs out of passion or they run out of money, and the team is done. That was one of the tasks which I had in front of me. But the Haas F1 team survived, and it’s still around today.

Continues over...

To compete with the best you obviously have to hire the best. You have worked with some phenomenal racing drivers, but drivers with big egos. What was it like managing them?

It wasn’t always easy. But you just have to explain to people that they’re part of a team. And of course, you don’t want to diminish their role in that, because they’re extremely talented individuals. But they’re in a team of hundreds of people.

You can say to a driver, ‘You are very important. Everybody loves you. You are the star.’ But without all the other people around them they cannot be successful.

You need to be humble and embrace everyone helping you to be successful. There’s no point having a big ego; if you do then you need to go because there is no space for it.

You’ve mentioned the importance of the wider team. How did you ensure they all felt important?

You need to make sure they understand that they are appreciated. And the best way to do that is to inform them of what is going on in the company, or in the team in this case.

Always let them know what the team is aiming for, and what is realistic to aim for. Always give them targets, explain your vision and what you want from them. This way you keep them engaged.

If you just leave them, then they become disengaged and lose passion in their roles; they just become the boring 8.00-5.00 jobs.

Obviously, the best medicine for that is success. But of course, no team has good results all the time, and when you don't have the results, you need to put emphasis on keeping people engaged and informed.

Data is integral to manufacturing organisations. How did Haas leverage its data?

In Formula 1, there is so much data these days - almost too much. And now the emphasis is on analysing all of that data. This is impossible for a human to do; you need AI tools. But in F1 it’s natural that people look at data, and it’s important because that is where they get their information from, to make the car better. The same applies to manufacturing; you are gathering information to get better.

You need to look at data as nothing more than something which has already happened. If you know what happened, rightly or wrongly, you can make it better. There should be an emphasis on analysing data as best you can, but only the data which actually makes us better for the future.

With that in mind, is there a danger of over-relying on AI to extract the most important data?

A lot of people are certainly wary of AI, rather than afraid. People think it will take their jobs, but I always say: “AI will not take your job, it will help you to do it better.” I think we all have to embrace AI wherever we can, but we can’t rely on it 100%, because the human being, for me, is the most important part in the chain of events.

Let’s talk about ‘Drive to Survive’ for a moment, because you were very much a star of that. Do you think that was good for the profile of Formula 1?

Absolutely. It has attracted a wider audience; young people, which every sport wants because they are the future.

It has attracted a lot of females to the sport as well. It has traditionally been a very male dominated sport. However, almost 50% of the viewers now are female, which is fantastic.

I think it also came at the right time. With the pandemic, it was a bad time for a lot of people. But people were at home, they didn’t know what to watch. So, they watched Drive to Survive.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Good leadership principles are effective in any team – be it in sport or business

• Managing big personalities requires a firm, but fair hand

• Focus only on the data that makes you better for the future

• Keep people informed about what the business or team is doing. This is important for keeping them engaged

• Problems should be faced with honestly. Look for solutions rather than excuses

And then F1 came back to being live on TV in June of that year, and people started to watch it. I think in the end, it was a very good thing for F1.

What is the most important aspect of leadership?

For me, the most important thing is honesty. Be honest, look problems in the eye, and analyse them. Never find excuses, always find solutions. If something is wrong, address it. Whoever it is - if it was you, admit it. As long as you don't do it wrong next time, you'll be fine!

Also, if other people do something wrong, tell them, and be honest about where they went wrong. But then work with them to get it right. Do not dwell on the mistake, dwell on the solution. l

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Surface to seafloor Saab UK's newest facility

The Manufacturer recently visited Saab UK's newest electric underwater robotics facility in Fareham. We spoke to Tim Broom, Director of Operations, about its products, the markets it serves and how it’s making its business people-centric

Entering the high security Saab UK facility, you feel a sense that what’s happening inside is important stuff. At its newest campus in Fareham, it has engineering development, design and manufacturing all in one place. It’s here that the company produces its ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) including the Seaeye Falcon, Seaeye Leopard and Seaeye SR20.

“Our products are used in numerous markets, predominantly offshore energy, oil and gas and renewables, but also in the defence industry and marine science as well,” said Tim Broom, Director of Operations at Saab Seaeye.

Fareham facility

Saab UK celebrated the official opening of its new three building campus in February 2025. The opening marked the conclusion

of the investment pledged by Saab in 2023, supporting 400 jobs and providing opportunities for local apprenticeships.

Saab UK has been transitioning into the trilogy of buildings at the Fareham site over the last 18 months, each housing a different area of the business. The first, T1, is the manufacturing facility for Saab UK's Seaeye portfolio, where it builds its subsea robotics. T2 is a prototyping, engineering and development facility which includes the new products. “T1 includes our traditional production lines which are more ordered and structured. However, T2 is research and development, with new technology and testing,” explained Tim. The final building, T3, is for Saab UK's Sensor System business, where the company manufacture the Giraffe 1X radars.

Saab UK's new campus is expected to significantly benefit the UK Ministry of Defence. The site is a centre of excellence ready to meet future customer radar requirements and servicing, in addition to supporting in-service radars operated by the UK Armed Forces; the Giraffe 1X, Giraffe AMB air defence radars and TAIPAN (Arthur) artillery locating radars.

The new Saab UK Farham Campus

LEFT:

ABOVE: Saab UK’s new campus is expected to significantly benefit the UK Ministry of Defence which includes support for in-service radars operated by the UK Armed Forces; the Giraffe 1X and Giraffe AMB air defence radars ABOVE RIGHT: The Saab Seaeye Cougar-XTi, a high-power compact electric ROV

The new campus provides Saab UK with more capacity to deal with its growing business as well as showcasing brand new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities.

“We've got the ability to manufacturer products which allow us to satisfy our customers’ needs. They want to see reduced risk offshore, lower carbon footprint and smarter, more efficient products,” he added.

Sea exploration, science and saving submarines

Saab Seaeye was originally founded with the idea of reducing the risk of diving in the North Sea, supporting the maintenance and the building of wind farms, protecting subsea cables and inspecting or diving into radioactive waters.

“Over the last five to ten years, fish farming has seen significant expansion and our ROVs are used to inspect underwater nets and structures, ensuring they remain intact and secure. The application also involves locating and removing dead fish to prevent decay and the spread of disease which has become an important and fast-growing area of our business,” explained Tim.

Another area of business for Saab Seaeye is seabed mineral exploration.

Our products will always support the defence of critical underwater infrastructure and that will be the heart of what we do going forward

Tim Broom, Director of Operations, Saab Seaeye

With increasing demand for rare earth elements and other critical materials used in battery production, its ROVs are being used to conduct detailed seabed surveys and collect geological samples. “Scientific research institutions also use our products to access areas that are either too deep or too dangerous for divers. Our ROVs enable these organisations to carry out vital underwater surveys in challenging environments,” he added.

But beyond commercial use, Saab Seaeye supplies defence markets around the world. Its technologies can be used

We really focus on continuous improvement and making sure those ideas in the manufacturing environment come from - and are driven by - the people themselves

Tim Broom, Director of Operations, Saab Seaeye

for harbour security and other maritime safety applications. One key application has been submarine rescue. In the event of a stranded submarine, its ROVs can deliver oxygen, tools or emergency supplies to the crew below. “We have found it’s a capability that many naval forces are actively seeking to enhance,” said Tim.

Saab Seaeye is also involved in leisure and tourism with the likes of super yacht owners who want to include an ROV, either as a toy or to survey ships around them for security reasons.

Apprenticeships and employment

Like many organisations in recent years, Saab Seaeye has found itself struggling to find the right skills needed for the desired growth it wants to achieve.

“One way we’ve tackled this is by significantly investing in our relationship with schools and universities and in our apprenticeship programme. Over the last five years we’ve recruited numerous apprentices and we're beginning to see those people grow through the organisation, and become the leaders and innovators for the future. It is something we are very proud of,” said Tim.

Tim believes that a reason that the apprentices join, stay and grow within the Saab business is the quality of products it manufactures. “They get really excited about what we do here,” he added. A large part of the business revolves around robotics and Saab has managed to attract many people who love the software development and engineering aspect. "We've made our organisation people-

centric. We really focus on continuous improvement and making sure the ideas in the manufacturing environment come from, and are driven by, the people themselves. We empower people to grow within the business and make decisions as well,” he said.

Tim’s advice for other manufacturers? Don’t be afraid of innovation and make sustainability and resilience central to everything you do as a business.

Industry trends

Saab UK is seeing strong trends across the offshore energy sector, focused on electrification, increased autonomy and subsea residency. These developments align closely with the company’s product portfolio. In the offshore market, innovations like these play a critical role in reducing operational risk, cutting costs, improving efficiency and lowering the carbon footprint. These benefits are driving customer demand and shaping the future of the industry.

“This is exactly where our technology is headed,” said Tim. “Electric, autonomous and resident systems are at the heart of what we do and that’s where the real growth will come, alongside defence.”

Another trend is data, which is extremely important in all aspects of the work at Saab UK. “Whether we're collecting data during the design of new products, running simulations before manufacturing,

gathering insights from the production environment to improve processes, or using feedback from customers in the field to enhance performance and reliability - data is at the core of making our products better for the future,” said Tim.

However, the challenge is doing that quickly and ensuring the business is staying at the top of the market, delivering what its customers need and continuing to make future products better.

Striving for net zero is near the top of every manufacturer’s list and Saab UK is no different. Not only does the business have its own goals for manufacturing processes, but what it manufactures directly contributes to reducing the carbon footprints of its customers. “The philosophy behind subsea residency and autonomy reduces the carbon footprint of our operators. That's what our shareholders and customers want to see, so we did it. They are at the core of our business,” he added.

Ever changing supply chains

The issue of supply chains is ever changing and the uncertainty that it presents is a challenge within itself. For Saab UK the pandemic was one of its biggest challenges and it is still being felt today. However, the business has tactics in place to help mitigate those risk factors.

“We've reinforced our supply chain organisation by localising much of it within the UK and implementing various mitigation measures, such as building up a stock of critical components. We're also leveraging the broader Saab organisation's purchasing power to further reduce the risk of supply chain shortages,” explained Tim.

The SR20

So, what’s next for Saab Seaeye? Right now, its focus is on its latest product, the SR20. Its the world’s most capable allelectric, work-class underwater robot. “With overall power and performance exceeding that of a 200 HP hydraulic equivalent, SR20 delivers maximum capability across all markets and applications, including survey, IMR, construction, drill support and decommissioning,” explained Tim.

But the SR20 and the electric manipulator are just the start. The development of these products has helped Saab UK in the market in terms of sustainability and defence as well. “Our products will always support the defence of critical underwater infrastructure and that will be the heart of what we do going forward,” he said. l

ABOVE: The Saab Seaeye eM1-7 Electric Manipulator that can be attached to various ROVs

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Saab UK's new Fareham campus combines manufacturing, R&D and radar production across three specialised buildings, supporting 400 jobs and local apprenticeships

• The company’s ROVs serve a wide range of industries, from offshore energy and defence to marine science and aquaculture, for safer, efficient underwater operations

• Saab UK is investing in the future by developing electric, autonomous and resident subsea systems that cut emissions and meet growing global demand

• The business has a strong emphasis on data-driven innovation and a people-centric culture, to help drive continuous improvement

• The company is investing in its relationship with schools and universities and in its apprenticeship programme

ABOVE: The Saab Seaeye SR20 during a water trial LEFT: Inside the Saab Seaeye T1 manufacturing facility

Connecting the pieces of the manufacturing

jigsaw

We often speak about the importance of collaboration here at The Manufacturer, particularly around the topic of taking the sector into the digital era. A fantastic example of this can be seen from one of our European neighbours who is bringing manufacturing, technology, academia and government together to transform industry

Back in July, The Manufacturer popped over to Porto in Portugal to the annual conference hosted by PRODUTECH, the Production Technologies Cluster promoted by the Portuguese Manufacturing Technologies Industry.

The conference was held within the framework of the PRODUTECH R3 Mobilizing Agenda, which focuses

on production technologies for reindustrialisation - a sector of growing strategic importance in Portugal. Essentially this focuses on the collaborative creation of production technologies that will make a meaningful difference to manufacturing businesses who are looking to digitally transform and become more efficient, productive and sustainable.

LEFT:With over 50 years’ experience, COLEP is a major supplier of metal and plastic packaging and one of the largest producers of aerosols in Europe

The PRODUTECH R3 project is based on a partnership that brings together 108 companies and other entities from production technologies, the main sectors of industry and the scientific and technological ecosystem. This includes the collaborative development of 85 new innovative products and services which are also being demonstrated in more than 52 pilots in companies from the user sectors.

It is a strategic and integrated initiative made up of a series of programmes aimed at industry transformation; industry qualification for resilience, growth and innovation, training and professional education in innovative production technologies; and the industrialisation of companies.

By combining developments with demonstrators and pilot lines with a wide variety of end users, it is expected that by 2027 this will be translated into sales for the technology suppliers of around €62m. PRODUTECH R3 will therefore help create greater internal and external visibility for the national production technology sector through the creation of a true innovation ecosystem, based on strategic collaboration between industry and user sectors.

History and methodology

PRODUTECH was established in 2008 by a group that comprised national associations, R&D organisations, universities across Portugal, industrial technology providers and companies from several manufacturing sectors who were users of production technologies.

“There was a common vision on the pivotal positioning of the production technologies sector towards the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry, and on the pertinence to foster an intra- and inter-sectorial strategic cooperation,” said Pedro Rocha, Executive Director at PRODUTECH.

As suppliers of capital goods, software and engineering solutions, the production technologies sector provides effective production capacities to a broad range of industrial sectors. In fact, Pedro explained that these technologies emerged as a central element for the productivity, efficiency, responsiveness, development and innovation of the manufacturing companies they serve, enabling higher levels of competitiveness in operations, the industrialisation of new products and even the deployment of new business models.

Despite the specifics of various industrial sectors, the main trends and key manufacturing challenges faced by the sector are often horizontal - as is apparent when The Manufacturer hosts its events, seminars and summits - and many of the enabling technologies and solutions that can provide the answer to these challenges, are agnostic.

PRODUTECH’s key objective is to create base conditions for production technology companies to deliver differentiated added value to their customers, globally

Pedro Rocha, Executive Director, PRODUTECH

The COLEP colab...

One of the manufacturing end users that is playing a lead role in the PRODUTECH cluster is COLEP Packaging, a major supplier of metal and plastic packaging.

COLEP’s products are used for the storage of products with a long shelf life, for example in the canning industry, or in aerosols to contain materials under pressure. It is therefore vital to ensure the structural integrity of each package produced.

As part of the PRODUTECH R3 project, the company developed a comprehensive analysis of a wide spectrum of inspection techniques, from manual visual inspection to the mastery of cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial vision, ultrasonic inspection and artificial intelligence-based systems.

Pilot projects undertaken at COLEP Packaging:

Q4All

Quality 4.0 solutions for the optimisation and use of resources in the packaging, cork and food sectors

• Adaptable quality control tools for flexible packaging systems

Digital and autonomous factory

Digital and sustainable factory

• MES (manufacturing execution system) intelligent, intuitive and visual

DigiIndustry

Digitisation and automation of industrial processes

• Software (API) for the integration of information flows

• Simulation model (software) with the digital representation of industrial processes

Tech4Decarb

Technological solutions for the decarbonisation of the manufacturing industry

• Sectoral roadmaps and methodological guides for industrial decarbonisation

• Tools for the optimisation and management of holistic systems for the supply, storage and management of thermal energy based on renewable energy sources

• Advanced energy management tools linked to industrial planning

• Solutions for retrofitting burners to adapt to renewable gases

• Thermal energy storage systems and technological solutions for energy storage, waste heat recovery and energy integration

• Sensor solutions for the characterisation of natural gas and hydrogen blends and for the characterisation of gaseous effluents

• Industrial effluent treatment solutions for supplying water to green hydrogen production plants

• Biomass technology platform for industry

Digital4Circular

Solutions for sustainability and circularity based on digitalisation

• Smart objects enabling sensors for digitalisation

• All-synergy product familymodules oriented to supra indicators, advanced sustainability reporting

• All-synergy CircProsys module

• Vanguarda MarketPlace software

• Vanguarda Lean and Green 4.0 software

LEFT:There are a variety of pilots taking place at COLEP as part of the PRODUTECH R3 project

“Since the very beginning, we knew the cross-sectoral nature of production technologies. To make it work we obviously needed the companies producing these technologies, academia, supporting research etc, but we knew that we also needed our customers in the manufacturing sector to come together,” added Jose Carlos Caldeira, Strategic Advisor for Innovation, PRODUTECH.

“We brought to the initiative a number of different manufacturing companies, in sectors such as textiles, shoe making, metal working, furniture, even cork - all the traditional sectors that are the main pillars of manufacturing in Portugal. We then started to develop the technology in a collaborative way, with the end user segments at the core.”

Pedro added: “PRODUTECH’s initiatives and fostered cooperation aim to promote the development of new industrial technologies and to leverage this horizontality, while exploring the full potential for cross-fertilisation and intersectoral technology transfer.”

We have brought together machine manufacturers, system integrators, automation providers, engineering companies and consultancieseveryone that has a product or service for manufacturing

Jose Carlos Caldeira, Strategic Advisor for Innovation, PRODUTECH

Intervention, opportunity and benefits to the industry

PRODUTECH is centred around five key areas of intervention within industry:

1: Growth, consolidation and qualification of the industrial base

2: Promoting access to strategic information and intelligence

3. Enhancing visibility and internationalisation

4. Development of cooperation networks

5. The mobilisation of stakeholders to cutting-edge research and development and innovation, towards the deployment of advanced manufacturing technologies in the industry

Pedro added: “PRODUTECH’s approach builds on a virtuous triangle of innovation, where the latest scientific and technological developments are put at the service of the generation of new advanced production technologies that aim to respond to both current and emergent industrial trends and requirements.”

Innovation is produced on a collaborative, and also competitive base, between the production technologies companies, supported by R&D organisations, and in straight cooperation with reference end users from several industrial sectors.

“Cooperation and networking are core elements of PRODUTECH,” Pedro continued. “It enables higher levels of collective efficiency as key elements of competitiveness. And this is of particular

pertinence both in the context of the SME-based industrial fabric, that characterises Europe, and in the context of mid-caps and large enterprises, to maintain a competitive edge through innovation and operational excellence.”

Jose added: “At its core PRODUTECH is built on the concept of getting together with the end user sectors and discussing their priorities and challenges. From there we can establish which are the most cross-sectoral, and then ask the companies from the production technology sector - together with universities and end users - to develop new products, technologies and services, to tackle these challenges.”

This cross sectoral nature is explored in PRODUTECH's large scale and flagship projects, where developments are deployed in at least two demonstrators and pilots of companies from two different sectors. Having in mind their impact in terms of the companies' competitiveness, PRODUTECH has been proactive in proposing measures to the government to open funding programmes and other initiatives to help other companies to further invest in the development and adoption of advanced technologies.

“It’s been a big effort and when we created PRODUTECH in 2009, and we made our first integrated project with 40 partners, some people said it would be impossible to mobilise all those different entities,” Jose added.

“Now we’re moving to the next level where we now have 108 partners, so it’s still a big

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• PRODUTECH R3 stands for Recovery-ResilienceReindustrialisation

• PRODUTECH is formed of 45 production technology suppliers, 37 user companies, 26 research and technology organisations and associations and 17 industrial sectors

• Within the innovation ecosystem 85 new production technologies have been developed, tested, implemented and been made available to the market

• The initiative takes advantage of the cross-cutting nature of production technologies

• The PRODUTECH R3 Innovation Pact is structured into 15 transformative programmes, which are grouped into five areas (A - Customisation of products and proximity production; B - Adaptive, collaborative and competitive production; C - Interoperable, intelligent and autonomous production systems; D - New technologies for the production and use of advanced materials; E - Efficiency in the use of resources and direct integration of renewable energies in production processes)

• PRODUTECH R3 is also made up of three transversal programmes aimed at complementary related areas, such as capacity building and training, internationalisation and qualification, and two support programmes, aimed at the wide dissemination of the initiative and its results, as well as the overall management and coordination of the agenda

challenge. However, what holds the idea together is the fact that it really corresponds to a need from each entity involved. If we launched this project 20 years ago, it would have almost certainly failed.

“However, now companies understand the importance of not only applied research and innovating based on knowledge, but also of having an active role in the definition of production technology. Any company that wants to be a leader or front runner has to play a role in the definition of their production technology, preferably in a collaborative way.” l

UK steel at a tipping point

Global oversupply, high costs and subdued demand

As UK steel output falls to its lowest level since the 1930s and import dependency hits record highs, the sector faces a fight for survival. Can the transition to ‘green steel’ be delivered in time, and will government act to help forge a brighter future?

Jonny

Williamson reports

“I’ve been Director General of UK Steel (trade association for the UK steel industry) for ten years, and I’ve never seen the sector in such poor health as it is now.” A sobering assessment from Gareth Stace, and one supported by the figures.

UK steel production fell to just 4 million tonnes in 2024, down from 7.6Mt in 2018 and a third of the 12Mt produced a decade ago. It’s the lowest output since the Great Depression, and a stark indicator of the pressure facing producers.

Equally worrying is the UK’s increasing dependency on imports. In 2020, UKmade steel met around half of domestic demand. Today, it’s less than a third. Seventy per cent of steel used in the UK is now imported, up from 60% in 2023 and 55% the year before. The biggest increase has come from non-EU sources, mainly India, Vietnam, China and Turkey, which benefit from lower energy costs, lighter environmental regulation and significant state subsidies.

“The UK supplies just 30% of its own steel demand – anyone can see that’s unsustainable,” Gareth told The Manufacturer. “Individually, the six steel producers here might be doing well, but as an industry, I think we have a big problem.”

The solutions are all there and not that complex to implement... the Digital Steel Catalogue represents a step change for UK steel procurement

Gareth Stace, Director General, UK Steel

Overcapacity, imports and energy prices That “big problem” is a convergence of structural pressures, all forecast to intensify through 2025 and beyond. While not unique to the UK, the country is feeling the effects more acutely than most.

The first is global overcapacity. Simply put, mills worldwide are producing far more than demand requires, with no sign of output falling. Overcapacity is forecast to rise from 602Mt in 2024 to 721Mt in 2027 – five times total EU steel production.

This glut in the international market has pushed prices down. Chinese exports alone more than doubled between 2020 and 2024, reaching a record 118Mt last year – enough to meet UK demand 13 times over. For UK producers, that pain is compounded by a fresh wave of imports redirected from the US following President Trump’s increase in steel tariffs.

Second is uncompetitive energy prices, a long-standing thorn in the side of UK industry. Steelmaking is highly energyintensive, and UK producers pay up to 50% more for electricity than competitors in France and Germany – a disadvantage that deepens as the sector electrifies.

“As we transition fully to electric arc furnace (EAF) technology, price competitiveness will become even more

UK steel demand by end-use sector 2024

*based on UK Steel estimates

central to our future,” added Gareth. UK Steel estimates the switch to EAF could double the sector’s electricity consumption.

Third is weak domestic demand.

Two-thirds of UK steel is consumed by just two sectors – construction (53%) and automotive (14%) – both facing headwinds. New vehicle production fell 12% in 1H 2025, while construction output remained flat.

“Fundamentally, the economic pie needs to get bigger, and it just isn’t,” Gareth warned. “What we need is sharper thinking and support from policymakers, and a greater focus on using the capability and capacity the UK already has.”

The most powerful lever for change Public procurement is the most effective tool government has to support UK industry – using national investment to strengthen supply chains, build resilience and deliver maximum social, economic and environmental return.

Over the next decade, £4.3bn is expected to be spent on steel through

public projects – a figure that doesn’t account for major initiatives like nuclear energy and hydrogen infrastructure, so the true total will be far higher. Unlike the US or EU, the UK has yet to fully align procurement policy with national interests and local industry.

From the US Inflation Reduction Act to the EU Green Deal, other nations now mandate or incentivise domestic content. The UK must follow suit. Encouragingly, for the first time in years, there are signs of political appetite to act.

Offshore wind offers a critical test. The first wave of UK investment relied too heavily on imported steel. That mistake can’t be repeated in the second, described as being “a generational opportunity” for the UK steel sector.

The UK’s offshore wind pipeline –targeting 50GW by 2030 and 100GW by 2050 – is the second largest in the world. Delivering it will require 1Mt of steel annually through to 2050, worth an estimated £21bn. The bulk of this (89%) will be steel plate, used in high-volume

l Construction

l Automotive

l Mechanical engineering

l Oil and Gas

l Other Manufacturing

components like towers and monopiles, alongside significant demand for rebar and tensioning strands.

UK producers can already supply up to 13Mt (51%) of the 25Mt needed, including 45% of the plate. That could rise to 86% if proposed investments in steel casting and mills proceed.

ABOVE: Tata Steel UK has secured £500m in government funding to install an electric arc furnace at its Port Talbot steelworks. Image courtesy of Tata Steel UK

Image courtesy of UK Steel

The steel industry has long sounded the alarm on the damage caused by subsidised imports and global overcapacity

Gareth Stace, Director General, UK Steel

Steel as a ‘strategic national asset’ Strengthening the supply of UK-made steel into the defence sector is another major opportunity. UK Steel has called for defence-grade steel capacity to be recognised as a ‘strategic national asset’ – something ministers are reportedly open to – and for the MoD to assess scaling up, reopening or adopting mothballed plants to meet emerging demand, including for new product lines.

The government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) – published in June 2025 – identified ways to expand industrial capacity, including steelmaking, to support the UK’s evolving military priorities. With an ambitious list of investments in defence

infrastructure, procurement will be a key element of turning that strategy into action.

“Steel is not only integral to the construction of naval vessels and armoured vehicles but is also the foundation of essential defence infrastructure, from barracks and warehouses to shipyards and logistics hubs,” Gareth said.

“British steel should, wherever possible, be the default choice for projects of national importance. The Defence Secretary has made clear his desire for more domestic steel to be used across defence programmes, and this review marks a turning point in converting that commitment into policy.”

Much now rests on the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan, due in Autumn 2025, which must set out how government intends to deliver on its SDR ambitions. It will replace the Defence Equipment Plan 2022 – 2032 (issued under the Sunak government), and will be a litmus test of whether the government is serious about

BELOW RIGHT: Heathrow has committed to prioritising UK-made steel in its proposed £49bn expansion, including a third runway and new terminal capacity.

Image courtesy of Heathrow Airports UK

BELOW: Construction of the Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk will require nearly 300,000 tonnes of steel, representing a £700m opportunity for UK suppliers.

Image Courtesy of EDF/ Sizewell C

prioritising sovereign capability.

“The Steel Strategy (still in development after missing its planned spring 2025 publication) and the £2.5bn pledged via the National Wealth Fund, are essential tools for delivering that vision,” Gareth added. “They can help identify and close capability gaps, ensuring that the widest possible range of steel grades can be sourced from UK mills and furnaces to meet our national defence needs.”

Making UK-made steel visible

If the sector is to reverse its declining output and capitalise on the billions committed to national infrastructure and defence, then visibility of products, capabilities and supply chains is vital. UK Steel’s new Digital Catalogue (catalogue.uksteel.org) aims to close that information gap.

Developed in close partnership with industry and backed by government, the catalogue lists more than 10,000 steel products manufactured in the UK – searchable by type, supplier and specification. It gives buyers – from government officials to engineers and architects – a clear view of what can be sourced domestically, removing a longstanding barrier to local procurement.

The new digital platform is a key outcome of the government-backed Steel Procurement Taskforce, and is now embedded and linked in the revised guidance that stipulates public sector officials and their contractors must consult the catalogue before making buying decisions.

UK STEEL AT A GLANCE

• Directly contributes £1.7bn to the economy, plus £2.2bn in supply chains

• Employs 36,800 people directly, with wages 24% higher than the national average

• The UK government is the largest single buyer of steel in the country

• The UK has six main steel producers: British Steel, Liberty Steel, Marcegaglia, 7 Steel UK, Sheffield Forgemasters and Tata Steel

There’s now no reason for UK steel to be overlooked, Gareth added: “This catalogue is a one-stop-shop that takes away any uncertainty around what we do and don’t make in the UK. With national security concerns front and centre, we urge all public and private sector buyers to make full use of the catalogue to help ensure that economic value, jobs and supply chains are built here and not lost abroad.”

Green steel needs bold policy

The transition to electric arc furnaces – a cornerstone of the UK’s decarbonisation strategy – will define the industry’s immediate and long-term future. As the world’s first steel-producing nation to publish a net zero roadmap for its steel sector, back in 2022, the UK has a head start. But that momentum will stall without energy and scrap reform.

As noted, energy price disparity sees UK firms pay far more than competitors elsewhere, primarily due to significantly higher wholesale electricity prices. The sites switching from blast furnaces to EAFs will see their power use almost quintuple. Hence why affordable energy is such a hot button issue.

The recent shelving of plans to introduce zonal electricity pricing was welcomed. Because steelmaking is tied to specific legacy sites, UK Steel warned it would have unfairly penalised existing producers who couldn’t easily relocate.

“Now the government must ensure the alternative, reformed national pricing supports rather than hinders industrial competitiveness,” Gareth said.

As the UK scales up EAF production, access to scrap metal – the primary feedstock – will become vital. In this regard, the UK has a unique yet currently untapped advantage. The country produces more than 10Mt of scrap steel each year, 80% of which is exported to predominantly developing countries for processing and then shipped back. This is an industrial own goal.

“No country in the world has a higher scrap-to-steel ratio than the UK,” Gareth added. “Port Talbot, when its EAF comes online, will want pristine scrap, but a rebar manufacturer doesn’t need the same high grade – so they’re not fighting over it. That’s why we’re asking government to change the export rules, something we hope to see in the national Steel Strategy.”

Introducing a robust scrap strategy would future-proof the supply of a resource set to see rising global demand, lower costs, reduce reliance on imports, build new supply chains and create jobs – all aligned with the decarbonisation roadmap.

As the steel industry faces the need to redefine production and business models, reassess raw materials and supply chains, and make huge technology investments, all against a global backdrop of rising protectionism and excess stock, now is the time for a more assertive stance from government – on public procurement, import protections, energy reform, sector safeguards and the scrap market.

Whether this translates to a true turning point or a missed opportunity will be defined by the policy decisions made over the coming weeks and months. l

X-ray perspectives

the next sustainability game-changer?

As manufacturers race to meet increasingly urgent sustainability goals, a vital question arises: which technology trend will truly make a meaningful impact? From smarter supply chains to the development of Li-ion batteries, sustainability isn’t only about tomorrow’s breakthroughs – it’s about today’s decisions

In this feature, four leading voices from the University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) share their perspectives on the most impactful technological shifts on the horizon. Their message is clear: while innovation is essential, the first step is often rethinking how we use what we already have.

Professor Steve Evans Director of Research in Industrial Sustainability, IfM

“The first answer is that the most important focus should be to rapidly improve what we are doing today without buying new technology. This message shouldn’t be mistaken for anti-technology; it simply highlights that organisations can gain value from reviewing how existing technology can support their meeting of sustainability goals.

“I’ve seen so many examples where organisations develop knowledge through this focus, making them more prepared and effective in selecting new technology solutions.

Data innovation offers the biggest sustainability improvement for the least cost

Professor Steve Evans, Director of Research in Industrial Sustainability, IfM

“Organisations should also focus on current technology spending plans to ensure that each purchase is as energy/ water/material efficient as possible (and/ or that it allows for improvement in the future). Most of your future environmental footprint is decided by existing technology, so make sure that efficiency is a key selection criterion, so you make choices you are happy to live with in the future.

“In terms of a trend that aligns with this, the best place to focus is data innovation – it offers the biggest sustainability improvement for the least cost, and technologies that support sustainability data insights are rapidly evolving.”

Professor Steve Evans is Director of Research in Industrial Sustainability at the IfM and leads the IfM’s Sustainability Association. He has over 40 years of experience improving industrial performance through both academic leadership and direct industry engagement. A recognised thought leader in eco-design and industrial sustainability, Steve has advised UK and international governments, cochaired the parliamentary Manufacturing Commission, and contributed to global industrial policy.

Professor Michael de Volder

Head of the Nanomanufacturing Group, IfM

“My current research focuses on the development of Li-ion and other battery technologies that are likely to play a very important role in climate-change mitigation, for instance by powering electric vehicles and storing renewable energy sources.

“Technology trends that will impact sustainability in this field are two-fold. On the one hand, we need to move away from battery chemistries that are unsustainable. Classic examples of this are the development of battery cathodes containing very little or no cobalt, and electrolytes that do not contain any perfluorinated additives.

“On the other hand, the manufacturing processes for batteries are often energyintensive and rely on toxic solvents.

Exciting new technological trends in this area include dry processing methods that do not require solvents and energyintensive drying steps. More generally, we are interested in fundamentally revisiting how battery electrodes are manufactured.

“Finally, extending the lifetime, and ultimately, recycling batteries needs to be studied more rigorously, to ensure that batteries become a more sustainable technology for electrification.”

Professor Michael de Volder leads the IfM’s Nanomanufacturing Group, focusing on scalable, sustainable battery technologies. The group is developing new scalable manufacturing processes for energy storage, with a focus on Li-ion and Zn-ion batteries. A key focus is on sustainability –extending battery life and using greener materials and methods. Prof De Volder’s is a Co-founder of Echion Tech.

There are exciting new technological trends in battery manufacturing

Professor

Michael de Volder, Head of the Nanomanufacturing Group, IfM

As advanced manufacturing innovations continue to evolve, thoughtful integration into supply chain operations is essential

Dr Jagjit Singh Srai, Director of Research and Head of the Centre for International Manufacturing, IfM

Dr Jagjit Singh Srai Director of Research and Head of the Centre for International Manufacturing, IfM

“Long-term technological trends show that advanced manufacturing technologies can create innovative product designs by utilising new production methods. This holds great promise in terms of resource efficiency. These advanced manufacturing technologies often involve less aggressive processing, making them both energyand material-efficient. Other technologies that cover a broad spectrum of digital tools, such as AI, blockchain and others, will enable us to gain visibility into demand and supply in our supply chain, allowing us to synchronise them more effectively. This, in turn, helps us to minimise waste and meet demand in the most efficient manner.

“As these innovations continue to evolve, their thoughtful integration into supply chain operations is becoming not just beneficial, but essential. What’s particularly valuable is the opportunity for supply chain leaders to come together to critically examine how these technologies are being applied in practice – what’s working, what’s not, and why?

“At the Cambridge International Manufacturing Symposium, I’ve seen first-hand how open dialogue between industry, academia and policymakers helps deepen our collective understanding of the strategic trade-offs involved in deploying new technologies. It’s not about promoting solutions; it’s about co-creating insight that supports better decision-making across diverse supply chain contexts.”

Dr Jag Srai has extensive experience leading large-scale complex research projects comprising multiple stakeholders across industry, academia and public

Resistance to change is understandable.

Transformational shifts challenge established practices and require reimagining the fundamental nature of operations. Yet, change is possible

Dr Letizia Mortara, Head of the Decision-making for Emerging Technologies Group, IfM

bodies. His research centre brings an engineering and strategic operations management perspective to the design, analysis and operation of international supply chains and the impact of advanced production and digital technologies. Through major collaborations with industry (individual firms and consortia), primarily in the healthcare and food/FMCG sectors, his research findings have directly underpinned major organisational change.

Dr Letizia Mortara Head of the Decision-making for Emerging Technologies Group, IfM

“Many promising technologies that may support transitioning to greener economies are emerging. Models have been proposed to help companies create value in ways that mitigate environmental pollution. However, adopting these solutions can be costly, and the potential benefits may seem distant and uncertain. The temptation is strong to go with the old saying – “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”… and to favour incremental change.

“This resistance to change is understandable. Transformational shifts challenge established practices and require reimagining the fundamental nature of operations. Yet, change is possible. The rapid adaptations seen during the COVID-19 crisis - when businesses restructured value creation and rapidly adopted new technologies - demonstrate that large-scale transformation can occur under pressure. However, waiting for a crisis to prompt such change is far from ideal.

“Our work at the IfM’s Decision-Making for Emerging Technologies group aims to develop methods to support those who take hard decisions, to minimise their efforts towards transitioning towards new business models and the adoption of emerging technologies. Our goal is to reduce the cognitive and organisational barriers that hinder transitions toward innovative models. Specifically, we explore how digital technologies such as augmented and virtual reality (AR/ VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) can be integrated into decision-making processes to configure more effective and less cognitively taxing change experiences.”

Dr Letizia Mortara is an innovation and technology management expert at the University of Cambridge, where she leads research on how businesses can make smarter decisions when adopting emerging technologies. Letizia’s research covers themes like open innovation, technology intelligence and offers practical strategies for industries facing the pressures of digital transformation. l

Dates: 25-26 Sept 2025

Location: Cambridge, UK

Network with industry leaders, gain insights from renowned experts and explore the latest trends and innovations shaping the future of supply chain management. IfM has an exciting line-up of speakers ready to share their expertise on this year’s theme: Reconfiguring manufacturing supply chain footprints in a new era of harsh geo-strategic competition.

A key focus will be Sustainable Supply Chains, addressing real-world challenges like multi-tier supplier complexity, economic pressures and evolving regulatory landscapes. Discover how leading organisations are going beyond digital solutions – engaging stakeholders, adopting circular business models and redesigning supply networks – to collaboratively drive towards netzero supply chains.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this vital conversation and help shape the future of supply chain management.

To find out more and to register, scan the QR code.

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Lights, camera, action!

The Manufacturer took another European trip earlier in the year, visiting Fujifilm’s Tilburg site in the Netherlands. You’ll probably know Fujifilm from its photographic film products, but in Tilburg, there’s so much more. Tom St John flew out to see the unveiling of a new electro-boiler which, along with five previously installed wind turbines, is helping the site’s ambitious goal to become carbon neutral by 2030

The former photo film factory, first opened in 1988, has been gradually moulded into a hightech, sustainable production facility. Back in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, Fujfilm manufactured cameras and photographic paper. It still does today, and in Tilburg, photographic colour paper is produced with unerring refinement and quality.

It’s used in prints, posters, calendars and photo albums. Larger format rolls of paper are also produced, and often used for the professional exhibition market.

Innovations, bore out of years of knowledge and experience in new product developments, has enabled breakthroughs such as photo paper that mimics the appearance of canvas or velvet.

But the volume of photographic paper produced here has decreased in more recent years. At the end of 2021, Fujifilm opened a new life science factory in Tilburg, where cell culture media are produced.

Cell culture media are used in the biopharmaceutical industry and serve as nutrients for cells when making drugs, like the COVID vaccine, for example. On the face of it, the biopharmaceutical market

Tilburg

started its commitment to sustainability many years ago

Launa Porfido, Head of Corporate Communication and ESG Management, Fujifilm Europe

struck me as an odd diversification market for a photographic film company.

It will later become clear how this came about. It’s a market growing at speed, which means Fujifilm is continuously expanding its activities in the field of preventive healthcare and treatment.

In addition to biopharmaceutical production, the Tilburg site is also home to a circular remanufacturing centre - for the remanufacturing of printer cartridges - an operation that was started last year.

It has an on-site water purification plant, where the combined wastewater flows of Fujifilm and three neighbouring companies are cleaned. The company also uses 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, partly generated by five on-site wind turbines.

And still, this isn’t enough. At an inaugural grand opening, we were shown a new 7MW E-boiler which is used to produce heat and steam, and will replace 50% of natural gas usage, making Tilburg one of the most energy efficient and sustainable plants in Europe for Fujifilm.

A truly amazing site, but it needs to be if the company is to achieve its goals - to be CO2 neutral by 2030 for Scope 1 and 2. Fujifilm Holding also has the ambition to achieve a 50% CO2 reduction across the complete product lifecycle in the same time-frame, which also accounts for Scope 3 emissions.

How it started

As we sat down in the boardroom at the Tilburg site, the question was asked by Albert van Maren, President and Managing Director of Fujifilm Manufacturing Europe, “What would you like to know?”

It was a tough question, because where do you begin? The Tilburg site is 50 hectares, one of the largest in Europe. And as you’ve just read, there is so much going on; from remanufacturing to life science innovations, it is a hive of intriguing activity.

Launa Porfido, Head of Corporate Communication and ESG Management for Fujifilm Europe, thankfully stepped in, as me and a room full of international journalists scratched our heads for an opening question.

“I think it would be good if we give an overview of the transformation of the site, with the focus on sustainability,” she said.

“This site is the great example of the Fujifilm world, and today we celebrate another

I think we do feel a little hurried to decide on the next step, because 2030 is soon, and time flies when you're having fun

Albert van Maren, President and Managing Director, Fujifilm Manufacturing Europe

step in that journey, (with the unveiling of the E-boiler) but I think it’s important to state that Tilburg started this commitment to sustainability many years ago.”

Almost 20 years ago, to be precise. Albert continued: “We care about the environment and in 2006 we were aware that if we

want to sustain our position as an industrial manufacturer in Europe, sustainability should be a key focus area.”

Firstly, the company explored the opportunities around green electricity. From there, the investigation began into how plausible it would be to install wind turbines on land.

Wind turbines are common across Europe, but putting five up in an industrial area close to a city required some negotiation with the government in the Netherlands.

The cost was also prohibitive – it would take an investment that totalled €50m, which at the time proved difficult. It took around five years for the company to get permits and find investment, which came from the electricity company that Fujifilm partnered with.

“We invested in the land, and the preparation that was needed,” said Albert. “We negotiated for the price of the electricity, which is connected directly to our grid, through a closed distribution network.”

The five wind turbines that loom over the Tilburg site generate around 2MW each. “Because of our processes here, we need energy – in life sciences, and to dry colour paper after coating, for example,” said Albert.

“The wind turbines went up in 2011, and at the time, this was providing us with 20% of our electricity need, because we had a large factory running.

“In 2016 this was complemented with electricity from the public grid, and obtaining European certificates of origin for wind meant we were able to get 100% of our electricity from renewable sources. This has been the case ever since.”

In the meantime, the company took steps to optimise and redesign its processes

LEFT: Fujifilm's Tilburg site, Netherlands

RIGHT: The water purification installation

Our life sciences department, both the building and all the processes, is carbon neutral

Sander Vermeulen, Chief Operating Officer, Fujifilm Manufacturing Europe

to fit the modern investments it was making. The production processes used in the life sciences manufacturing facility for example, were consciously designed to run off electricity. The installation of heat pumps made this possible.

However, the challenge was that the building, like most across the site, was built 30 to 40 years ago, and at that time produced colour negative film for photography. This part of the site has office areas which are connected to the site’s utility centre, and used gasgenerated steam for heating.

Boling point

This is where the E-boiler comes in. Sander Vermeulen, Chief Operating Officer at Fujifilm Manufacturing Europe said: “To change the systems to a different kind of heating in that area was too expensive. Now, with the introduction of the E-boiler, we can run our office heating on green steam.”

The steam from this site originally came from two natural gas boilers. The new E-boiler, producing 7MW of electricity, will reduce natural gas used across the site by 50%.

The site now has three boilers – two gas and one electric. The E-boiler needs to run alongside one of the natural gas boilers to reach the total energy capacity across the whole site - a ‘hybrid’ system, essentially.

The second, obsolete natural gas boiler will be switched off, but kept in reserve to backup any potential breakdown to the gas boiler or, in the unfortunate event, the E-boiler. After all, the site needs to have some form of power source in the event of an emergency.

Green steam is generated for heating and humidity control in factories and offices across the site. This runs to the former offset plate manufacturing site and the main office, as well as the former research lab. Steam, as mentioned, also runs to the photographic paper manufacturing site, and is used to dry colour paper after it’s been coated.

"Twenty per cent of the green steam produced is reserved for the Life Science Manufacturing plant, ensuring that production here is always CO2 neutral.” said Sander. “As mentioned, the production process to produce cell culture media is fully electrified, and now so is all the steam to heat the facility and offices.

“This means that our life sciences department - both the building and all the processes - is carbon neutral.”

Biopharma diversification

Photographic products to biopharmaceuticals doesn’t seem like a particularly natural cross-over. But in actual fact, the production of cell culture media bares some similarities to Fujifilm’s original photographic film product range.

Quality, for one, is vital for both. In Tilburg there lies a vast amount of expertise in the area of accurately weighing, mixing and dissolving substances.

There are also people at the site with knowledge and experience in the field of life science manufacturing. For example, Fujifilm previously developed a recombinant peptide - short chains of amino acids produced through recombinant DNA technology - for medical applications, as an alternative to animal materials.

Cell culture media, also known as growth media, are liquid or gel formulations designed to support the growth of microorganisms, cells or small plants in a controlled environment. They provide the necessary nutrients, growth factors

LEFT: Used to produce heat and steam, the E-bolier will replace 50% of natural gas usage at the site BELOW: The life sciences manufacturing centre is now a fully carbon neutral operation

and environmental stability to mimic physiological conditions, allowing cells to thrive outside their natural habitat.

In 2020, Tilburg was chosen as the first location for Fujifilm in Europe to set up a life sciences centre because of the expertise that existed at the site in the complex technological process.

The facilities are well geared to meet the production demands, with a capacity of 320,000kg per year of powder and 470,000 litres per year of liquids in the first phase.

The on-site water purification plant allows a flow of water for injection (WFI) quality water and a water source for the security of supply.

The site is also well-positioned for growing market demand, with room for future expansion in the life science manufacturing environment. Not least due to the 22,800 square meters of space, with the option to expand and double the capacity.

Re-cartridgeing

The circular manufacturing centre at Tilburg also deserves a momentary spotlight. Since last year, the company has been collecting used toner cartridges from printers sold throughout Europe.

Fujifilm Business Innovation produces office printers, as well as solutions in graphic communications, both in-plant and production print environments with highvolume printing requirements.

The used printer cartridges are sent to Tilburg and undergo a thorough process of disassembly, cleaning, inspection and

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Despite all the initiatives at this plant, two more “significant projects” need to take place to reach the CO2 neutral 2030 target

• The diversification from photographic film into biopharmaceutical was a natural one for Fujifilm, given the expertise in quality and accuracy

• Everything is connected at this site, and every new project is geared towards sustainability

• Sustainability may require up front cost, but the long-term benefits need to be explained to investors and stakeholders

refurbishment in order that they meet the requisite quality standards.

Again, Fujifilm chose the Tilburg site because of its ecosystem, the size of the site and its central location in Europe.

The company has expressed its intention to extend these remanufacturing processes in the future to other products, such as multifunction printers and production printer spare parts.

Thanks to the 10MW of wind energy being produced by the site's turbines, the circular manufacturing centre, like the life sciences centre, is achieving virtually zero carbon emissions from the electricity it uses.

An ambitious target

The Tilburg site aims to be carbon neutral by 2030. And the Fujifilm group as a whole wants to achieve the same milestone ten years later. There’s no question, the site is impressive by any of the high standards that we’ve reported on at The Manufacturer.

And Tilburg is a shining example in the Fujifilm business, not just across Europe, but even when compared to the company’s Japanese sites.

“I would point out that regulation is different in other countries,” said Sander, “Subsidies aren’t as easy to come by in somewhere like Belgium, for instance.

“The investment in our E-boiler was €2m, but this wasn’t a CAPEX investment. By using electricity instead of gas we are compensated if we make a loss - not 100%, so there is still some risk to these projects, but it is managed.

“Different countries and sites have their own unique challenges when it comes to this.”

An impressive site, yes, but has it overreached with its 2030 target. It’s incredibly ambitious, and to achieve it, the site will have to innovate and invest further.

“Are you optimistic about reaching your sustainability goals, or are you feeling hurried?” Asked one of the journalists around the boardroom table.

Albert puffed out his cheeks, “I feel determined,” he responded. “Optimistic is maybe a big word. And yes, I think we do feel a little hurried to decide on the next step, because 2030 is soon, and time flies when you're having fun.

“If we want to be CO2 neutral by then, I think we need two more significant projects. So, that needs to be decided, approved and invested in.

“And if the Fujifilm group wants to reach its 2040 target, then it is clear, we need to invest. This will probably cause some increase in cost to our customers, but from what we are seeing, especially in the biopharmaceutical area, they want this.” l

Compliance through collaboration

Cyber security in the automotive sector

Bentley Motors and MHP Consulting UK have collaborated to establish robust Cybersecurity and Software Update Management Systems (CSMS & SUMS) for the Bentley landscape, achieving compliance with the UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29). We caught up with both parties to find out more

In the age of connected vehicles and increasing cyber threat, it is vital for OEMs to demonstrate they have robust processes and systems in place to protect vehicles and individuals interacting with them. The UNECE regulations strive to thoroughly address this issue.

As of July 2024, OEMs must adhere to these regulations in order to sell any vehicle and product within its 56 member states. In addition to achieving compliance, OEMs are required to introduce the necessary related supporting management systems across their organisations to maintain that level of conformity.

For Bentley Motors, product cyber security is something that has become exceptionally important to the business, and to this end, Product Line Director, Chris Cole, took responsibility for developing the company’s capabilities around this issue back in 2021.

“As our cars have progressively become more connected to the global network, we recognised very early on - ahead of any legislative requirements - the importance of making sure connection to the wider world was exceptionally safe for our customers

and for us as a business,” he said.

The UNECE regulation is the first formal requirement for automotive OEMs to demonstrate capabilities for what's referred to as cyber security management and software update management systems.

This brings a completely new dimension to the way that Bentley develop new cars and manage them through their lifecycle, and because the company want to be leading the way in this area, the relationship with MHP was established.

Chris continued: “We recognised the need to get some help inside Bentley and bring the very latest knowledge and understanding around product specific cyber security to the table. We went through a significant programme over a two and a half year period, with MHP leading the way for us to grow those capabilities.

“It affected every aspect of operations, from concept and product design, vehicle manufacturer, all the way through to service and after sales support.”

As a result of the collaboration, Bentley were the first OEM to achieve certification for the new regulations for both cyber security

The evolving landscape, in terms of the threats, capabilities and the legislative environment, just means that this is a continuous journey for us

Chris Cole, Product Line Director, Bentley Motors

and software updates, and also the first to achieve that with no non-conformities.

“We have been continually developing that capability in order for us to really set ourselves as the safest cars against our competitors in the luxury segment,” added Chris. “That's the overarching objective. Since we achieved the first accreditation, I'm pleased to say that it's becoming just a normal part of the way that Bentley operates.

“However, it is an exceptionally demanding capability to stay on top of as the threat to vehicles through cyber attack morphs and changes over time, and we've got to be very agile in our response to those.”

The evolution of the cyber security landscape

Since first connecting its cars to the internet in 2018, Bentley has progressively grown its capabilities to the point where every Bentley manufactured today has connectivity built in. However, that increase in both functionality and the number of cars connected, has brought with it the added requirement for Bentley to ensure that connection to the car is entirely safe.

There have been numerous examples of the devastating impact that cyber attacks can have on business systems (take the recent M&S breach as an example). Chris continued: “Imagine that every car is like an iPad on wheels. That means any level of threat can be connected through to the remote device (the vehicle). As such, we've got to protect that just as much as we

protect our core company systems.

“We have to provide exactly that same level of encryption, protection and proof that we can mitigate an attack. This becomes increasingly important as we provide more connected services into the vehicle.”

Chris explained that one of the benefits that Bentley has been able to take advantage of since becoming part of VW in 1998, is access to the very latest thinking, benchmarks and best practice from across the group. “Within these new, cutting-edge, emerging parts of the automotive world, MHP (which works across all VW brands) bring not only their external expertise, but also the knowledge from the rest of the company - it's a perfect synergetic relationship.”

He explained that having that expertise in-house has been so much easier for Bentley (than having to compete for the

very latest external consulting information), and that first-hand knowledge was an integral part of the company achieving the formal accreditation for its products' cyber capabilities.

Bentley knew assistance was needed to achieve compliance with the regulation and were confident that MHP brought not only the technical and process expertise, but the understanding of the legislation and how it could be applied in the best way for Bentley to make it purposeful for its customers.

However, Bentley also didn't want to become dependent on MHP, so selected a fairly small team - 12 to 15 people at its peak – who buddied with others in Bentley to work on a project management framework for a whole new way of working; how to understand the requirements of the legislation, the subject of cyber security, and how to start implementing that through

processes, roles and skills.

“MHP brought to us this very structured method of running the project,” added Chris. “We did this in two phases, the first of which was establishing all the documentation and having the evidence ready. And the second was to actually certify the vehicles. It was during this second phase where we ‘let go’ of MHP and demonstrated we could do this for ourselves. By this time we’d also been through recruitment and established whole new departments to run this capability going forward.”

Within any digital transformation, we often talk about board level buy-in and an interesting angle that Bentley explored was employing MHP to educate the highest levels of the business around product cyber security. A key individual within MHP - one who has even influenced the legislative

“

landscape within Europe and the USbrought to life the potential threat and the hazard that Bentley has to manage.

“This locked in cyber’s importance right from the earliest stage,” Chris added. “The board's recognition that this was a really high priority helped with the brand and how the customer can now feel totally protected when they own a Bentley.”

UNECE Vehicle Regulation impact

The regulation is essentially split into two parts. One is focused on the cyber security system, the other on the software update management system over the air. Regarding cyber security, companies are required to establish a holistic cyber security management system which will require a complete threat and a risk assessment across the entire ecosystem and value chain.

Over 80% of the cars that Bentley has built over the last century are still in use today, and we've had cars connected from about 2018 - we've got to be prepared to support cyber protection throughout their entire connected life

Chris Cole, Product Line Director, Bentley Motors

This will then involve the implementation of preventive, detection and response measures for any potential threats that could take place, which then need to be applied along the entire value chain - not only production. This means that components need to be developed by an OEM’s suppliers using the same measures.

In the software update management system, only authentic role-based individuals can access the closed ecosystem of the car. Any software being put into the vehicle has to be signed off, verified, 100% traceable and developed according to the regulation. All of this, ultimately, needs to be showcased and documented in order to pass the audit.

Chris added: "This is an extensive process. It affects nearly every part of the business, from concepts all the way through to maintaining cars. And while the

car is connected, we have an obligation to maintain its cyber protection.

“So to put that into context, over 80% of the cars that Bentley has built over the last century are still in use today, and we've had cars connected from about 2018 - we've got to be prepared to support cyber protection throughout their entire connected life.

“In addition, in our production facility at Crewe, we’ve had to introduce an entirely new way of authenticating individuals, to give them permission to access ECUs and software on the vehicles. So you can imagine what that means for the thousands of people that are associated with manufacturing a Bentley. Particular roles are now part of a secure process, and that’s not only engineers in product development. It's equally the people building and commissioning the cars, and maintaining them through their lifecycle.”

LEFT: The achievement of UNECE compliance means Bentley’s GT range of vehicles meets the highest levels of cyber security and software update management systems

You cannot underestimate the level of importance of this topic and how it will continuously evolve and iterate as the threat changes over time

Chris Cole, Product Line Director, Bentley Motors

Challenges and hurdles

A key issue, Chris explained, was that Bentley had to meet the requirements of the new legislation for 2024 model year. Failure to do so would simply mean that the company would have been unable to sell its cars in the UN’s 56 member states. Fortunately, the company started early and thus had a head-start. “It was like an Olympic event,” he commented. “It was fundamental and it also helped with executive sponsorship. We had to make sure that we were going through a process of programme delivery to support these new capabilities.”

There was also significant changes around process, tool sets and people, again an area where MHP had a key role to play. Bentley had to conduct an overall end-to-end assessment of all processes to establish which had to be changed and where entirely new processes had to be added. This was in order to effectively manage proactive threat detection and end-to-end software configuration and control through the life of the car.

“That identified hundreds of processes that either had to be adapted or created from scratch. We went through a really heavy, controlled method of measuring the maturity of those processes as we built them,” Chris continued.

“With that, the people impacts were significant. Entirely new roles were created. Every single employee at Bentley went through a basic awareness of what product cyber security meant. All the individual roles were then categorised, and we had to

Cyber security: a continuous journey, not a destination

Bodo Philipp is CEO of MHP Consulting UK and has 20 years of experience within the automotive world, working directly for different OEMs within the Volkswagen Group, including Porsche, Bugatti and Lamborghini

How is cyber security evolving for MHP?

BP: We identified that bringing cyber security capability to the automotive space is something very important for us because, from a portfolio perspective, we cover all the aspects that are involved in a cyber security management system. We have these portfolio pieces singularly, and then we have formed a cyber security team within MHP to execute that with the OEMs.

The UNECE regulation is demanding and automotive is a complex ecosystem involving both hardware and software. But with our MHP heritage in the automotive space, we understand what the sector needs in order to comply.

We found the right partner in Bentley who are also demonstrating the same level of willingness to apply cyber security to their products and organisation. As a service supplier, we see OEMs treating the importance of cyber security in different ways. We advise every OEM to

take it very seriously. Without the UNECE regulation, you cannot register or sell cars, so it will evidently and immediately impact your business model if you're not able to comply.

The fact that Bentley passed the audit with no defects, and with flying colours, is evidence of how important it is for us and how seriously we took the execution of the programme.

How did Bentley and MHP work together to achieve UNECE compliance?

Mindset was very important. Just because we are tech people and we all think that cyber security is important, that is still no basis for immediate success. What was also key was the willingness to take that potential threat seriously. That was the starting point which was then followed by putting the right people together to increase the transparency of what we were doing, as the programme touched every aspect of the business.

That transparency helped us in Phase 1 to shape a strategic route going forward, and make sure the audit was passed. If Phase 1 wasn't so extensive and comprehensively driven by all the stakeholders, then it wouldn’t have been such a success.

We provided the framework, but the operational element to execute was provided by Bentley. We had a back and forth where we would offer guidance and then transport that capability towards Bentley, with the execution then following accordingly.

What was also important was the executive sponsorship. In every business, change needs top level buy-in to be successful. So, it was the board’s responsibility that this was seen as important.

"If you talk about return of investment, there is no real business case behind the adoption of cyber security so there are many OEMs who question why they should invest"

Bodo Philipp, CEO MHP Consulting UK

What would be your advice to other automotive OEMs?

It all starts with taking the issue seriously. I've been talking to other OEMs outside the VW Group and the understanding around the importance of cyber security doesn't come by default.

It’s vital within the VW Group however, and we are creating use cases and best practice approaches between the different brands. They learn from each other and it’s amazing to see how the Volkswagen world is dealing with this.

The truth is that other OEMs don’t necessarily take the issue that seriously as it often reverts back to the question of budget. If you talk about return of investment, there is no real business case behind the adoption of cyber security, so there are many OEMs who question why they should invest.

Once it’s been recognised as a serious topic, however, that level of importance needs to be taken into the execution of a cyber security strategy. Bring executive awareness to the topic, get sponsors in place, empower people and bring capability in-house.

We did this at Bentley by showcasing a best practice approach to show how it could be successful. It’s important for OEMs not to make themselves dependent on service suppliers – it’s more about getting the OEM to the point where they are capable of dealing with cyber security and taking it forward themselves.

It's a continuous journey; systems will become more connected and more complex so it's important to bring capability to the OEM and empower them to deal with this on their own.

conduct training programmes for each one. Nearly every department that managed parts of product development, purchasing or manufacturing had to respond to these process changes and new IT tool sets.”

OEM top tips

Chris continued: “We are in a great position to understand all the different brands within the group and MHP has also provided a tremendous amount of best practice. You cannot underestimate the level of importance of this topic and how it will continuously evolve and iterate as the threat changes over time.”

The ultimate goal, of course, is to ensure that no car or vehicle is deployed as an attack vector and used as a weapon. As such Chris stressed that it is incumbent on all of industry, not only Bentley and the Volkswagen Group, to share experiences and keep on top of the threat. Cyber security can also be used as a competitive advantage and Bentley is using its UNECE credentials for brand building and making sure its customers feel totally safe.

“The industry has a responsibility to prevent cyber security breaches from occurring, and thankfully, so far, that's been the case. Moving forward, it is vital that the issue has the same level of priority as a company’s business strategy.

“You then also need to be prepared to continually iterate as both your software complexity growths and the threat level increases. That's what we do within the VW Group, but we’ll also reach back whenever necessary to MHP for the latest intelligence and best practice, whether it's from within the group or outside.”

The future for connected vehicles and cyber security

Chris explained that as Bentley continue to grow the capability of the car through its connectivity, it will only increase the necessity to check for threats more

broadly. Particularly as autonomous driving functionality evolves and becomes more ubiquitous. “That means we'll have to build on our threat detection, encryption and all our end-to-end methods of working to protect that,” he said.

He added that the company is starting to see the challenges beginning to be understood by different governments which will also usher in completely new legislative requirements. “We're now embarking on a whole programme to deal with China’s cyber security measures and we have Japan, South Korea and the US in the pipeline as well.

“Meeting UNECE requirements was just the first step for us. The evolving landscape, in terms of the threats, capabilities and the legislative environment, just means that this is a continuous journey for us.” l

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The automotive sector is becoming more dependent on data, internet access and connected services

• Bentley achieved UNECE requirements with zero nonconformities

• There were two phases of Bentley’s transformative project: Phase 1: Cybersecurity & Software Update Management Systems (CSMS & SUMS); and Phase 2: Operationalisation and execution of Phase 1

• Via its partnership with MHP, Bentley has entrenched cyber security as a cultural imperative into the brand

• UNECE compliance is crucial for an OEM’s market access, and can mean a bottom-line impact of millions, even billions, depending on the brand

Gearing up for success

A visit to West Yorkshire brought us face-to-face with another innovative manufacturer. David Brown Santasalo has been on a remarkable growth journey in the last decade, as demand for its gear systems production and services has ramped up. During the last ten years, the UK business, David Brown Defence, has seen investment of £70m into its site in Huddersfield, allowing it to quadruple its business to customers in the land and marine defence sectors. David Armitt, Chief Executive of David Brown Santasalo Group, sat down with Tom St John to discuss the company’s journey so far

The history at the David Brown Defence (DB Defence) site in Huddersfield is extensive. David Brown began 165 years ago, and it’s been a manufacturing site since the start of the 1900s. Today, the factory retains plenty of that history, as well as a lot of modernisation from recent investment.

The company still receives calls from customers looking for tractor parts, as it used to be a site where David Brown Tractors were made. There is also a lovely nod to some iconic automotive history, when David Brown used to own Aston Martin. The Aston Martin DB5, driven by Ian Fleming’s James Bond, is a nod to David Brown, and the company still license the DB moniker to Aston Martin today.

Yes, a classic emblem, the epitome of Aston Martin engineering, made famous by a Hollywood movie spy, has its roots in a factory in Huddersfield.

Santasalo, a Finnish company that manufactures industrial gearing, also has more than 100 years of history. And the business became David Brown Santasalo in 2016, a merger that brought that heritage into the group.

David Brown Santasalo's industrial business is now located in 23 locations in 14 countries. These locations make up its industrial division, where it services a wide range of gear systems. This has created a global service network.

About 80% of the industrial business is aftermarket. Those service customers, as well as OEMs, are also supported with the installation of new equipment, and the manufacturing and design elements that come with that.

DB Defence in Huddersfield produces around 60-70% of new equipment for defence programmes - mostly for the UK, Australia and Canada.

The markets that David Brown Santasalo's industrial business serves across the world is varied. The biggest are industrial mining, pulp and paper, as well as other energy markets. And in the UK, the defence markets are split between land defence vehicles and marine defence propulsion systems.

David Armitt, Group Chief Executive, welcomed us to the DB Defence site in Huddersfield, and went into more detail about the company’s growth in defence, and the significant investment that has allowed this.

What sort of trends are you seeing in the defence industry?

DA: Ever since 2022 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there has been an increasing focus on defence in Europe and North America.

The recent rhetoric around NATO has changed the landscape a little, and has been a catalyst for looking for future investment in the sector.

That said, in the UK we operate on programmes that have been long in gestation. These aren't new programmes that have suddenly come to life, they’re long-term.

The drivers that we’re seeing in defence markets definitely impact industrial markets too. A lot of the trends there are similar in terms of determining how much we invest in the footprint of each country. People are looking for national champions in either industry or defence, and we're quite well-placed for that because of our wide footprint from our service network.

Our industrial group is made up of local businesses and we have production hubs around the world; here at DB Defence, we export from either UK programmes or Canada and Australia.

Our industrial manufacturing hubs are in Finland and China. There have been some interesting trends there recently, because of course, we’ve had trade wars going on between the US and China. We're fortunate in that we've got options.

We have some flexibility around where we can manufacture our gearboxes and parts. As well as the main hubs in Finland and China, we've got four additional production facilities that make parts for the local markets in Canada, Australia, South Africa and India.

So, the trends are quite strong at the moment and keep us on our toes. There’s a fair bit of uncertainty but we’re well placed to deal with that.

What products are made at DB Defence in Huddersfield? And tell us a bit about the manufacturing process

Ten years ago, this site was mostly a land service operation. That business has more than quadrupled in the last decade, and it's been due to marine and some land programmes.

We’re partnered with some big UK defence companies, and we’re working on Ministry of Defence programmes with them. We’ve invested £70m in this site in the last ten years on buildings, machining, test facilities and people. We've been recruiting a lot of people in the last 18 months or so, and we plan to continue that this year. We added 100 people in 2024 and we're looking at another 100 in 2025.

In terms of the manufacturing process, we've been adding the most advanced manufacturing machines we can for gear. We've designed and built a full test rig for those products, which has been running for a couple of years. And we've got another test facility currently being developed. We’ve been building manufacturing capacity and the team to support it.

BELOW: DB Defence gear systems and services for land and marine applications have more than quadrupled in the last decade. There has been a recruitment drive in the last 18 months, with the company planning more hires this year

“

It’s very easy to focus on technology or hardware, for example, but actually, starting with the team should be your number one priority

David Armitt, Chief Executive, David Brown Santasalo

I assume a lot of that investment has also been in technology?

Absolutely, and there are a number of areas where we’re benefiting from technology investment in our defence and industrial businesses. We’ve invested in CRM and ERP systems, so that we can map where the installed base of our product is. That’s a very important aspect for us, because these are customers that we’ll serve in the future, and we have to make sure we’re responsive and proactive with them. Having CRM systems gives us the digital map for us to do that.

We've also invested in condition monitoring - using data from the systems as they’re operating. This allows us to look at early interventions, rather than waiting for breakdowns. We’re moving from reactive maintenance to preventative maintenance. And in reference to this site in Huddersfield, all of what I’ve already mentioned is built into the systems we use for defence, in terms of sensors and other technology.

On the industrial service side, we’re looking in to tools for diagnostics to try and make that process less labour intensive and turn it into an exceptional reporting system. This is where we’re starting to look at AI; asking ourselves what's the process? What data do we gather? And how do we learn from that data?

To get to that stage, however, we need to standardise a lot of the processes in the service business and across the service network - that's the next phase.

What is the company doing in terms of sustainability initiatives?

We committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) a few years ago, and we believe we were the first in our industry to do so. Our group target is a 54% reduction by 2032.

The reason for this commitment is because it is important to people; to our customers, who are looking for partners and

service providers that are committed, to the investment world and shareholders, and to the people working for us.

There has been recent news of some companies extending their net zero targets or even backing off all together. We won’t be doing that. A big part of our customer base want us to continue with our target.

Having set this, we have identified a number of projects and areas of improvement that could get us to our goal of a 54% reduction. We’ve already made it half way.

This has been partly due to new investments across the group. For DBS Industrial, we've got a new facility in Finland which is hydro powered, and one in China where 50% of the energy comes from solar.

The other reason this is important is it's going to cost you less in the long run. There is an initial cost of doing a sustainability project, but the net zero commitment makes financial sense for businesses in the long run.

What advice do you have for other manufacturing organisations?

It's all about the team. When conducting projects in parallel you create a lot of change. We've just done a systems upgrade, which went live at Easter, at the same time as we were expanding on-site; new buildings went up, new machines were coming online and there was training taking place.

Change is normal for manufacturing businesses. There has been so much uncertainty and disruption in the sector that companies have had to pivot and adapt. However, starting with a team that works well together and has a common goal and purpose makes this a whole lot easier.

It’s very easy, for example, to focus on technology or hardware. But actually, starting with the team should be your number one priority. That team can then identify the right technology or hardware, and implement it.

And you should always look for advice. At this site, we're talking with Strathclyde University's team about digital twinninglooking at the facility, and seeing how we could expand capacity in the most efficient way, rather than just sketching it out on a piece of paper.

We've done a lot with universities, including work on the test facility and technology. A lot of what we do in defence is about stealth, so getting their advice on that has been really helpful.

So, start with the team and then look for advice from others that are experts in whatever project you're looking at. l

FOCUS Q3

SMALL

POWERING PROGRESS

THE ROLE OF BATTERIES IN MODERN MANUFACTURING

In today’s world, the humble battery is taking centre stage - not just as a tool of convenience, but as a vital component of global infrastructure. At the heart of this shift is Alexander Battery Technologies (ABT), a UK-based manufacturer specialising in custom battery packs. James Devonshire reports

Speaking with Alex Stapleton, the company’s Chief Commercial Officer, it quickly became clear that batteries are no longer just about power - they’re about resilience, sustainability and strategic control.

From ‘nice-to-have’ to critical infrastructure

Traditionally viewed through a sustainability or ‘green tech’ lens, batteries have often been seen as optional enhancements rather than essentials. But recent global events - including infrastructure disruptions and cyber security threats - have changed that perception.

Alex explained that demand for batteries is increasingly driven by their role in maintaining critical services. Whether it’s communication systems, transportation networks or emergency systems, small-scale battery solutions can now mean the difference between continuity and crisis. He pointed to incidents like the unexpected outage in Spain, where small-scale battery storage could have mitigated the impacts on subways and communication channels.

“What we’re seeing is a shift from batteries being seen as helpful to being recognised as essential,” he noted. “This changes the nature of procurement discussions - it’s no longer about whether the price is right, but whether the supply is secure and the system is resilient.”

Manufacturing stability in unstable times

The conversation turned to the idea of using battery packs to support manufacturing operations themselves - particularly in regions where power outages are common. While largescale manufacturing sites with critical heat or pressure-based processes make headlines when they shut down,

LEFT: ABT products now span the full spectrum of energy storage needs — from small handheld devices to high-power robotics and off-road vehicles

Alex emphasised that the majority of manufacturers are operating on a much smaller scale.

“In many cases, you don’t need a massive battery solution to keep things running. A lot of battery manufacturing still involves manual processes - wiring, welding, assembly - none of which demand huge amounts of power. So for SMEs, deploying a well-sized battery pack can provide hours of uninterrupted productivity,” he said.

This growing awareness of energy resilience is creating new demand across both developed and emerging markets, where a modest investment in battery storage can yield major operational advantages.

The cyber security angle Manufacturing has overtaken finance as the most targeted industry for cyber attacks, and Alex sees this as another opportunity where battery packs play an important role - particularly in protecting communications and infrastructure.

ABT is currently pursuing ISO 27001 certification, underscoring its commitment to cyber security - a reflection of the increasing technological sophistication of batteries themselves. Modern battery packs now often include communication protocols such as CAN or SMBus, and around 20% of the company’s designs incorporate wireless communications.

“As soon as you introduce wireless capabilities, you’re introducing vulnerabilities,” he said. “Whether it’s an electric vehicle or a drone, the battery is now part of the connected ecosystemand it needs to be secure to prevent things

What we’re seeing is a shift from batteries being seen as helpful to being recognised as essential

Alex Stapleton, Chief Commercial Officer, ABT

ABOVE: The EV-Flex laser welder BELOW: The production floor

like unauthorised access to the device.”

For manufacturers relying on batterysupported systems to maintain uptime during outages or cyber incidents, this adds another layer of complexity - and another reason to choose suppliers who understand the risks.

Driving sustainability through innovation No conversation about batteries is complete without addressing sustainability. Alex readily acknowledged the challenges associated with battery materials and production, especially when it comes to older technologies or high-impact mining practices. But he also highlighted the progress being made across the sector.

ABT holds ISO 14001 certification for environmental management and takes a dual approach to sustainability: raising the ‘floor’ through efficiency improvements and resource reductions, while also raising the ‘ceiling’ by partnering with recyclers and offering customers take-back programmes.

“We’re seeing huge advances in recycling. The best recyclers are now recovering up to 98% of battery material, including the electronics. In many cases, the electronic components outlive the battery cells themselves and can be reused in future builds,” he explained. Moreover, customer demand is pushing sustainability up the agenda. Large buyers, particularly those with mature ESG strategies, are now requiring recycled content in their supply chains.

In many ways, the battery is becoming the brain and backbone of modern products

Alex

ABT is already seeing this in tenders and specifications - an early sign of a shift that’s likely to accelerate under tightening EU regulations.

The custom advantage

One of ABT’s key differentiators is its focus exclusively on custom battery packs. While many competitors offer off-the-shelf solutions, ABT believes that customisation delivers greater value, especially in terms of design efficiency, supply chain control and long-term support.

Stapleton, Chief Commercial Officer, ABT

“Custom batteries give our customers control over their product lifecycle. If you’re relying on a standard battery and the supplier decides to discontinue it, you could be left scrambling to redesign your device. With a custom solution, you own the spec, you manage the risk,” Alex explained.

Design aesthetics and user experience are also drivers. Products with strict form factors - from handheld devices to highperformance tools - benefit from batteries that are shaped and styled to match.

Moreover, for companies with scale, custom batteries can actually be more cost-effective. By controlling the bill of materials and eliminating unnecessary features, manufacturers can optimise their designs and often lower the unit price.

A strategic shift in supply chains

Another area where ABT is gaining traction is tariff mitigation. The company is increasingly helping customers, particularly in the UK and US, to avoid punitive tariffs on Chinese-sourced batteries by demonstrating substantial transformation in the UK.

“Our customers can often qualify for ‘Made in UK’ designation, even if some materials originate overseas,” Alex explained. “The key is that most of the value-add - the design, assembly and testing - happens here in the UK. For a specific case, we will be able to validate that through HRMC to support official status.”

This capability has become a strategic differentiator. In 2024 alone, several customers switched to ABT primarily to navigate tariff complexity - a trend likely to continue as geopolitical uncertainty grows.

But tariff strategy is only one part of the equation. Alex also points to the fragility of global supply chains as another reason why UK manufacturing is enjoying a resurgence.

“Shipping delays, long lead times and unpredictable regulations make domestic sourcing more attractive. With ABT, UK and European customers can move from a 12-week shipping cycle to a monthly or even weekly cadence,” he said.

For SMEs, this improves cash flow, responsiveness and resilience - a compelling trio in today’s volatile market.

From design to delivery

ABT’s process starts with a customer brief - sometimes a detailed 40-page specification, other times just a few bullet points on voltage, capacity and size constraints. From there, the company

BELOW: One of ABT’s key differentiators is its focus exclusively on custom battery packs

RIGHT: Alexander Battery Technologies may not be a household name, but it’s a recognised leader in the world of custom battery solutions

builds out an agreed scope of work, collaborates with the customer’s engineers and finalises the product design before validation or production begins.

This collaborative model gives ABT an edge in time-to-market and long-term service. The average customer relationship spans seven to ten years, reflecting the relatively slow pace of battery product cycles - especially in non-consumer markets.

“Battery designs don’t change often,” said Alex. “Whether it’s a power tool, a medical device or a drone, customers want consistency and reliability. That’s what we deliver.”

A quiet giant in battery manufacturing

Founded over 40 years ago, Alexander Battery Technologies may not be a household name, but it’s a recognised leader in the world of custom battery solutions. With manufacturing operations based in the north east of England, the

company is well-positioned to offer both engineering excellence and costcompetitive solutions for OEMs across Europe and North America.

Its products now span the full spectrum of energy storage needs - from small handheld devices to high-power robotics and off-road vehicles. The company’s largest pack to date clocks in at 14 kilowatt-hours and includes thousands of individual cells - a far cry from the AApowered devices of decades past.

For Alex, the mission is clear: to help customers navigate a fast-changing energy landscape with smarter, more resilient and more sustainable battery systems.

“In many ways, the battery is becoming the brain and backbone of modern products,” he said. “It’s where performance, design, sustainability and security all converge - and we’re proud to be at the forefront of that transformation.” l

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Batteries are now critical infrastructure - essential for resilience in manufacturing, transport and communications

• Energy resilience boosts productivity – small battery packs can keep SMEs running during outages

• Cyber security matters – connected batteries must be secured against growing cyber threats

• Sustainability is rising – recycling advances and ESG demands are reshaping battery design

• Custom solutions give supply chain control – UK-made, tailored batteries cut lead times and avoid tariff risks

YASA’S AXIAL FLUX MOTORS TORQUE OF THE TOWN

Back in May, The Manufacturer travelled to Yarnton to visit axial flux electric motors and controllers manufacturer, YASA. While there, Molly Cooper spoke with Tim Woolmer, Founder and CTO and Richard Firmstone, Operations Director at YASA, about the company’s journey and how it’s going to take advantage of the hybrid vehicle market

YASA is transforming electric drive technology by developing advanced axial flux motors for electric and hybrid vehicles, delivering up to four times the performance of conventional radial flux motors while remaining compact, lightweight and thermally efficient.

Following a multi-million-pound investment, the company has enhanced its manufacturing capabilities with four newly constructed coil and bar production cells, equipped with state-of-the-art CNC winding, automated impregnation and laser stripping processes.

The integration of cutting-edge coordinate measuring technology enables rotor balancing with six times greater accuracy, increasing reliability, repeatability and production flexibility. These advancements help eliminate component bottlenecks and ensure full traceability across every motor built.

Now part of the Mercedes-Benz Group, YASA is scaling its operations to produce over 25,000 high-performance motors annually, bringing its technology to current and future partners.

Where it began

Back in 2003, Tim Wooler, Founder and CTO of YASA, was a young engineering

student about to begin his fourth-year project, only to find that he was the only student out of 150 to not be allocated one.

“I was tasked to go and find a subject I wanted to study and as an engineer, I was interested in why there were no electric cars. Beginning my research, I found that the batteries being used at the time only had a range of 60 miles and every vehicle that had been made back then, had failed or crashed,” he explained.

Tim began a PhD project with a supervisor at the university, to develop electric motors and propulsion technologies for electric vehicles. The first stage was focused on a hydrogen vehicle and Tim began to look at axial flux motors.

A few weeks into his PhD, Tim stumbled onto the idea for YASA, the product, and he continued to spend the next three years of his PhD researching this new kind of electric motor.

"I learned that if you consider the pure physics - ignoring manufacturing constraints - and compare the material usage in a radial flux machine versus an axial flux alternative, the axial flux design should be about one-third the size for delivering the same torque. In other words, for the same physical volume, an axial flux machine can deliver roughly three times the torque and power of a radial flux machine,” explained Tim.

This got Tim interested as well as the university, which was happy to kick-start the company on the journey of building and creating axial flux motor technology.

Unique in the market

YASA technology is unique within the electric motor market yet the company does have its competitors. As it stands, YASA is the only axial flux manufacturer with any significant volume of its motors in the automotive industry. When compared to other axial flux technologies, YASA’s is about half the volume meaning significantly smaller diameter and smaller axial length for the same form.

around. This removes the need for the heavy stator yoke, cutting iron weight from about 25kg (like in a Tesla motor) to just 3kg. It also uses flat, edge-wound coils instead of bulky end windings, making it more compact, easier to cool and more precise. That means better performance, lighter weight and smarter use of materials,” said Tim.

Big customers

“What makes this motor special is its design as it uses two rotors on either side of the stator, so the magnetic flux travels straight through instead of looping 63

LEFT: With the opening of the world’s most advanced axial flux electric motor manufacturing facility, YASA is now taking its operational strategy to the next level

YASA has big customers within the automotive industry, including Ferrari which approached YASA with some unique challenges. The iconic Italian manufacturer wanted to meet specific performance characteristics, but within a small package size. “Given the features of the vehicle, in partnership with them, we were able to meet the challenges that they believed were impossible, having gone to the wider marketplace. This was an exciting customer experience, where we were able to solve the problems for them. Now we're in 75% of the electrified Ferrari portfolio,” said Richard Firmstone, Operations Director at YASA.

In addition, working within the Mercedes portfolio has provided YASA with financial stability that also unlocks the possibility to work with the likes of Lamborghini and Ferrari. “It allows us to create a cutting-edge infrastructure

As a company, we have come a long way since our humble origin as an Oxford University startup. However, we are still driven by the same passion, spirit and determination to create the world’s most advanced electric mobility technology solutions

Tim Woolmer, Founder and CTO, YASA

The change for us is welcoming relationships with people who come to us for solutions on a hybrid strategy that they don’t have

Richard Firmstone, Operations Director, YASA

within manufacturing to be able to face the challenges that they need us to be able to deliver against,” Richard added.

Electric motor market

ABOVE RIGHT: The high-tech 60,000ft2 YASA facility in Yarnton, near Oxford, incorporates cutting-edge manufacturing technologies designed specifically to meet YASA’s requirements

The electrification space is evolving and it’s being driven by legislation. Yet, from Richard’s point of view, market uptake, dynamics and infrastructure to support full electric is slowing. But for YASA, this isn’t an issue; as a business its products support both full electric and hybrid automotive models.

“The market dynamic isn't harmful for us because we are working on future technology that is going to be built into full electric vehicles and existing technology that is already going into high-performance hybrid vehicles. The change for us is welcoming relationships with people who come to us for solutions on a hybrid strategy that they don’t have. But we're maturing our product portfolio and manufacturing capabilities to be able to service full electric when that comes,” said Richard.

Obviously one key issue for electric vehicles is range and this can be influenced by many factors, one of which is weight. YASA products are lighter, higher in performance and have better power density than other electric motors. Yet, most of the weight doesn't come from the motor, it comes from the battery, and if a vehicle is consuming less power, it can

operate on a smaller battery. And, YASA has continued to increase performance capability of its motors each year.

“The original prototype Tim created during his PhD, was around one kilowatt per kilogram. Now, we’re 15 times that in terms of our performance characteristics for the products we're making and selling right now,” explained Richard.

Why not YASA?

If YASA’s motors are smaller, lighter and perform better, why isn’t every electric automotive company using them?

According to Richard, the technology used to make YASA motors are far from commoditisation. “Radial flux motors are long established and being used within the automotive industry and other motor applications, globally. The materials that are used within those are readily available in the supply chain. The

RIGHT: YASA’s recent £12m investment boosts its manufacturing capacity, setting new benchmarks in e-motor technology and enabling production to scale beyond 25,000 units per year

production processes also do not need to be as precise, therefore, creating a cost challenge between radial flux and axial flux motors,” explained Richard. This is a limiting factor in bringing the axial flux motor application into the mass market.

Right now, axial flux motors solve the problems of power to weight ratio and package size if that’s critical to the architecture of the vehicle, making them ideal for high-performance vehicles, but due to cost, they aren’t a mass market option. However: “Our next product iterations will open up a whole new level of opportunities,” Richard added.

Key areas

Digitalising processes has been an ongoing journey for many manufacturers, looking at what data their processes are creating and how they can utilise it. “One of the key drivers for change was the ability to have full traceability in a digital platform. The design of the new manufacturing process enables us to capture all the key data and send that into the digital cloud,” said Richard.

From there, YASA can extract that information. This could be the performance characteristics that would be needed to provide the genealogy of the product, the appropriate process controls or the statistical process control (SPC) charts used to monitor the performance and health of an engine. All this can be used to improve future performance.

The materials used within YASA products are quite simple and therefore, they have had minimal supply disruptions, unlike the rest of the sector in this difficult geopolitical climate. Although not massively significant or causing disruption, sometimes issues do arise, however. “The simplicity of our materials make any issues less disruptive, however over time there have been some issues that have arisen which have required navigation. We’ve tackled these head on,” said Richard.

Regarding its sustainability strategies, YASA is in a formative stage in the goals its setting for itself and how it goes forward when opening and extending its supply chain. “We have a product that is going into a more sustainable energy footprint, but we recognise that what we're supplying now is being bolted to a combustion engine which is using a limited fuel source,” he explained.

Evolution of electric

By the end of 2025, YASA will be turning out 25,000 units per annum, based on its current operations of a two-shift structure. “We've got a market demand that will require that volume over the course of next year and we have the ability to grow that without investment, by utilising the available capacity,” said Richard.

In terms of growing its customer base, YASA has already had contact with groups that don’t have a hybridisation strategy in place and now need one. “They have contacted us because we’re uniquely placed with the ability to offer off-the-shelf products that could solve their problems with the current change of strategies they're going through,” explained Richard.

He also expects to see growth within the next period as YASA will be continuing to deal with the slowdown of full electrification and take advantage of hybridisation. l

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• YASA is leading the transformation of electric drive systems with compact, lightweight axial flux motors that outperform traditional radial flux designs

• Now part of Mercedes-Benz Group, YASA has scaled up its advanced manufacturing capabilities to produce 25,000 motors annually, serving elite clients like Ferrari.

• YASA’s motors are uniquely suited for high-performance hybrid vehicles due to their reduced size, thermal efficiency and torque output which is critical for OEMs with space and weight constraints.

• Despite higher production precision and cost barriers, YASA’s technology is attracting automakers without a hybrid strategy because of its off-the-shelf solutions and hybridready designs

• By digitising manufacturing processes and prioritising sustainability, YASA is positioning itself to support both current hybrid demands and the long-term shift to full electrification

ON THEIR A-GAME

REDEFINING MATERIAL HANDLING

Few companies can claim to be the global reference point for a component that’s largely invisible to the everyday eye. Yet Alwayse Engineering, a British manufacturer headquartered in Birmingham, has done exactly that for 85 years. The company specialises in ball transfer units, a deceptively simple device that enables frictionless, omnidirectional movement. But as Managing Director Claire Umney explained, there’s far more going on beneath the surface. James Devonshire reports

Founded in 1939 and still operating from its original base in Aston, Alwayse has carved out a unique niche in the world of material handling. Its ball transfer units - load-bearing spheres supported by smaller bearings - are used in applications as diverse as air cargo terminals, e-commerce packing stations, industrial machinery, coffee machines and even robotics.

“What we are experts in,” Claire explained, “is designing and manufacturing units of all sizes, but also engineering the wider solutions into which those units are implemented. We’re about solving real-world movement challenges - often in tight spaces, heavyload applications or high-frequency use cases.”

The company offers products ranging from miniature units no larger than a fingernail, to heavy-duty versions capable of supporting ten tonnes each. These can be mounted in various ways and are usually used in sets, allowing significant weight distribution and smooth movement across surfaces.

What makes Alwayse truly distinctive is that the company designs, manufactures and quality-tests every product in-house. “We own our product from end-to-end,” Claire said. “That control over the process means the knowledge and experience we’ve built up over decades goes directly into our solutions.”

Applied ingenuity

Alwayse’s reputation for quality and reliability has made it a go-to supplier for clients with unusual or complex movement problems. Some of these, Claire hinted, are still in sensitive prototype phases. But she shared several examples that illustrate the company’s knack for lateral thinking.

One particularly striking application can be found beneath London’s Millennium Bridge. When the structure first opened in 2000, it made headlines for an unexpected ‘wobble’ that left pedestrians feeling queasy. Alwayse was brought in to help stabilise the bridge’s motion. The solution involved custom-designed ball transfer units - each capable of supporting ten tonnes - engineered specifically for this high-load, precision application.

ABOVE: Ball transfer units are deceptively simple devices that enable frictionless, omnidirectional movement

BELOW: Birmingham-headquartered Alwayse has been in business since 1939

We own our product from end-toend - that control means decades of knowledge go directly into our solutions

Claire Umney, MD, Alwayse

Other unconventional uses include the handling of pipes within pipes for subsea operations, and even a mobility aid designed for a turtle that lost a leg - a testament to the adaptability of the technology and the creative thinking of the team.

This ability to blend off-the-shelf capability with bespoke problem-solving has made Alwayse a quiet powerhouse in the world of engineering. “We’re often approached not just because we have a range of products, but because we’re

People want to work with peopleshowing our human face sends a strong message about who we are

Claire Umney, MD, Alwayse

willing and able to design something completely new if that’s what the challenge requires,” said Claire.

Proudly British, globally present

Despite its strong local roots, Alwayse is truly global in its reach. The company exports to over 70 countries, and its units are used by manufacturers and infrastructure operators around the world. It’s a powerful reminder that British

ABOVE: Alwayse offers products ranging from miniature units to heavy-duty versions capable of supporting ten tonnes each

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Engineering expertise with global reach: Alwayse leads the world in ball transfer units, exporting to 70+ countries while manufacturing entirely in the UK

• Innovation through bespoke problem-solving: the company blends standard products with custom-engineered solutions for complex, high-load and unusual applications

• People-first culture: strong focus on staff recognition, retention and engagement drives innovation and attracts new talent

• Building future skills and diversity: active in schools, apprenticeships and outreach, with a commitment to improving gender representation in engineering

• Agile growth strategy: expanding internationally, investing in smart manufacturing and adapting to market shifts to sustain long-term competitiveness

engineering still carries considerable weight in global supply chainsparticularly when quality and reliability are non-negotiable.

“We’re very proud to wave the flag for British manufacturing,” said Claire. “And we’re equally proud that our products are known and trusted internationally.”

That trust is supported not just by product performance, but by the company's end-to-end control of design and production. This vertically integrated model enables Alwayse to maintain rigorous quality standards, respond quickly to bespoke requests and offer long-term value to its customers.

As part of its international growth plans, the company is currently working closely with the Department for Business and Trade and the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce to identify and expand into new overseas markets - a process that involves not just exporting products, but also exporting confidence in British engineering capability.

Engineering a culture of engagement

While Alwayse is known for mechanical precision, its internal culture is anything but cold or clinical. In fact, one of the most noticeable aspects of the companyparticularly to visitors to its website or social media channels - is its people-first ethos.

Updates on staff promotions, new joiners and apprenticeships feature prominently, and that’s by design. “I’m a firm believer that a business is made by the people within it,” Claire added. “So creating a culture where people feel valued, motivated and able to bring their creativity to work is absolutely central to our success.”

That culture has paid off. The company enjoys exceptionally high staff retention and prides itself on fostering an environment where energy and innovation are encouraged. Claire views internal recognition as important, but external visibility is just as crucial - particularly in attracting new talent.

“People want to work with people,” she said. “When potential recruits or customers see that we’re a business with a human face - one that invests in and celebrates its team - it sends a strong message about who we are.”

Building the pipeline: skills and inclusion Like many in the sector, Alwayse is acutely aware of the need to build a pipeline of future talent. The company actively

participates in outreach programmes such as Make UK’s National Manufacturing Day and works with local schools to introduce students to engineering through hands-on experiences.

These aren’t token gestures. Students who visit Alwayse get a full-day immersion into various departments - from CAD design to CNC machining to international sales. They leave not only with insights, but often with a keyring they’ve made themselves on the shop floor. The company also supports A-level students with part-time work placements and welcomes children or grandchildren of employees for summer jobs, ensuring manufacturing stays visible and accessible.

For Claire, visibility is particularly important when it comes to gender diversity. As a senior female leader in a traditionally male-dominated sector, she is candid about both the challenges and opportunities of improving representation.

“Throughout my career - starting in logistics in the 1990s - I was often the only woman in the room,” she reflected. “I had some great role models, many of them men, but we still need more visible women in engineering.”

Her solution? Start early. “We need to reach girls before they make their postGCSE decisions and show them all the different ways they can enter engineering - apprenticeships, A-levels, vocational courses and degrees. But they have to choose it first, and that comes through exposure and encouragement.”

Claire also emphasised the importance of showcasing female engineers during open days and school visits, so girls can picture themselves in similar roles. “I ask for a 50/50 gender split when we host students, and I make sure our female engineers are visible during the visit,” she said.

Responding to the Industrial Strategy

The recent launch of the UK government’s new Industrial Strategy was another area where Claire had clear views. While she welcomed the document as a longoverdue framework, she felt it needed more targeted support for SMEs.

“Over 90% of British manufacturers are SMEs,” she pointed out. “So while the strategy addressed many important themes - skills, innovation, investment and regional decision-making - I’d like to see more depth in how it will support companies like ours.”

Being a British manufacturer isn’t easy - it takes resilience, innovation and a strong sense of purpose

Claire Umney, MD, Alwayse

BELOW: Alwayse ball transfer units in action at Bogota Airport in Colombia

She praised the paper’s optimistic tone and emphasis on public-private collaboration but noted that its impact would depend entirely on implementation. “You don’t just write a strategy and file it away. You have to act on it - and make sure the SME community is part of that action.”

Smart manufacturing and the path ahead Earlier this year, Claire chaired a roundtable discussion on automation and AI at Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit, part of Smart Manufacturing Week. Her key takeaway? SMEs are engaged and curious but need more support to implement these technologies meaningfully.

“There’s a real appetite to adopt digital tools, especially AI,” she said. “But there’s also uncertainty around how to start, what the risks are and how to fund it. Events like the summit are great for knowledgesharing and networking, but we need to keep that momentum going.”

As for what’s next at Alwayse, the company is maintaining a multi-channel growth strategy. This includes launching new products, exploring new international markets, recruiting apprentices and partnering with Aston University on a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project. In Claire’s view, agility and diversification are now essential for manufacturers seeking sustainable growth.

“Being a British manufacturer isn’t easy - it takes resilience, innovation and a strong sense of purpose,” she said. “But it’s also incredibly rewarding. There’s absolutely still a place for us on the world stage.” l

Jeremy Dee is Managing Director of Swizzels Matlow, a leading confectionery manufacturer. He spoke with The Manufacturer about how the business is transforming its forecast accuracy while reducing planning time from days to hours

IT MUST BE LOVE

Data at the heart of production planning

Refreshers, Drumstick lollies, Love Hearts and Parma Violets; all iconic sweets we know and love, are made by Swizzels Matlow, commonly known as Swizzels. Founded in London in 1928 by brothers Alfred and Maurice Matlow, the British confectionery company is now nearly 100 years old. In 1940, it relocated to New Mills, Derbyshire, where it continues to operate today.

This makes Swizzels one of the oldest and largest independent sweet manufacturers in the UK, still run by the third generation of the founding families.

To thrive for nearly a century, a company must continuously innovate and evolve and Swizzels has done just that.

Like many manufacturers, Swizzels faced a critical challenge shared by numerous manufacturers of all sizes: having valuable data trapped in systems that can’t talk to each other. Despite having solid systems, the company spent a significant amount of time manually compiling reports for production planning and forecasting.

Like a third of manufacturing leaders, Swizzels recognised that automation gaps were hindering productivity. “Our teams were doing everything right with the tools they had, but we recognised that there was an untapped opportunity to connect our data more effectively across departments,” said Jeremy. He added that this disconnect was costing the company time, efficiency and ultimately, competitive advantage.

It was then that the company decided to embark on a digital transformation programme and partner with external expertise to transform how it uses its existing data. By focusing on integration rather than new technology, Swizzels has unlocked insights that have fundamentally changed production planning and forecasting capabilities.

Jeremy continued: “This journey taught us that manufacturing’s digital future isn't about having the latest tech or more data; it's about making the data you already have work harder for you. For us, this lesson has reshaped everything from daily operations to long-term strategy.”

How data transformed manufacturing operations

Swizzels’ journey to become a data-driven business began with a discovery phase that revealed several issues and highlighted what was possible with the right processes. Throughout the years, the company has always been forward-thinking enough as a business to invest in good technology infrastructure. However, with different departments each maintaining their own data, it was becoming difficult to get company-wide understanding of operations and effectively forecast manufacturing.

“Early in our strategy roadmap, we focussed on getting the basics right and made sure to plan effectively in a phased approach,” Jeremy continued. “Essentially, we needed real-time visibility and this required automated reporting systems. When analysing our sales reporting, what should have been a straightforward process was regularly consuming a significant amount of time.”

We’ve liberated our teams from timeconsuming manual processes, enabling them to focus on more valuable strategic work

Jeremy Dee, Managing Director, Swizzels Matlow

Jeremy explained that the long-term goal for the company was always to innovate and push boundaries, and to unlock Swizzels’ full potential through data. However, to achieve this, it first needed to lay down the right foundations. Working with external expertise, Swizzels consolidated all its data into a single, reliable framework and established a data-driven culture. Only then could it move beyond manual processes and start using data as a strategic tool.

Building a data-driven culture alongside digital transformation

The solution wasn't just better technology; it was also to rethink the way the company worked with its data. Swizzels started by automating its reporting systems and giving teams unified access to accurate and up-to-date information. However, the real breakthrough came when the company shifted from collecting data to actively using it.

Building internal expertise here was also crucial as the team needed to understand and manage each step of the process to ensure progress was being made. Through training teams to interpret and apply insights in their work, Swizzels easily implemented improvements to planning cycles, enabling greater efficiency. “We had the right technology and a willing team, but the transformation occurred when we moved beyond merely possessing data to leveraging it strategically,” Jeremy added.

“By bridging the gap between technical capabilities and business objectives, we have unlocked new possibilities for our products. Previously, supply challenges arose because we lacked the insights to forecast demand accurately. With our new data-driven approach, we can now better meet customer demand while optimising production efficiency.”

Why embracing automation has improved ways of working

The impact that this transformation has had on the team at Swizzels has been profound, and the company has managed to fundamentally reshape how the organisation operates. Most importantly, the team has been liberated from time-consuming manual processes, enabling them to focus on more valuable strategic work – a change that employees have welcomed.

Working with the digital transformation team at digital transformation and AI specialist, Anumana, Swizzels followed a structured approach that first consolidated data sources and then analysed the information to identify the most promising opportunities for improvement.

Hemant Patel, CEO of Anumana, commented: “The work at Swizzels wasn't about implementing new technology - it was about unlocking value from systems they'd already invested in. The real challenge wasn't technical but organisational: bridging disconnected data sources to create unified visibility across production and sales.

“What made this project successful was our focus on measurable outcomes rather than technology for technology's sake. By automating manual reporting processes, we reduced forecast preparation time from days to hours, as well as building and testing a model to improve forecast accuracy. This, in turn, directly impacts production planning, inventory costs and the ability to meet demand for fast-growing product lines.

“The most valuable transformation was seeing Swizzels' team move from retrospective analysis to proactive decision-making. When you can confidently predict demand patterns and quickly adjust production schedules based on real-time data, that's when you see genuine business impact. This is exactly the kind of practical, outcome-focused digital transformation that delivers tangible ROI.”

Manufacturing’s digital future isn't about having the latest tech or more data; it's about making the data you already have work harder for you

Jeremy Dee, Managing Director, Swizzels Matlow

“This phased strategy has now allowed us to streamline our planning cycles dramatically while achieving noticeably more accurate forecasting across our production lines,” said Jeremy. The benefits have extended beyond simple efficiency gains, and Swizzels is now confident in its ability to respond quickly and accurately to market changes.

Of course, with a transformation on this scale, there has been some challenges. To alleviate this, the company deliberately introduced new systems gradually, working department by department to avoid overwhelming staff. Clear, consistent communication and training have proven to be essential - not just for successful adoption but to combat change exhaustion and ‘technology fatigue’ - consequences that emerge when implementing multiple new solutions simultaneously.

Jeremy added: “Our approach balanced hands-on support from technical specialists with deliberate efforts to build internal capabilities. This was to make sure that we didn’t simply trade one dependency for another, allowing an adjustment to make sure we were confident in maintaining this transformation independently.

“This has taught us that successful digital transformation requires more than just new technology. It demands careful change management, including ongoing collaboration between departments with willingness to adapt approaches based on the feedback you receive.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• One of Britain’s oldest confectionary manufacturers, Swizzels Matlow, faced a major challenge with disconnected data systems that limited automation and productivity across departments

• Jeremey Dee, Managing Director at Swizzels, found that by consolidating data and automating reporting, the business drastically reduced manual effort and improved real-time visibility for better forecasting

• The company realised that successful digital transformation required not just technology upgrades but building a datadriven culture with ongoing training and collaboration

• Partnering with external experts enabled Swizzels to unlock hidden value in existing systems and shift from reactive to proactive decisionmaking

• The transformation has enhanced forecast accuracy, streamlined planning cycles and increased Swizzels’ ability to respond swiftly to market demands

Ensuring long-term success

What began as an operational solution has now changed the way the company works. This process has shown Swizzels that lasting change comes from balancing transparency, collaboration across teams and the right partnerships. By maintaining open processes and working closely across teams, it has turned initial challenges into lasting opportunities - from upskilling the workforce to establishing true datadriven decision-making.

“Other manufacturers considering this path must take the time to understand where improvements are needed, defining clear objectives before choosing solutions in data optimisation. In following this approach, where change management receives equal focus to technology implementation, it delivers results that address core industry challenges,” Jeremy concluded.

He added that the outcome of this project will continue to deliver value through measurable improvements in forecast accuracy and efficiency. It is clear to see that the future of manufacturing is dependent on utilising data and maintaining operational flexibility. For Swizzels and the wider industry, this balanced method has also built on the company’s resilience while positioning its capabilities to make better decisions. l