An Essex company is supporting a national drive to help UK manufacturers prepare for a new, digitally-driven, industrial age.
Colchester-based Fläkt Woods is teaming up with the manufacturers’ organisation EEF to host a special “Manufacturing Connect” event next week.
The event is being staged in response to research suggesting that manufacturing is on the verge of a fourth industrial revolution (4IR), and that UK firms are concerned about being left behind.
Fläkt Woods will be opening its doors to other firms from around the region as part of an industry-wide drive to combat such fears and ensure that manufacturers are successfully gearing up for the changes 4IR will bring.
Guests will have an opportunity to hear from industry experts, share best practice and ideas about harnessing new technologies and seek answers to their 4IR questions or concerns.
Speakers include Ian Morehouse, managing director at Fläkt Woods, and Martin Strutt, consultancy director at EEF, who will share the latest insights into the challenges and benefits of 4IR, explore business transformation programmes that will help firms get “future fit” and provide opportunities for businesses to network and solve problems together.
Firms attending will also be given a tour of Fläkt Woods’ manufacturing facility and be able to get a free “Lean” benchmark report to help focus their future business improvements to achieve maximum value.
Martin Strutt said: “4IR will lead to critical transformation both at a business and industry level. It’s vital that manufacturers feel fully equipped to adapt and take these huge changes in their stride.
“By working with Fläkt Woods in this way we aim to help East Anglian firms get future fit and reap rewards, such as greater productivity and sustainable growth, from this next, vital, industrial age.”
Ian Morehouse added: “Digital technologies are having a huge impact on the manufacturing landscape and supply chains. For many firms the speed of change and the rapid advancement of new technologies are astonishing – it is both challenging and exciting.
“This event is about pulling our region’s manufacturers together so that they can hear about these changes and learn from each other how best to implement them within their own business. We think this type of support will be vital if they are to stay at the forefront of the next industrial wave.”
The event at Fläkt Woods takes place on Tuesday, April 11. Firms interested in taking part can book a place at www.eef.org.uk/membership/networking-events/manufacturing-connect-4ir-flakt-woods-limited. For further information about UK manufacturing and 4IR, visit: www.eef.org.uk/fourthindustrial.
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