North West leaders have praised the role of the Made Smarter North West Adoption Programme in supporting economic growth plans for the region.

Metro Mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram spoke at the Made Smarter: journey to digital manufacturing conference on Wednesday.

They were among 44 experts and panellists sharing their insights and experiences at the virtual summit attended by 300 delegates from across the country.

Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “Greater Manchester led the first industrial revolution and there’s no reason why we cannot lead the fourth, that will increase our productivity, clean up our air and our environment and meet our climate targets.

“The next industrial revolution will look to digitalisation and decarbonisation as twin forces that will shape industry for the rest of this century. Being a leader in both those areas will make this city region a leader globally.

“Made Smarter brings all these things together and looks at how we would support our traditional manufacturing base to become zero-carbon and fully digital and realise the productivity benefits that will come from that, but also the savings that will come from being more efficient and smarter in the way we operate.”

Meanwhile, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, highlighted how Made Smarter aligned with ambitious projects including the Future Innovation Fund, the new Liverpool Manufacturing Technology Centre, plans for a National Packaging Innovation Centre, and a £30 million partnership to deliver ultrafast digital infrastructure.

Opening the conference, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng underlined the importance of manufacturing through the pandemic and the UK’s drive towards recovery, growth and net zero.

“Made Smarter has a critically important part to play in all of these targets,” he said. “Industry leaders have made clear that digital technology is vital to recovery and to the growth of UK manufacturing and they are all backing Made Smarter to achieve this.”

The theme of collaboration was prevalent throughout the conference.

A panel discussion featuring industry leaders Juergen Maier, Chair of the Digital Catapult and co-Chair of the Made Smarter Commission, Stephen Phipson, the Chief Executive of Make UK, Andrea Hough, MD of Salford-based Atec Solutions and member of the Made Smarter Pilot Steering Group and Made Smarter Commission, and Glyn Jones, Service Delivery Director at Lancashire-based BAE Systems and Chair of the Made Smarter Pilot Steering Group, Donna Edwards, Managing Director of the Growth Company and Made Smarter North West Adoption Programme Director, and Matt Ellis, Assistant Director of Made Smarter for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), concluded that collaboration from the factory to floor all the way up to government was key to powering forward the post-pandemic recovery and capitalising on the opportunity of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Meanwhile, dozens of North West SME manufacturers shared their inspirational stories working with the Made Smarter North West Adoption programme, which has engaged with 1,200 businesses in the region so far and is aiming to help hundreds more as part of a £8M government rollout.

Keith Scobie-Youngs of Cumbria Clock Company based in Penrith, Peter Saunders of MacKinnon and Saunders in Altrincham, Rod Wah of Beverston Engineering in Knowsley, and Luke Walsh of Brainboxes in Liverpool, spoke of the benefits of adopting technology. While Julian Lopez of Storth in Holme, Patrick Mroczak of Nutree Life in Burscough, Louise Ray of Plastic Card Services in Macclesfield, Chris Lever of Bindatex in Bolton, and Fadi Jarad of Sandstone Wirral in Heswall, shared their experiences of how technology had helped them navigate the pandemic.

Luke Walsh, Managing Director of Brainboxes, an electronics manufacturer based in Liverpool, said: “Made Smarter gave us huge help understanding where we could apply technology to improve the business.

“My advice to other manufacturers is that even in challenging times it’s important to think about process improvement. Made Smarter does not preach, they show you options. Ultimately Made Smarter saves you money, improves your bottom line and gets you more customers.”

Another session focussed on upskilling workforces featured Sarah Poynter of Arden Dies in Stockport, who has enrolled on the Made Smarter Leadership Programme, developed in partnership with Lancaster University Management School, and Rebecca Lee-Panton of Fabricon Design in Ashton-under-Lyne who has benefited from accessing Made Smarter’s digital technology internship programme.

A sustainable manufacturing panel featured Ben Horne of Crystal Doors in Rochdale, Phil Milar of Creative Apparel in Stockport, Jamie Baxter of DA Techs in Chorley, and David Reardon of Bloom-in-Box in Burscough, and a roundtable on the importance of customer trust included Steve Wood of Parity Medical on the Wirral, Sean Parnaby of Contactless Check Solutions in Maryport, Karen Callard of Starlight Bedrooms in Bolton, and Noel Doyle of Organica UK in Birkenhead.

There was also an interactive session to give manufacturers a taste of Made Smarter’s digital transformation workshop featuring Andrea Kuehne of DRM Industrial Fabrics in Bury, and Ben Soper of Stead McAlpin & Company in Carlisle.