Wigan manufacturers receive digitalisation funding boost

Made Smarter has helped 2,500 small and medium businesses across the region start their digital journey by providing specialist advice and a digital roadmap.

It has recently secured funding of £6.1m to continue providing support and aid growth of businesses.

More than 250 beneficiaries of the matched funding have invested in new technology, ranging from software and sensors to robotics and extended reality.

Allowing them to become more efficient, increase their productivity and grow sustainably. This has allowed manufacturers to create 1,250 jobs along with upskilling 2,300 existing roles.

Alain Dilworth, Programme Manager for the Made Smarter Adoption Programme in the North West, said: “I am delighted that the Government has recognised the extraordinary impact that Made Smarter’s adoption programme is having on digitalisation of SME businesses and the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies in the North West whilst continuing to fund our work for the next three years."

As a result, they can deliver an additional £176m in gross value to the region and help the UK meet it’s net zero target by 2050.

With further funding from the Government, Made Smarter can accelerate its drive to support more SME manufacturers in Wigan and Leigh.

Made Smarter’s simple and straight forward approach gets quickly to the heart of a business’s challenges and supports them to take that first step in their digital tranformation.

Registration takes only five minutes and is followed up with a digital transformation workshop, which will identify core challenges and provide a roadmap.

Expert advisors will then pinpoint other ways that the programme can support a company’s digitalisation including skills and leadership development.

Alain said: “While UK manufacturing navigated the pandemic and is working towards recovery, it is also bracing for further challenging times and economic bumps in the road ahead.

"Digital tools can help manufacturers make marginal savings, set themselves apart from competitors in a volatile time, and make products quicker, affordable and more efficiently.

“This new funding means we can renew our ambition to reach out to the region’s SME manufacturers to connect them to the tools that will make an everyday difference to their businesses”