Member Article

Advanced manufacturing expertise in spotlight at Northern Powerhouse Partnership roundtable

The future of advanced manufacturing across the North of England was placed under the spotlight at a roundtable hosted by The Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) at the Materials Processing Institute in Middlesbrough this week.

Inviting some big figures from the region’s manufacturing sector, including Justin Kelly, Head of Business Development at Siemens UK, and Dan Cochlin, Head of External Affairs at NPP, the roundtable considered the outlook for a range of manufacturing specialisms with the findings set to shape the NPP’s priorities over the coming years.

In particular, attendees discussed the impact of global digital innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) and their potential impact on the region’s prospects, as well as identifying current strengths for the sector as a whole.

Chris McDonald, Chief Executive of the Materials Processing Institute, commented: “The future of UK manufacturing has the potential to become a world leader, particularly with the emergence of innovative technologies and processes, so it is important to collaborate and utilise the resources we have.

“This will equip and quicken the adoption of these new technologies that will allow industry to develop innovative new products, while benefiting the wider economy in the process.”

Chaired by former Chancellor, George Osborne, the NPP was set up to explore ways to strengthen the North’s economy and harness its expertise to ensure the region has a bigger impact on the UK economy as a whole.

Related to this week’s roundtable, the NPP’s Independent Economic Review has already identified the North’s current expertise in using manufacturing to develop cutting-edge products, including 2D materials and high-precision engineering, areas which should be built upon going forward.

The findings of the roundtable will now be channelled towards shaping the NPP’s efforts to develop practical, economically-viable ideas, McDonald said that he and the Institute were looking forward to more opportunities to develop these ideas.

He added: “We are grateful to the NPP for including the Institute in the discussions, which will help form its agenda to drive growth across the North, and look forward to future meetings with Government and members of industry to help deliver long-term economic prosperity.”