Made Smarter, the recently launched £20m pilot initiative to help the North West’s manufacturing sector through the adoption of industrial digital technologies, has announced membership of its steering boa
The board will be chaired by Andrea Thompson, BAE’s managing director for Europe and international programmes, and will oversee the successful development and operational delivery of the Made Smarter pilot in the North West.
The steering board includes over a dozen representatives drawn from manufacturing firms from the North West, will monitor the pilot project and report on progress, feeding their experience into the proposed national introduction of the Made Smarter concept.
Other responsibilities of the steering board will include the continuing promotion of Made Smarter locally, regionally and nationally, and the strengthening of relationships between Made Smarter and other partners working on the advanced manufacturing agenda in the North West.
The board will also be responsible for good governance during the lifetime of the pilot.
Based at BAE Systems in Lancashire, Ms Thompson’s is responsible for BAE’s role in the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft programme, the world’s largest defence project.
She previously worked for several years in the US, primarily in the automotive sector, before returning to the UK to work for companies including Leyland Trucks and Rolls-Royce. She said: “Having spent many years working in global industries like engineering, automotive and aerospace I know how respected and admired the North West of England’s manufacturing tradition is. However, much of this is down to the legacy of the first industrial revolution, which started in this region. With Made Smarter we have a real opportunity to kick-start a new era of technology-led manufacturing throughout the whole of the North West.”
Made Smarter was officially launched in November in Liverpool. Backed by the Government and some of the world’s biggest businesses, the programme is set to engage with 3,000 small and medium manufacturers based in Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester and the Liverpool city region to boost productivity.
Companies that get involved in the project will get the chance to access match-funded support and advice regarding how new technologies could revolutionise their manufacturing processes and reap the benefits of more efficient production.
The full list of steering group membership is:
- Andrea Thompson, BAE Systems, Samlesbury, Lancashire (Chair)
- Luke Walsh, Brainboxes, Speke, Liverpool
- Lee Omar, Red Ninja, Liverpool Science Part, Liverpool
- Alan Purvis, Metter Toledo, Salford, Greater Manchester
- Leanne Holmes, Crane Payment Innovations, Oldham, Greater Manchester
- Jayne Moorby, Oxley Group, Ulverston, Cumbria
- Gill Marsden, NIS, Chorley, Lancashire
- Trevor Cassie, BCW, Burnley, Lancashire
- Andrea Hough, AT Engine Controls, Swinton, Greater Manchester
- Mike Lewis, Lambert, Tadcaster, Yorkshire
- Simon Keogh, Siemens Digital Factory, Congleton, Cheshire
- Ian Funnell, ABB, Daresbury, Warrington
- Emma Degg, North West Business Leadership Team, Daresbury, Warrington