Member Article

Search is on for 50 manufacturing profit hunters

The Manufacturing Institute is inviting 50 small and medium sized manufacturing businesses to participate in the Manchester Profit Programme.

Funding is available to help Manchester’s manufacturers increase efficiency, drive sales and marketing, develop skills, unlock cashflow and boost innovation.

Companies are invited to participate in a fully funded business review session at their factory. This provides an opportunity to discuss current challenges with a seasoned manufacturing expert, who will listen carefully and then help create an action plan for immediate business performance improvement.

Manufacturers can then tap into subsidised support and advice to help deliver improvements and increase profits, including developing the skills of their management teams.

Among the first participants is Wythenshawe-based IMI Scott. Bob Howe, Operations Director, said: “The free review worked very well and the report contained useful guidance. This type of benchmarking is highly valuable – it’s good to have a fresh perspective on how we measure up against other manufacturers. The Manufacturing Institute has since delivered four days of subsidised coaching on workplace organisation, which will underpin our improvement efforts.”

Steve Mullen, Process improvement engineer for Oldham-based Dynamic Controls said: “The Manufacturing Institute has helped us hugely, particularly by opening our eyes to the areas where we can improve. In just one day, the practitioner got to grips with our business and the challenges we face. His report was valuable and highlighted plenty of new opportunities for improvement. We’ve since had follow-up training to enable us to establish the foundations we need to drive best practice in our company.”

Pauline Stevenson, Operations manager for AT Engine Controls, Worsley, added: “The one-day business review was really valuable: it helped us to focus on where we are now and where we need to be. The Manufacturing Institute’s practitioner was very knowledgeable and identified many opportunities where we could improve our processes and workflow.”

The Manufacturing Institute, which is the UK’s longest established charity focused on the manufacturing sector, is funding the £2.4 million Profit Programme. This is matched by support from the European Regional Development Fund. Julie Madigan, Chief Executive of The Manufacturing Institute, said: “We know that Manchester manufacturers will benefit greatly from this project because it’s based on a system we have perfected over the past 20 years. In the past decade alone our seasoned business and manufacturing professionals have shared their wisdom and brainpower with 4,000 manufacturing businesses to generate a £1.1 billion profit boost for manufacturers .”

Further information: www.manchesterprofitprogramme.co.uk 0161 875 2525

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by The Manufacturing Institute .