The Manufacturer Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Manufacturer
Where The Manufacturer gives voice to the inspiring people in the manufacturing sector, in the UK and beyond.
Here's another episode of The Manufacturer Podcast for you, listener. Our brand spanking new Technology Series is sponsored by Sugar CRM.
CEO of Sugar CRM is joined by Paul Black, former CEO and Founder of sales-i, recently acquired by Sugar. They tell us about the delivery of their AI-powered revenue intelligence that leverages the data of a business’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and CRM.
We browse the latest news in manufacturing, with companies such as Akzo Nobel, Samuel Taylor Limited and Greggs getting a mention.
And with a whole month of international football coming up, a couple of our editorial team are positively gripped by Euros fever.
The editorial team of The Manufacturer brings you this special episode from the show floor of Smart Factory Expo at Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2024.
Listen to some of their show highlights, as well as a few of the brilliant minds, solutions and initiatives that are at the forefront of UK manufacturing today.
They also discuss the triumphant delivery of the annual late night kebab, and stay tuned until the end to hear an authentic tale from our 'Made by a Moron' archives, all the way from The Philippines. "Gawang tanga!"
This is an interview with Richard Noble OBE, the land speed world record holder between 1983-1997. Richard, as project director of Thrust SCC, set the record again in October 1997 with Andy Green as the driver - a record that still stands today.
Now, Richard and the Thrust WSH team are in the early stages of attempting something even harder, the water speed record.
However, the project has a long way to go – speaking to us just before Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2024, Richard says that the first, vital step of the project is an education programme linked to the science and technology which will be used for the boat.
He is urging all in the industry to fill in a survey that was launched in the build up to Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2024.
Click here to participate in the survey
This is our last episode before Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week, where we very much hope to be saying hello to you, listener.
In today's episode, Joe, James and Molly remind Tom of all the things that could have killed him during his recent trip to Perth, Western Australia.
Listen back to some of the brilliant technology start-ups that were present at last year's show, and could be making a return to SMEW 2024 next week.
And in this week's 'Made by a Moron,' the gang complain about hand luggage weight limits on airplanes.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Archives, we interview David Pownall, Vice President of Services for Schneider Electric in the UK and Ireland.
This interview was conducted from Schneider's Connected Services Hub in Warrington.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Archives, we feature Joe Gerstl, Director of Product Management Smart Factory at GE Vernova, who discusses various insights and trends in digital manufacturing.
Good day, listener
The UK manufacturing sector is in dire need of a clear industrial strategy. Stephen Phipson, CEO of Make UK, speaks to us in an exclusive interview on The Manufacturer Podcast.
Much of the conversation we have here with Stephen will revisited, no doubt, in the content and networking of this year's Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week, taking place on 5th and 6th June at The NEC.
Also, we look through some of the headlines in the Leadership section of our website, one of which includes the rising price of tea.
Music credit:
Tropical Fever by LiQWYD & Luke Bergs
Together by 2TECH-AUDIO
Breaking News by Alex Productions
Present your ears for filling, listener.
Episode two of our People & Skills Series features the winners of the Special Recognition category at The Manufacturer MX Awards 2023, Evtec Automotive.
These guys are truly phenomenal, proving to us that with patience, flexibility and training, anybody can work in a production facility. With just over 40% of their workforce having some form of disability, Evtec are removing the barriers that exist in our minds.
As well as that, we'll look over the latest headlines in our People & Skills section, and one of the UK's increasingly maligned public transport service is under the microscope, in 'Made by a Moron.'
Music Credit:
Tropical Fever by LiQWYD & Luke Bergs
Tenderness by FSM Team
Together by 2TECH-AUDIO
Podcast News by Author Music
Hello there listener, well done for making it through another week. Your reward? A podcast for your ears.
Episode one of our People & Skills Series also doubles as a preview episode for the highly anticipated Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week in June.
In this episode, we feature interviews from Dr Hilary Leevers, CEO of Engineering UK, and Russell Smith, Managing Director of industrial recruitment specialists, Hunter Selection.
Your editorial team for this episode is Tom, Joe and James, discussing some of the latest news.
Have a listen.
Here you go listener, a belter of an episode to round off a splendid series.
Our series sponsors Analog Devices join us on this episode, as we have the great pleasure of interviewing Fiona Treacy, Managing Director of Industrial Automation.
In our round up of news, we touch on the latest S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI® figures, that have revealed an upturn in growth for first time since July 2022.
And in this week's Made by a Moron, a controversial one perhaps - the iPhone.
Music credit:
Tropical Fever by LiQWYD & Luke Bergs
Digital Transformation by Alex-Productions
Together by 2TECH-AUDIO
To Count The Stars by Sapajou
Happy Good Friday listener,
This is an Easter Special, where we discuss our thoughts on Easter. Who likes it? And who among the team do you think "gives volleys to chocolate?" (it's Joe, Joe gives volleys to chocolate)
If you find yourself browsing the website this week then there's loads of great content on there. And now, you can sit back and have our stories read to you, with our new audio story function.
'Made by a Moron' returns with yet more poor purchase choices from the Devonshire household.
And we welcome the latest member of the editorial team, Molly Cooper, for her debut podcast episode.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Archives, Asif Moghal, Autodesk’s Director of Market & Industry Development, cuts through the jargon when it comes to discussions about digital, and explains the five superpowers of digital transformation.
This was first heard at our Manufacturing Leaders' Summit in November 2023.
Oh hi there, listener.
In Ep 5 of this Digital Transformation Series, sponsored by Analog Devices, we visit a new chocolate factory in Barnsley set up by JJA Snack. Along with Siemens, the company is aiming to teach school children about engineering process and the innovative technology that runs through the entire chocolate bar.
We also discuss a couple of recent articles on our website, including the seeming lack of urgency around protection from cyber attacks.
And in this week's 'Made by a Moron,' hotel key cards. We discuss the various times we've had to suffer a malfunction.
Music credit:
Tropical Fever by LiQWYD & Luke Bergs
Digital Transformation by Alex-Productions
Together by 2TECH-AUDIO
Rhastafarian by Audionautix
Yes! Listener.
We've got loads to chat about in this episode. Joe discusses his recent trip to Siemens in Spain, where he visited a string of food and beverage manufacturers.
We also discuss the annual Make UK conference which took place in Westminster this week. The industry body has called for a 15% GDP target for UK manufacturingWe do the usual check of headlines on our website, which this week, includes an article on 5G penned by Fiona Tracey, ADI Managing Director, Industrial Automation at our series sponsors, Analog Devices.
Then, to round things off spectacularly, we hear about the latest disaster from the Devonshire household, as a fascination with cheap kitchen products continues, leading his wife to declare a potato chipping device to be officially "gawang tanga." (Made by a moron)
Music credit:Tropical Fever by LiQWYD & Luke Bergs
Digital Transformation by Alex-Productions
Together by 2TECH-AUDIO
Interesting Jazz Piano Riff by Eli Gold
In the first of two episodes this week, we have the second of our Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week preview episodes.
This episode is on the theme of sustainability, which will be a huge focus area at SMEW, which takes from 5th-6th June at the NEC in Birmingham.
We have a keynote speaker from one of our Design and Technology Theatre at the show - Geoff Mackey, UK Country Head at Plastics Europe.
We also feature our show sustainability partners Forest Nation, with Andrew Frankland joining us for a chat.
Book your place at SMEW 2024! Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2024 | NEC Birmingham (mandeweek.co.uk)
Music credit:
Tropical Fever by LiQWYD & Luke Bergs
Together by 2TECH-AUDIO
The warmest of welcomes back to you, dear listener.
We've got a belter of an episode today. From a recent site visit to Aurrigo International plc, we peered into the world of autonomous vehicles.
From its manufacturing facility in Coventry, Aurrigo designs and builds auto-vehicles for use on the road, but the real area of recent growth has come in aviation support.
Partnering with airports across the world, Aurrigo has deployed its vehicles to assist with baggage transportation. The latest of these deployments is the Auto-DollyTug®, at Changi Airport.
We've got a feature on that, as well as some other fascinating stories on digital/tech innovations and a truly catastrophic entry for 'Made by a Moron.'
Have you heard about our upcoming summits that will run as part of Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week?
Register your interest now for the Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit and the Industrial Data & AI Summit.
Music credit:
Tropical Fever by LiQWYD & Luke Bergs
move. by CXNST
Digital Transformation by Alex-Productions
Together by 2TECH-AUDIO
Crossroads by Purple Cat
Episode two of Digital Transformation, you're welcome, listener.
Today, we take a visit to a taster day at Myco Foods to try Hooba mince, a meat-free, mushroom-based protein that is created through an on-site automated vertical farming system.
We also take a look at some news headlines on The Manufacturer website.
And, ahead of this weekend's racing at Leopardstown, James reveals his horsey heritage.
Music credits:
Tropical Fever by LiQWYD & Luke Bergs
Positive Corporate by Mixaund
Digital Transformation by Alex-Productions
Day Ahead by Joe Crotty
Greetings listener - how 'bout a new podcast series?
To kick off our Digital Transformation series, sponsored by Analog Devices, and Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week preview series, we've got a bumper episode.
Asif Moghal of Autodesk chats to us as part of an Manufacturing Leaders' Summit round-up which will feature in our first edition of The Manufacturer Magazine.
We trawl the latest news on our website, which includes last week disappointing announcement from Tata Steel in Port Talbot.
And we invite The Manufacturer's MD, Grace Gilling on to this episode, to discuss the digital offerings of Smart Manufacturing & Engineering Week 2024.
Get your ears around all of that and more.
Music credits:
Tropical Fever by LiQWYD & Luke Bergs
Digital Transformation by Alex-Productions
Chill Vibes by Alex-Productions
Great have you back along for a new year, listener.
We quite aggressively kick this year off by bringing you news from The Manufacturer. This includes a survey revealing the sector's positive outlook for 2024. It's a story that drew comment from Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt.
We also look back at the New Year's Honours List, which included a raft of names from manufacturing and engineering.
And in global news, what about that Boeing 737 Max 9 that lost a door!?
As well as that, we get excited by the year ahead as we guide you through our 2024 events calendar.
There's all that, and more, in this episode.
ALSO: Why not register for our upcoming webinar? Taking place on 24th January at 11am - From Cost to Opportunity: The Benefits of Energy Flexibility in Manufacturing
In this very Christmassy episode of The Manufacturer Podcast:
We say a devastatingly sad goodbye to Lanna Deamer as she sits on her last podcast with the team before moving into another role within Nineteen Group.
The team reflects on a wonderful year of content; hear about their favourite moments, interviews and trips from 2023.
We also talk Santa revelations, Christmas tat, and a nod towards the some of the offerings available on TM website over the Christmas period.
There's all that and more in our final episode of 2023
In this episode of The Manufacturer Archives, we interview David Lott - CEO of IfM Engage at The University of Cambridge.
In this bumper episode of The Manufacturer Podcast, we've got coverage of both days of The Manufacturer Live at The ACC in Liverpool.
In this behind the scenes look at our two day event, you'll learn what goes through the heads of our team at The Manufacturer, you'll hear thoughts and interviews from some of the UK's best manufacturers, and you'll see the emotion and the drama, with first hand, immediate reactions from our finalists and winners at The Manufacturer MX Awards.
There's a lot to get through in this episode, so here's some time stamps of key bits:
Natasha Lyth of Gripple just before Manufacturing Leaders' Summit: 7:38
Alison Beard-Gunter of Thermo Fisher just before Manufacturing Leaders' Summit: 9:41
David Holmes of BAE Systems before his keynote at Manufacturing Leader' Summit : 14:13
Top 1,000 drinks reception. Celebrating 10 years of our Top 100 programme: 22:04
Start of Day Two of Leaders' Summit: 25:55
Tracey Woods of Cognizant speaking after Day Two of Leaders' Summit: 36:41
The start of The Manufacturer MX Awards: 42:07
Reaction from our winners! 51:28
3am kebab: 60:08
Back again, listener?
Good job. This one is a good one. We look back on possibly the most audience engaged conference of the year after attending 'Changing Perceptions' this week at The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry.
We take a granular look into the current gender gap in manufacturing. Many factors contribute to this disparity, with social and historical aspects playing a huge part. As a team, we discuss what worked well at this conference and the steps forward that will bring about gradual and hopefully lasting change.
James also regales us of his recent trip to San Francisco, where he gathered content from an event held by AVEVA, missed the chance to get a kebab and was mere moments away from being denied access at US border control after getting a bit nervous.
Listen to all that and more in today's episode
Hi listener, thanks for sticking around until the end of our tech series.
We've had a great time looking through the various technologies that our series sponsors PTC have brought to the industrial market.
This episode continues in that vein, as we look at how PTC's Creo Computer Aided Design (CAD) solution has helped several manufacturers. In an interview from earlier in the year at PTC LiveWorx, we learn how digital thread has transformed operations for global wind turbine manufacturer, Vestas.
And to round things off we ask, "Can you think of anything else in life, that is less value for money than train travel in the UK?”
There's all that and more in this latest episode.
Oi there, listener!
How about another podcast? In today's episode we have an interview from Rash Jayasekara, the former Chief of Digital Manufacturing at Rolls Royce. We bumped into him at PTC LiveWorx in Boston earlier in the year. He gave a keynote entitled, Scaling Smart Factory Beyond Pilots.
Watch the full keynote here.
We also look at some of the news stories on The Manufacturer currently, and touch on the proposed bid of multinational chemicals company, Ineos, for partial control of Manchester United. And Lanna tells us about her recent trip to Italy, where she attended a pharmaceutical conference.
There's all that and more in today's episode.
Howdy there listener,
In today's episode of The Manufacturer Podcast, we kick off with an interview taken from PTC LiveWorx 2023 in Boston. Paul Haimes discusses where the solutions lie for some of the world's big manufacturing problems.
We have a chat about upcoming content and current headlines, including a look ahead to an event being run at the end of October by Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) and Innovate UK's Made Smarter Programme.
For our big finish, Tom references a human augmenting tech project that simply isn't working in the world of sport - VAR. He rants, with support from Joe, while Lanna yawns.
There's all that and more in this latest episode.
You're back, listener. Back in the minds of The Manufacturer's editorial team.
What's new? I hear you ask. The Manufacturer MX Awards judging process has come to an end. Hear about some of the learnings and stories from three separate categories; Young Manufacturer, Smart Factory and Product Innovation and Design.
Within the round-up of news headlines, we have a look at some of the stories that make up our coverage of National Manufacturing Day - a Make UK initiative which took place yesterday.
And we welcome our editor Joe back from his holiday to Sardinia, find out about his needlessly nervous flying experience in this week's 'Made by a Moron.'
There's all that and more in today's episode.
Sign up to The Manufacturer's next webinar - Energy-Saving – Practical Steps that Reduce Consumption & Cost, with speakers from RS Industria.
Hi listener,
Second tech episode right here, in this series sponsored by PTC.
Today, we've got an explanation of the industrial metaverse - a technology that blends together the digital and physical world. This was explained to us at PTC LiveWorx earlier in the year.
No headlines today - you can still check those out on The Manufacturer.
But we still finish things off with 'Made by a Moron,' and an argument over plastic cutlery.
Hello listener, this is the first episode of our new Technology Series, sponsored by PTC.
In this episode: we discuss our favourite technological advancements - mobile phones, gaming graphics and Starlink internet.
We check out some technology related news stories that currently sit on TM.com. Including the development of the Striker II Helmet Mounted Display for the Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoon fleet. This is being developed at the BAE Systems site in Rochester, Kent, where our editorial team recently paid a visit.
And in this week's 'Made by a Moron,' we put paper under the spotlight.
Hello again listener - we hope your ears are ripe for this one.
We start this episode with a story from Joe. A giant cricket infiltrated his home this week, and we fear he may have to go home and fight the bloody thing. The winner presumably gets to live in his house.
The standout in the headlines this week - BAE Systems pledges it's support to Ukraine.
See if you agree with this week's submissions for 'Made by a Moron.'
And we round things off in disturbing fashion by bringing you the top five 'Lannaisms' collated by the team over the last year or so.
There's all that and more in today's episode.
Happy Friday listener - here's another podcast for your ears.
Last week, we announced the finalists for The Manufacturer MX Awards 2023. Hear the full rundown of award categories and shortlisted companies for this year.
You can hear what's new on The Manufacturer, with a rundown of some of the latest news headlines in the sector.
We also launch a new section of the podcast, fresh with it's own low budget jingle, 'Made by a Moron.' We pick out some products, be it the ones we use every day, be it an odd quirk in an otherwise solid product, or maybe it's a product that has been in the news recently. We question, 'How did that make it out of the factory?'
Do these products need improvement? Or do we just not know how to use them? Maybe we're the morons...
There's all that and more in today's episode.
The podcast returns with the first episode of a mini-series on the topic of leadership.
Tom St John, Joe Bush, Lanna Deamer and James Devonshire discuss future events, namely The Manufacturer Live, taking place in Liverpool in November (14-15).
We also hear about recent factory visits to BAE Systems in Rochester, Nims Crisps, Phinia and RS Group in Corby.
We've got that, and some really stupid stuff - like Joe's "crappuccino" story and the time a friend of his took a dump in the wrong hotel room. *HORRIFYINGLY LOW-BROW!*
If you're looking for something more cultured then, I don't know, stick on Radio 4 or something....
Hi listener, with your ears so ripe.
Allow us to treat you to a podcast on this year's International Women in Engineering Day.
As well as thoughts from Tom St John, Joe Bush, Lanna Deamer and James Devonshire, we've got interviews from Dawn Childs – President of WES, Women’s Engineering Society, Joanna Whiteman, Head of Diversity at the Royal Academy of Engineering and Susan Scurlock, CEO and Founder of Primary Engineer.
Enjoy!
Hello to you, listener/viewer
The cameras are back on for this review of Manufacturing and Engineering Week 2023. We've got some more show content in this episode, namely exhibitors Prove Anything and ØRN Gloves. One company brought an eagle to the show floor, the other brought Darth Vader. We managed to evade an attack from the eagle, but not from Darth, much to the delight of James Devonshire.
Before James jumped on a plane back home to The Philippines, he was joined by Tom St John, Joe Bush and Lanna Deamer to record this podcast. This episode also features a pod debut from Nineteen Group CEO, Peter Jones, who reflects proudly on a successful MandE Week, and gives us a glimpse into what this show will look like in years to come.
Excited? Well then get your ripe ears around this latest episode.
In this live (or as live as we could make it) podcast from the show floor of Manufacturing and Engineering Week, we look at some of the companies and keynote speakers that caught our eye on the first day of the show.
Join Tom St John, Joe Bush, Lanna Deamer and James Devonshire as they broadcast from The Manufacturer Studio.
What's new, listener?
Here is the final episode of our Sustainability Series, where we look back through the news headlines of the last few weeks, and look ahead to the upcoming Manufacturing and Engineering Week in Birmingham.
We also feature an interview from Debbie Lentz, President of ESG Solutions at RS Group plc.
Tom St John, Joe Bush, Lanna Deamer and James Devonshire team up as the hosts.
Ahoy hoy listener,
This is the next episode of our M&E Week series and today we're talking innovation.
Make UK CEO, Stephen Phipson, talks with pride about the breadth of innovation that exists within UK manufacturing, but also touches on the potential to build on this. He discusses the need for greater alignment between business and government by way of a clear industrial strategy, and references a recent Make UK report, Industrial Strategy: A Manufacturing Ambition.
And later on, editorial team members Tom St John, Joe Bush and Lanna Deamer talk through some examples of manufacturing innovation in action as they look back through some of the facilities that they've visited over the last year and a half or so.
Give it a listen!
Listener, what an episode this is!
Hear about Tom St John and Lanna Deamer's visit to Sweden to see steel manufacturer, Ovako.
In the quiet, picturesque town of Hofors, they got drunk on shnapps, sung a variety of Scandinavian drinking songs - including ABBA songs with alternative lyrics, and were shown a true example of sustainable manufacturing in the European steel sector.
Joe Bush and James Devonshire join them to discuss all that and more.
Here’s another one, listener.
Churned out at the end of a busy 4-day week, but hopefully not lacking in the quality banter department.
We discuss how the chicken ever made it into chicken pox, why doesn’t a Fitbit record your steps properly if you’re pushing a pram? And what unwelcomed household pest is worse, snake or mouse?
And in a bid to make the episode slightly about manufacturing, we discuss some of the news headlines of the week and hear from Susanne Wrightabout the sustainability journey of Northeast manufacturer, Clearly Drinks.
Get ya ears around that. BOSH!
Alright listener?
In episode three of this Sustainability Series, we catch you up on editorial goings on, as well as the usual rundown of headlines in the Sustainability section of The Manufacturer website.
We also take a look at an excellent feature that appeared in the latest edition of our magazine – an article on EV trucks and the good work that manufacturers Tevva and OX Delivers are doing in that space.
And we have chicken pox updates, a vanishing beer, a near death experience and who do you reckon refers to fizzy drinks as pop?
Editorials Tom St John, Joe Bush, Lanna Deamer and James Devonshire return as your hosts.
Hi there, listener. Our podcast series in promotion of Manufacturing and Engineering Week continues with a Supply Chains Special episode.
Your host Tom St John chats with colleagues Stuart Biddle (and maybe Henry Anson) about the partnerships and solutions that are being sought out by manufacturing companies, as the headaches over raw material supply, managing emissions and general global disruption continue to persist.
We also hear from Nigel Paine, Supply Chain and Operations Director at Britvic, who talks through some of the supply chain approaches of a global drinks manufacturer.
Enjoy!
We're back!
Tom St John, Joe Bush and Lanna Deamer (James Devonshire was too full of gin) catch up after a few weeks of radio silence.
Find out about Lanna's horrific house move and why it's all a man called Paul's fault. Hear how the start of a stag do turned into a story about biofuel in commercial planes. And see why a recent sustainable headline on The Manufacturer website leads us to calling out social media sensation, Big John. BOSH!
We also preview next week's Industrial Data Summit in Birmingham by hearing from two keynote speakers.
Enjoy listener!
Hi there listener,
After a short break, the podcast returns with this special episode on sustainability - which we're also making episode one of our Sustainability Series.
This is a taste of some of the discussions you might hear at Manufacturing & Engineering Week in June. We have Andrew Frankland from Forest Nation, one of our partners of the event. He talks about some of the communities that his company works with and the impact that sustainable marketingsolutions are having.
We also chat with Richard Lloyd at the Park, who gives an insight into what good looks like when it comes to sustainable business practices.
That’s all crammed into this episode, so take a break and have a listen.
Hi listener,
We say farewell to our People & Skills Series, for now, with this season finale.
During a string of factory visits in the Midlands, we visit the sites of TMMX Award Winners in the People & Skills category. Lisi Aerospace and Lander Tubular Products are the two previous winners of this award and both companies feature in this episode. We speak to a wellbeing coach and two young engineers.
This episode was recorded at the UK HQ of FANUC, our podcast sponsors. We start the episode by talking to Oliver Selby of FANUC about the need to secure the future of automation through education.
Hey listener, keeping well?
We have a special episode for you focussing on the topic of people and skills. Separate from our current series on this same topic, this episode is in promotion of Manufacturing and Engineering Week, taking place in Birmingham this year on 7-8 June.
This episode features a fantastic interview with Natasha Lyth, Sustainability Manager at Gripple and Catriona Booth, System Engineering Manager at Thales.
Natasha and Catriona are the two most recent winners of the The Manufacturer MX Awards' Young Manufacturer of the Year Award. Both women sit down with our reporter Lanna Deamer.
Hey listener, fancy another one?
In the fifth episode of this People & Skills Series, we chat to some of the winning categories at The Engineering Trust Awards which took place in Oxford on Wednesday night.
And our hosts; Tom, Joe and Lanna discuss whether apprenticeships are creating the right opportunities for women in manufacturing.
Enjoy!
Listener, welcome back.
In this episode Rashitha Jayasekara of Rolls Royce discusses how the digital skills gap is impacting the ability to scale projects and unlock the next stages of digital transformation. After partnering with Multiverse, who are supplying training and apprenticeship programmes, Rolls Royce is upskilling it's staff with modern digital capabilities.
As well as this, one of the first ever exemplars from our Top100 programme, Adrian Maxwell, Owner of coffee machine manufacturers Fracino, gives his take on the shortage of skills and the struggles of attracting and retaining younger people.
Tom St John, Joe Bush and Lanna Deamer are your hosts.
Our next episode features Elliot Bloor, an apprentice at Siemens, who speaks about his route from school into the world of manufacturing. This is taken from a recent episode of The Manufacturer Podcast’s People & Skills series, and was part of our extensive coverage of National Apprenticeship Week 2023.
This episode of The Manufacturer Archives is an interview taken from our 2023 People & Skills Series on The Manufacturer Podcast with Angela Lawlor. Angela set up Marvellous Manufacturing, an idea that came to her during the 2020 lockdown. This is part of her mission to link manufacturers to schools, colleges and universities.
Her interview is taken from an episode of The Manufacturer Podcast, aired during National Apprenticeship Week 2023, conducted by our International Reporter, James Devonshire.
This episode features Anita Davenport, the Group HR Manager for Lander Tubular Products, who won our Manufacturer of the Year Award at The Manufacturer MX Awards of 2021
Anita is also the Regional Chair for the West Midlands Apprenticeship Ambassador Network. You may have heard her already in the People & Skills series of The Manufacturer Podcast, which aired during National Apprenticeship Week 2023. This is the full length version of that interview, with our reporter Lanna Deamer.
Noorzaman Rashid features in this episode of The Manufacturer Archives, after we took a visit to The Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence. Or as it’s known, CEME
Noorzaman featured in episode two of our people and skills series of 2023, this is his interview with Multimedia Editor, Tom St John, in full.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Archives it's another interview taken from the show floor of Smart Factory Expo in 2022. Sumeet Ladsaongikar, Partner at Kearney, was a keynote speaker at Manufacturing Leaders Summit that same year. Here he is talking about the value chain trilemma of financial, resilience and sustainability performance.
Hey there, listener!
The third episode of our People & Skills Series coincides with National Apprenticeship Week 2023. Our coverage of the week has been extensive, to say the least.
In keeping with that, we've got a packed-out-pod, featuring Anita Davenport-Brooks from Lander Automotive and Angela Lawlor who set up Marvellous Manufacturing in 2020. Both discuss the importance of promoting apprenticeships and the reasons for the disconnects between the industry, young people and education.
We also feature Elliot Bloor, who talks about his journey from school to an apprenticeship degree with Siemens.
We've got all that, plus the thoughts of the editorials - Tom St John, Joe Bush, Lanna Deamer and James Devonshire.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Archives we speak to Andrew Schofield, Chair of the Northwest Aerospace Alliance, an initiative which supports the county’s advanced manufacturing and engineering companies. This interview was taken from the show floor at Smart Factory Expo 2022.
In this episode, we hear from Susan Brench, CEO of Starbons - manufacturers of mesoporous carbons from bio-renewable biomass. We spoke with Susan following her involvement in SME Growth Summit 2022, to find out more about the company and its journey so far.
In episode 2 of our People & Skills series, sponsored by FANUC:
Learn more about the support that Lloyds Banking Group is providing the AMTC. (Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centre) A sponsorship package worth £15m will support AMTC apprenticeship programmes and the wider UK manufacturing sector.
As well as that, CEME (Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence) is geared towards inspiring young people through the content it provides them.
There’s that, as well as disruptive stomach rumblings, geographical disputes and goose stuff.
Hey listener.
Episode 1 of our series on People & Skills kicks off with a look at the Team Tempest project. The development of new technologies that will be integral to the next generation of combat aircraft will also centre very much around people.
We look at that and more in this episode.
You're listening to The Manufacturer Archives. In these episodes you'll get to hear interviews, in full and largely unedited, with some of the best manufacturers, leaders, industry analysts, young pioneers, innovators and solution providers.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Archives, we have the full interview with Mark Hughes of Epicor from The Manufacturer Studio at Smart Factory Expo.
You're listening to The Manufacturer Archives. In these episodes you'll get to hear interviews, in full and largely unedited, with some of the best manufacturers, leaders, industry analysts, young pioneers, innovators and solution providers.
In this episode, we have the full interview with Nick Davis of Deloitte from The Manufacturer Studio at Smart Factory Expo.
You're listening to The Manufacturer Archives. In these episodes you'll get to hear interviews, in full and largely unedited, with some of the best manufacturers, leaders, industry analysts, young pioneers, innovators and solution providers.
This episode features the CEO of Make UK, Stephen Phipson, speaking to us from the manufacturer studio at Smart Factory Expo 2022. We caught him just before he delivered his keynote speech at the SME Growth Summit.
You're listening to The Manufacturer Archives. In these episodes you'll get to hear interviews, in full and largely unedited, with some of the best manufacturers, leaders, industry analysts, young pioneers, innovators and solution providers.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Archives, Sebastian Elmgren, Head of Business Development & Product Marketing at Ericsson, speaks to us at The Manufacturer Studio at Smart Factory Expo 2022.
You're listening to The Manufacturer Archives. In these episodes you'll get to hear interviews, in full and largely unedited, with some of the the best manufacturers, leaders, industry analysts, young pioneers, innovators and solution providers.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Archives, it's an interview from Gordon Macrae, Special Projects Manager at Gripple, our TMMX Manufacturer of the Year winners. This is Gordon's interview from The Manufacturer Studio at Smart Factory Expo 2022.
Welcome back, listener - and happy new year!
In this first episode of 2023, we're talking you through the packed events calendar for this year as well as some of the stuff you can expect to see popping up across all of The Manufacturer's content platforms.
Re-join the fun with Tom St John, Joe Bush and Lanna Deamer.
Also hear reaction following the UK's first orbital space launch mission attempted by Virgin Orbit. International Reporter James Devonshire also returns to the podcast, having followed this story closely.
Hi there listener,
In this bumper episode of The Manufacturer Podcast, we say goodbye to 2022 with an end of year special.
Our most excellent podcast sponsors Accenture join us to review the trends in manufacturing and technology innovations. Stephanie Lindan and George Long join us to discuss common misconceptions, the areas where manufacturers are making progress and abundant rewards that can be achieved through innovation.
Elsewhere, our editorial team look back over a wonderful 2022. What interviews and bits of content have they enjoyed bringing you most? Lend us your ears, and we'll tell you.
RUNNING ORDER
PART 1 - ACCENTURE ON INNOVATION: 04:09
PART 2 - EDITORIAL TEAM REVIEW THE YEAR: 18:11
‘Sup listener?
In this final episode of our miniseries on sustainability, we hear how this topic is viewed in The Philippines, a country where the average monthly wage is just £250 and severe weather concerns are frequent.
Our International Reporter James Devonshire loves this country that he calls home but says that sustainability just isn’t a high priority.
We also feature Jim McConalogue, CEO of Civitas, who spoke at this year’s SME Growth Summit and joined us at The ManufacturerStudio during Digital Manufacturing Week.
Civitas, supported by the ERA Foundation, have released a survey assessing the top challenges SME manufacturers including those posed by energy costs, resilience and cleanliness of supply to future growth.
Get your ears around that!
Hi listener.
In this episode, we have Graham Malley of Accenture, our podcast sponsors, and Brian Holliday of Siemens. A line up that would leave even Gareth Southgate spoilt for choice!
We explore the various manufacturing trends when it comes to green practices and evaluate how well the UK is doing as a whole, what more it could do and how sustainability is increasingly making its way to the forefront of the industry's mind.
We hope you enjoy this episode.
Hi listener,
This podcast comes a full week after our editorial team's trip back from Liverpool, following an epic Digital Manufacturing Week - they still haven't fully recovered.
We have snippets from a wonderful night at The Manufacturer MX Awards, where bottle manufacturers Encirc were crowned the 2022 winners of the Sustainable Manufacturing category. Hear what category judge Alison Beard-Gunter, of Thermo Fisher had to say following the announcement of the winners.
And in an interview from The Manufacturer Studio at Smart Factory Expo, Brian Riley, Digital Technical Lead at Ox Delivers, talks about the work his company are doing to develop clean transport eco-systems in developing countries.
Listen for all that and more.
Alright listener? In the final episode of our series on Leadership, we hear some of the leaders of industry that will be appearing as keynote speakers at this year's Manufacturing Leaders' Summit and SME Growth Summit at Digital Manufacturing Week in Liverpool.
Get a sneak preview of the discussion at these events, with insights from MLS speakers Natalie Watson, Group Head of Sustainability at Vita Group, Richard Lloyd, General Manager at Accolade Wines The Park and Professor Rab Scott, Director of Industrial Digitalisation at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC)
Also hear from Katrina Richie at Gripple – Director of People and Culture. She'll be kicking off SME Growth Summit on Wednesday 16th November.
In addition to this, our editorial team test their memories of this series and our editor Joe pines after a brand of sweets that were phased out in 1998.
There's all that and more in this episode.
Hola listener.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Podcast, John Mills from the John Mills Institute of Prosperity chats with our editor Joe about last months pound plummet. Find out why a low pound isn't necessarily a bad thing for Britain's manufacturers.
And find out how our Multimedia Editor Tom fared as he swapped the pound for the dollar while out in Miami covering IFS Unleashed. He spoke with Christian Pedersen, Chief Product Officer at IFS, about some the trends he's seeing within the sector.
There's all that and more in today's episode.
Hello listener - welcome to series 4, episode 4
In this episode, we welcome our podcast sponsor Accenture. With Neil McTiffin, Industry and Transformation Lead Industry X – Accenture Managing Director, and Sarah Dana, Head of Information Software North Europe and META at Rockwell Automation, discuss what leadership looks like within the context of Industry X. You may remember from our previous series, Industry X is the integrated approach to digital transformation, which uses the combined power of data and digital to reimagine the engineering and manufacturing of products.
Our editorial team also briefly run through some of the articles in the September edition of The Manufacturer Magazine.
There's all this and more in today's episode.
Watcha listener!
In episode three of our Leadership Series, we speak to Brompton Bicycle CEO, Will Butler-Adams. He speaks of his time as a leader, the passion that he and the business share for making city living and travel more sustainable and the shake-up needed to promote the "unbelievably cool" careers in manufacturing.
On a trip down to Poole, where the editorial team met three manufacturers, we get the thoughts of Jason Muller - Global Manufacturing Director at Lush. Lush has a completely manual manufacturing process to making its various products - Jason explains why in his interview.
There's all that and more in this episode.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Podcast - A panel discussion of leaders, a European site visit and a new category at our TMMX Awards.
The John Mills Institute for Prosperity hosted a panel discussion to propose solutions to some of the issues within UK manufacturing.
We travelled up to Sewtec Automation, which is a global automation specialist based up in Wakefield as the panel discussed whether now is the most opportune moment for a manufacturing revival in the UK.
Hear what the team made of their trip to Leuven, Belgium to see additive manufacturers Materialise and learn more about the wide range of 3D printed end applications.
And the TMMX Awards finalists were announced recently. Returning to this year's event is the Manufacturing in Action category which is chosen by the editorial team. Find out which manufacturers have made the cut following various site visits and interviews over the past year.
Our Leadership Series kicks off with two excellent interviews. Firstly, we have an exclusive with John Pearce, CEO of Made in Britain, who celebrated their 10th birthday this year. John has been at the helm for the last 7 years, and discusses what has changed in this time as well as what he believes the next 10 years could hold.
We also have an interview with Juergen Maier that we did at MACH 2022 back in April. Juergen speaks about the changes we've seen in the last couple of years and his admiration of UK manufacturers progress in digitalisation and the net zero push.
The editorial team also discuss some of the fantastic leaders they've encountered, be it through meeting them at factories and facilities or through awards programmes such as The Manufacturer Top100.
We've got all this and more, so get stuck in listener!
Hi listener - we finally have the final episode of series 3 for you. Through record breaking temperatures we hid in our homes, turned the fans on full blast and sat in ice baths to bring you episode 6 of our Technology Series.
This episode features a fascinating factory visit to BotsAndUs; manufacturers of autonomous robots that are used to capture data in real time across warehouses and factories. We preview the July/August edition of The Manufacturer Magazine which is about to hit desks and doorways. We also feature two interviews from our recent Manufacturing Digitalisation Summit up in Manchester which took place last week.
There's all that and more to enjoy in this episode - take a listen!
Hi there listener - we have another special episode for you to mark National Manufacturing Day 2022.
Today, as part of a UK-wide Open House, and to celebrate NMD, manufacturers are opening the doors to their factories and sites and inviting people in for a behind-the-scenes look at how their facilities work. Make UK are heading this up in partnership with a host of UK manufacturers, in a bid to showcase the diversity of our sector, the range of highly skilled jobs on offer and the amazing opportunities for reskilling and career development within manufacturing. Jamie Cater, Senior Policy Manager at Make UK starts by giving an overview of National Manufacturing Day.
We also look back over some high profile interviews that we've conducted over the last year, to give you a taste of the issues affecting manufacturers, and what the sector, as well as government can do to drive a continuation of innovation, sustainable growth and diverse workforces, to name but a few aspects.
Listen back to interviews with Lee Rowley, Industry Minister and Member of Parliament for Northeast Derbyshire, Lord Karan Bilimoria, President of the Confederation of British Industry, (CBI) founder of Cobra Beer and a cross party peer in the UK House of Lords and Rosa Wilkinson, Policy Director at The High Value Manufacturing Catapult.
We hope you enjoy this episode!
Hi there listener, after a few weeks break we're back to bring you a special podcast episode for International Women in Engineering Day. We've got three excellent interviews from women who share some of their experiences, and give us an insight in to what they believe needs to happen to level the playing field on gender within the sector. You'll also hear what these various businesses and individuals are doing to change perceptions and create equal opportunities for women in manufacturing and engineering.
We have Elizabeth Donnelly, CEO of WES, (Women's Engineering Society) Hilary Leevers, CEO of Engineering UK and Krystina Pearson-Rampeearee, Senior Flight Engineer at BAE Systems who also runs her own business, AviateHer.
We hope you enjoy this special episode!
Hey there listener! The Manufacturer Podcast returns with episode five of our series on Technology.
We welcome our podcast sponsors Accenture on to talk about the latest manufacturing technology, and how it’s being applied in the manufacturing world. Dan Farrell at Accenture, along with Severine Trouillet from Dassault Systèmes discuss how this new and exciting tech can enable sustainable growth within the industry.
We also look back at a gem of a keynote speech from Amber Case, an American cyborg anthropologist, who spoke at Digital Manufacturing Week in 2020. Listen back to a snippet of her presentation on "Calm Technology," which refers to technology that isn’t time consuming, annoying or unreliable.
We hope you enjoy this episode.
Hey there listener. In episode 4 of our Technology Series we feature interviews from two first class UK manufacturers, who have excelled in the digital space. Origin and Gripple, TMMX Award Winners from last year, tells us how they've achieved sensible and value added technology adoption and why it's been so important to the way they drive their manufacturing operations.
Also, The Manufacturer Magazine is almost out - hear our team discuss what to look out for in the May/June edition, which is packed with some wonderful features and interviews.
We also welcome Toby Gill, the CEO of Intelligent Power Generation (IPG), a British start-up working to de-risk the transition to more sustainable fuels and enable industries to end their reliance on diesel generators.
IPG has manufactured its own unique flameless generator - Toby discusses how the manufacturing industry can do more to support the production of vital climate-tech innovations.
That's all to look forward to in this episode.
Hi there, listener. This week's episode looks at the opportunities and misconceptions of cloud based manufacturing programmes. In the case of Britishvolt, the company responsible for the UK's first Gigafactory, the Infor CloudSuite Automotive programme was selected earlier in the year to run operations at the plant. Andrew Kinder at Infor explains why such a programme is suited to managing the £3.8 billion facility in the northeast and David Therefall speaks about the reasons for the selection, as well as the future landscape of UK EV provision and infrastructure.
We also welcome Fractory on to the podcast. CEO Martin Vares, TMMX Awards finalist from last year's Young Manufacturer of the Year category explains some of the common misconceptions when it comes to cloud solutions.
Join our returning editorial team, for this third episode in our Technology Series.
Good day to you listener, we have the second episode of our Technology Series recorded and ready for you to listen to. Sit back and ponder, as we bring you a handful of interviews recorded at this years Industrial Data Summit, which took place on Thursday 28th April at Villa Park in Birmingham.
We hear from four keynote speakers from the event - Harry Minns, Systems and Data Controller at Williams Racing discusses how data management and analytics can drive performance, giving examples from Formula 1.
Jon Stammers, Theme Lead for Connectivity and AI within the AMRC's Integrated Manufacturing Group, talks about data-centric manufacturing and some of the benefits but also the challenges that manufacturers can have moving to that approach.
Mircea Oprisan is Director of Advanced Analytics at Mars, he touches on an overreliance on technology when it comes to managing data. It’s critical, in his opinion to understand what the performance challenge is first before thinking about the data and technologies to implement.
And lastly, Marla Nelson Head of Data Driven Transformation and Culture at Jaguar Land Rover, spoke on the topic of organisational structure and buy-in for data strategy.
In between these interviews, Conference Production Manager Ashley Oulton joins Tom and Joe from the editorial team in the studio.
Welcome back listener, in today's episode of The Manufacturer Podcast we reflect on meticulous engineering, cutting edge technology and terrifying simulator experiences all picked up from our recent factory visit to Leonardo Helicopters down in Yeovil.
We also invite Kurt Dressel from Liferay to speak to us about how manufacturers can best harness the powers of technology and the trends that have emerged more recently within digital transformation projects.
We hope you enjoy this episode, which marks the start of our series on technology.
Hi there listener - it's the last episode in our Skills & People series! We're brining this episode to you from the Birmingham NEC, where we attended the MACH Exhibition 2022.
We've got an interview from Professor Ken Young at The Manufacturing Technology Centre. (MTC) He discusses the problem of getting younger people engaged with engineering and manufacturing.
Dr Gillian Murray from Heriot-Watt University chats about the issue of skills, and outlines four main areas of future focus that she believes will be vital to addressing the problem.
In the middle of these two interviews, the editorial team will be looking back on what has been a truly enjoyable, informative, inspiring and fun series on skills & people.
We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did!
Welcome back, listener. In this episode - we have Engineering Technician Degree Apprentice at BMW UK Manufacturing, Joshua Simpson. JJ, as he's known, now in his third year, chats to us about his experiences so far, and how he's excelled in his role by being encouraged and well nurtured at BMW, but also by being pro-active and eager for responsibility.
Floriane Fidegnon from Policy Connect believes there is no straight forward answer to whether or not the current education system is fit for purpose. Listen to her discuss some of the reasons why it's been challenging to attract young people in to the industry.
Then to round things off, the editorial team talk about changing work landscape with the introduction of more digital and flexible working patterns - and why it's so crucial for employers to apply trust and compassion during adverse times.
That's all crammed in to this week's episode.
Hello listener, in this episode of our skills and people series we take two trips to two UK manufacturing factories. Find out why the people culture is so ingrained at Sheffield based manufacturer, Gripple, as we speak with Katrina Richie, People and Culture Director and Marcie Rowbotham, Head of Learning and Development.
We also pay a visit to Origin in High Wycombe, a family run company that shares the same ethos of people being the company's biggest asset. This trip took us to High Wycombe where we met Founder & COO Victoria Brocklesbury.
Both these manufacturers were recognised for excellence in last year's TMMX Awards during Digital Manufacturing Week.
In between these two factory visits, we feature The Manufacturer's Nikhil Kumar. Currently working with us in Digital Operations Delivery, Nikhil did a degree in engineering, and explains how this experience gave him the skills to explore different opportunities.
That's all to come in episode four of this series.
Hey there listener, today on The Manufacturer Podcast we start with a word from Jack Thomas, technical specialist on PrintCity Network Project on the practice of reverse mentoring. This method partners senior executives with junior staff or new graduates in a mentoring relationship which encourages the introduction of fresh perspectives, new skills and innovation into the engineering and manufacturing sectors.
Three time TTMX award winner Lander Group share the approach that they've taken to attracting talent. Managing Director Len Palmer explains that in the business, they have around 65 apprentices, which is around 15% of their workforce - a big proportion in comparison to what a lot of other employers do. They started their apprenticeship programme back in 2016, not just with the intention of growing talent, but a diversity of young people from different backgrounds and skill levels.
And the discussion goes on about reducing the current skills gap, as CEO and Founder of Line View Solutions Ian Rowledge discusses what more the sector could be doing when it comes to attracting and retaining young talent in the industry.
Hey listener! This episode was recorded on International Women's Day and features some wonderful examples of women in manufacturing.
Although the sector is often criticised for it's lack of diversity, we shine a light on those who are changing perceptions and leaving their mark. Hear from The Manufacturer's MD Grace Gilling, who shares her insights in to what has changed during her 10 year period in the sector.
Also, have a listen to the stories of Rosa Wilkinson, Director of Policy at High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Jan Ward, Founder of Corrotherm International and Laura McBrown, Managing Director at G&B Electronic Manufacturing Services.
We hope you enjoy this week's episode!
Hi listener - we're back with a new series! We'll be turning to our attention to skills and people, and we can't wait to see what will come of this wide ranging and multi-faceted topic series.
After a hugely fun and successful series on sustainability, the skills and people series will explore the much talk about skills gap, the need for diversity within the sector, the encouragement of younger people in to the industry and as always, the spotlight will be shone brightly on the manufacturers making strides in these departments and the experts who are offering solutions.
In this first episode, we talk to three apprentices - two of which are up in Blythe, at sheet metal fabricators Universal Wolf. In addition to them, a first year apprentice at Make UK who is currently working at Seco Tools in Redditch. Hear what these young people have to say about their experiences so far, the perceptions around apprentices and the reasons they opted to take this route in to manufacturing.
The editorial team also give their thoughts on the fantastic opportunities that apprenticeships bring, but lament false perceptions that have arisen, that often put apprenticeships as the forgotten option behind university.
Crikey - we've reached the end of our sustainability series! We take a look back over some of the people we've met, issues we've discussed and words we've mispronounced!
We also catch up with the new Sustainability Manager at leading natural ingredients manufacturer Stephenson. Marie Masionnette has held for role for around 6 months, she tells what the job entails and how she's trying to make a difference. Ben Goodare, part of last year's Top100 alumni, speaks about his role as Chief Sustainability Officer at one of the world's leading engineering and scientific technology companies, Renishaw. Ben explains how his role has changed over the past few years.
We also speak briefly to Floriane Fidegnon from Policy Connect - who talks about Government's role in helping manufacturers reach their carbon reduction goals.
Hi there listener - here is episode 5 in our sustainability series, and it's a belter!
Tue Beijer, Co-Founder of technology and design start-up STILRIDE, talks to us about the company's sustainable electric motorcycles and scooters. They're being manufactured using a ground-breaking process dubbed ‘industrial origami,’ involving robots which are able to fold single sheets of recyclable steel into intricate, lightweight and durable new structures - significantly reducing the environmental impact of production.
Our editorial team also review their trip to the National Manufacturing Summit on 8/9 February, and discuss some of their takeaways from this year's event at The Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry.
From our London office, we're back with the fourth episode in our sustainability series. Our Director at The Manufacturer, Henry Anson, joins Multimedia Editor Tom, and Magazine Editor Joe, as they discuss the current, much changed views of board level manufacturers around the topic of sustainability.
Sit back and enjoy, listener.
It's another dose of your weekly manufacturing musings as the editorial team at The Manufacturer bring you episode 3 in this sustainability series.
This week, Multimedia Editor Tom St John is joined by Editor, Joe Bush and Reporter, Lanna Deamer as usual. But the team also welcome along colleague and friend Ashley Oulton, our Conference Production Manager.
The team question Ashley on the many views, challenges and success stories from UK manufacturers that he's been privy to, during his time engaging individuals and companies right across the industry.
We hope you enjoy this one, listener!
Alright there, listener? Sorry we've been away for a few weeks. We certainly hope you had a top Christmas and an epic New Year. Now that we're less hampered by Covid, we've been able to bring you episode 2 of our Sustainability Series.
Hear about our attempts at a more sustainable Christmas - from diligent recycling of mounds of wine bottles, to the frankly disgusting choice of eating nut loaf (or nut roast - whatever hellish thing you call it).
Find out what's good in the recently available January/February edition of The Manufacturer Magazine. And see what our team made of two sustainability themed features from this issue; A United Arab Emirates based company shouting loudly about the wonders of low carbon aluminium, and a manufacturer trying to turn the tide of wasteful, expensive and environmentally catastrophic silicon chip production.
There's all that to look forward to in today's episode.
Hey listener! The Manufacturer Podcast is back with a series on the big topic of sustainability. Listen to our editorial team discuss their thoughts on one of the biggest issues facing manufacturers today. Multimedia Editor - Tom St John, Editor - Joe Bush and Reporter - Lanna Deamer, review two interviews conducted at this year's Digital Manufacturing Week in November.
Michael Wignall of Microsoft and Professor Steve Evans from the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) spoke to our team following their keynote speeches at Manufacturing Leaders' Summit, where the discussion area was on 'Sustainable Growth Through Digitalisation.'
Hear what the editorial team made of it all, in this first episode of the sustainability series. (Recorded on Wednesday 8th December)
The Manufacturer Podcast will continue in the new year with weekly episodes. The editorial team will be giving their take on certain trends in the industry, interviewing some of the most insightful and thought provoking leaders in the sector and giving you a peak in to life at The Manufacturer, where we value friendship, good fun and a real passion for this sector.
On this episode of The Manufacturer Podcast, Iggy Bassi, the CEO and Founder of Cervest, discusses how technology, science and data forecasting can play a critical role in making better informed business decisions when it comes to climate change.
On this episode of The Manufacturer Podcast we explore the future of supply chains and how digital technology innovation can help. Creating supply chains that really work is a massive challenge for manufacturers. Building future proof supply chains that enable innovation across their digital manufacturing processes is even more difficult. We hear from some leading experts in the supply chain industry together with UKRI and KTN who are leading on the innovation strand of the Made Smarter programme to explore the themes of data, insight, action and trust as the core enablers of supply chain innovation.
In this addition of the Manufacturer Podcast, Tom St John is joined by global disability charity, Motivation, to discuss a new sustainable wheelchair seat made of green composite materials, designed in collaboration with the National Composites Centre (NCC).
In this episode of The Manufacturer Podcast, Tom St John caught up with Ashley Brogan-Ellis who works as an automation engineer for Nestle, Halifax. He spoke about his journey through the company, which started when he left school and joined an apprenticeship programme at Nestle.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Podcast we sat down with Richard Parkinson, Port Director at Solent Gateway to discuss freeports and what benefits they will bring to manufacturers and the UK economic recovery post-Covid.
Tom St John talks to Digital Catapult about their Made Smarter Programme and how it has enabled some of the brightest startups around to help industry giants with their technology challenges.
In this episode of The Manufacturer Podcast we sat down with Richard Harden, CEO, of Henley based Stuart Turner, a manufacturer of water boosting pumps and systems to discuss its remarkable growth success in recent years.
In this episode of The Manufacturer podcast we talk with two of our 2020 TOP 100 Exemplars – Georgina Slack and Julia Mansfield and explore their careers in manufacturing to date.
Julia Mansfield is Technical Manager at Fuel Additive Science Technologies Ltd. Julia is a chemist with a rich experience in chemical manufacturing, most of it working in fuel additives. Julia says she has, “an almost obsessive interest in hydrocarbon fuels” and is a member of the Energy Institute and chair of one fuels test methods committee.
Georgina Slack is a Ferrari technician at JCT600 in Leeds, where she has worked for 9 years. Georgina is a strong advocate for apprenticeships and industry talks in schools as a way of encouraging more young people into manufacturing, “I can’t preach about apprenticeships enough, so that you can learn and work at the same time and also having more industry people doing talks in schools, because I didn’t have anybody come in to talk to me to say ‘you can be a mechanic, you can be an engineer.’"
In the latest edition of The Manufacturer Podcast, Daniel Kirmatzis is joined by Peter Hill, Director Woven Fabrics at Heathcoat Fabrics, to discuss the company’s critical role in the recent NASA Perseverance Rover landing.
The Manufacturer sit down with Siemens and E.ON to explore the importance of a sustainability strategy, how it provides an advantage over your competitors, identifying the quick wins, and where to find funding for your projects.
In the latest installment of The Manufacturer podcast, Daniel Kirmatzis speaks with TOP 100 Exemplar Edward Grainger, Managing Director of Grainger & Worrall - a family owned business based in Shropshire - market leaders in the field of prototype and small series complex high integrity structural castings.
In the latest Manufacturer podcast Daniel Kirmatzis speaks with Paul Perera - VP Technology and Founder - MyMaskFit Ltd - to discuss his insights from a 30-year manufacturing career and his involvement in the Ventilator Challenge.
The 5th installment of our TM Happy Hour, part of The Manufacturer Podcast, sponsored by Sage.
Hear from Francesca Halsall, former international swimmer, representing GB in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. World, Commonwealth, and European Champion. Fran spent her first career traveling the world as a professional swimmer, competing at three Olympic games, winning over 40 International medals, and breaking a World Record along the way. Since retiring from sport, people and great teams are what interests Fran, and she works with individuals and businesses to help them achieve their ambitions and goals through sharing her experiences as an Olympic athlete. Check out this fascinating conversation on motivation, determination & celebration. 👇
A new report takes a closer look at the business opportunities facing SME manufacturers in light of our changing trading relationships with Europe, and a shift in emphasis to levelling up the economy. We interview Marcus Gibson the report author, and a longstanding analyst of the UK's vibrant SME ecosystem.
The link to the discussed report can be found here: http://www.civitas.org.uk/content/files/2443-A-Britains-Export-Boom-ppi-54-WEB.pdf
Find Marcus Gibson's website, Gibson Index, here: http://www.gibson-index.com/
The TM Happy Hour is released on a monthly basis, available across most podcast streaming services including Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and more!
This podcast is sponsored by Sage
Brian Holliday, MD of Siemens Digital Industries UK&I, explains how technologies like digital twins, simulations and augmented reality have enabled the VentialorChallengeUK consortium to collaborate remotely and progress at a dramatically accelerated pace.
Many of be familiar with Dick Elsy from his role as Chief Executive of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. However, for the past couple of months, Dick has been leading the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium made up of industrial, technology and engineering businesses from across the aerospace, automotive and medical sectors.
Editor of TheManufacturer.com, Jonny Williamson, spoke to Dick about how Consortium members managed to rapidly spin up and create new production lines and supply chains, something that prior to this crisis would have been considered impossible. Dick also comments on what the future may hold for industry, including the adoption of new technologies, the crossover of learnings from mass producing ventilators to mass producing vaccines - and maximising support from government.
The third installment of The Manufacturer Podcast’s TM Happy Hour brings you conversational discussion on top tips for working from home during Covid-19 plus how The Manufacturer team are bringing a new and exciting virtual summit format to ensure you don’t miss out on any important 2020 events.
Sign up to Industrial data online here.
Listen to Bethany’s “Jazz vibes” playlist recommendation for the ultimate work from home music here.
The TM Happy Hour is released on a monthly basis, available across most podcast streaming services including Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and more!
This podcast is sponsored by Sage
The Manufacturer's editorial team discuss the inspirational manner in which manufacturers have responded to the Coronavirus outbreak and what it means for the future of the sector. Will life in the sector ever be the same again? How can supply chains be made more resilient? And will the spirit of collaboration that has typified the sector's response live on?
Nick Peters, Jonny Williamson and Nicholas Cox are joined by Tim Minshall of Cambridge University's Institute for Manufacturing, Peter Bruch, MD of the Midlands-based AE Aerospace, and Carl Haycock of the award-winning Domino Printing Sciences company in Cambridge.
Episode two of the brand new podcast by The Manufacturer, TM Happy Hour. Covering a range of manufacturing and events topics. In this episode, we question the state of diversity in the manufacturing industry, and what can be done about it?
TM's editorial team discuss the new Manufacturer Community, the fabulous new Opus book, which profiles 'The Best Manufacturers in Britain' and the newly-published Annual Manufacturing Report.
We also hear @ 8.34 how the already fast-changing global supply chain is being impacted by coronavirus (hang onto your hats, it's going to get bumpy!) and @ 23.14 a new white paper from Sage demonstrates that UK manufacturing is in pretty good shape when it comes to adopting new technologies, certainly compared with the USA and the EU.
Links for you: the Sage report Discrete manufacturing in a changing world www.sage.com/en-gb/cp/medium/discrete-manufacturing/
and The Manufacturer Community https://community.themanufacturer.com/
You can download the Annual Manufacturing Report from here: https://info.themanufacturer.com/amr-2020
The Manufacturer podcasts are sponsored by Sage – Helping Manufacturers Perform at their Best. For more information visit sage.com/perform
Episode one of the brand new podcast by The Manufacturer, TM Happy Hour. Covering a range of manufacturing and events topics by three manufacturing musketeers.
So 2019 was pretty interesting for UK manufacturing - and not necessarily in a good way!
The Manufacturer's editorial team look back at some of the highs and lows of the year, and offer their thoughts on how manufacturers can make the most of 2020.
This podcast features interview segments with:
Will Bridgman, Chairman of Warren Services at 3:30
Sir David McMurtry, founder of Renishaw plc at 8:36
James Smith, Director of Events at The Manufacturerat 14.27
Juergen Maier, CEO of Siemens UK and future Chairman of the Digital Catapult at 18:30
And talking of 2020 - don't forget to complete the survey for the Annual Manufacturing Report 2020. Just click here: https://hubs.ly/H0mkt-x0
Juergen Maier is retiring as CEO of Siemens UK at the end of 2019, but he tells Nick Peters this simply marks a change in career, not an end.
Nick Peters speaks to Mike Hawes, the CEO of the automotive trade body SMMT, about the blizzard of challenges facing the UK automotive supply chain. From OEM to Tier 3, no one is exempt from the political, regulatory and technological upheavals facing the industry. For some, the challenge is existential. They simply might not survive.
Before Sir David McMurtry invented the touch trigger probe, it was extremely difficult for engineers to measure anything non-linear. He was working on the Olympus engines for Concorde at the time, in 1972 - which means that before then the accuracy of engineering on Concorde, and everything else, could only be calculated using a slide-rule, an invention of the 18th century. Sir David went on to found Renishaw, whose precision measuring devices can be found in engineering workshops the world over. Sir David's invention ushered in the possibility of mass manufacturing to identical spec - indeed, he made today's world of manufacturing possible.
It's one of the toughest challenges in the UK economy - encouraging small companies to grow into the powerhouse-medium sized companies that are such a feature of successful industrial economies like Germany.
It is happening at JJ Churchill, a small-sized aerospace company - it supplies parts to Rolls-Royce plc and jet engine makers worldwide - that is growing into a medium-sized company, through a mixture of agility, government support, and a laser-like focus on what it does best.
The story behind the company's origins, at the birth of the jet age in the 1930s, is a fascinating one.
Nick Peters spoke to Andrew Churchill, the grandson of the founder, about it at the company's headquarters in the very un-industrial surroundings of rural Leicestershire.
(Andrew Churchill is on the cover of the latest issue of The Manufacturer. Click here to learn how to get your own regular copy.
Brian Holliday is MD of Siemens Digital Industries in the UK. Here he talks to Nick Peters about how he and his team harnessed the power of digital manufacturing technologies to develop world- and competition-beating products. He also talks about failing German and technology at O Level (he failed German!), why he decided against university, but found redemption - and a career - in an apprenticeship and a fascination with how computers could change industry.
Today Brian is at the forefront of the campaign to persuade UK manufacturers of the game changing benefits of deploying digital technologies. Given he has more than "been there, done that", he is worth listening to!
Confidence in elected politicians is at an all-time low - certainly within living memory - thanks to Brexit. In this podcast Nick and his guest Chris White, who knows a thing or two about how cruel politics can be, discuss why manufacturers must press politicians of all stripes not to let a positive industrial strategy for the UK fall foul of petty tribalism.
The launch of the Made Smarter Commission’s £20m North West Pilot last year is now bearing fruit. The project, which is designed to encourage, inform and assist smaller manufacturers into the process of adopting digital manufacturing technologies, has now appointed a chair of the Pilot steering board, whose job it will be to monitor progress of this vital initiative. Vital, because on its success hangs the fate of the entire manufacturing element of the government’s Industrial Strategy.
The new chair is Andrea Thompson, managing director for Europe & International Programmes at BAE Systems, which includes the F-35 Lightning fighter programme. She spoke about her role to Nick Peters.
In this episode, Nick Peters meets Jim McColl, engineer, entrepreneur, passionate Scotsman and the man intent on breathing new life into shipbuilding in the UK. McColl was born on the Clyde and served his engineering apprenticeship there, before embarking on a career that led him to establish Clyde Blowers Capital, a private equity firm that focuses on reviving under-invested or failing engineering companies.
Ferguson Marine on Clydeside was most definitely one of those.
What can you say about a man whose drive to tell young people from primary school upwards that manufacturing is a great career is completely off the scale, except, Wow!
Ian Green, Senior Controller of the Nissan Skills Foundation, could have been one of this country's top engineers/manufacturers, but Fate - in the form of an accident - had other ideas, so all that energy, all that creativity went into training and spreading the manufacturing apprenticeship message far and wide, engaging with tens of thousands of schoolchildren in the process.
Here he talks to Nick Peters about his own apprenticeship, his accident, his move into training and the challenges he faces every day.
BTW, Ian is also a member of The Manufacturer Top 100 most inspiring individuals in UK manufacturing. Listen to this and you'll understand why!
During the course of the Annual Manufacturing Conference in February, the organisers EEF announced a change of name, a change of brand and a more sharply defined mission that they say will make them more attuned to the needs of the modern age of digital manufacturing.
And thus EEF became Make UK.
It wasn't the only item on the agenda. Brexit hung like a dark cloud over proceedings as delegates listened to speeches by Business Secretary Greg Clark and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, while also debating pressing issues such as productivity, skills and finance.
Nick Peters discussed the rebrand with chief executive Stephen Phipson... Among other things....
Duncan Jones grew up in America dreaming of designing cars. As a young man he chose to become an architect instead, but just as he was embarking on his professional career designing buildings, he was sent to Bolton, Lancashire, to build the family business.
Today his company, Philadelphia Scientific, is the biggest and best of its type in Europe, and Duncan is enjoying a level of satisfaction as a manufacturer that neither of his previous career choices would be likely to match.
He spoke to Nick Peters about how his career took such a strange turn and the joy that it brings him.
Six years ago, Sanjeev Gupta stepped in where many brave business people have tried and failed. His mission? To make steel manufacturing in the UK profitable once again. And he is succeeding.
In this podcast, he talks to Nick Peters about how even his closest executives thought he was "obsessed" with making his first investment in the shut-down steel plant at Newport work. Despite "burning money", he held his nerve and it is in profit. He describes his plans for making steel profitable in the UK through recycling the hundreds of millions of tons of scrap steel in the UK, rather than making it from expensive imported raw materials. He has since acquired a number of steel mills, as well as vowing to make alloy wheels for the car industry onsite at his aluminium smelting plant in Lochaber, Scotland.
And he discusses his commitment to educating the next generation of manufacturers, to repair the manufacturing spirit in the UK, which he says was broken by the de-industrialisation of heavy industry in the 70s and 80s.
Thanks to this formidable array of achievements, Sanjeev Gupta was made an Exemplar in The Manufacturer Top 100 2018. You can download the report here: https://bit.ly/2QYc5VJ
Even the biggest companies - some would say especially the biggest companies - have to seek help with complex problems that require academic rigour or collaboration with more agile, disruptive companies, qualities they may not have the focus or resources to provide for themselves. Nick Peters discussed this at the Smart Factory Expo 2018 with Jim Sibson of Babcock International Group.