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The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has announced new £8 million government funding for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to help them modernise, go digital and create new jobs.

This funding is available for up to 1,000 SMEs and could help mobility manufacturers to adopt new digital technology.

Part of the UK Government’s Made Smarter Adoption programme, the funding will support up to 1,000 small and medium-sized manufacturers across the North West, North East, Yorkshire and the Humber and the West Midlands regions to go digital.

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A pilot of the programme launched in January 2019 in the North West and has already worked with more than 1,000 firms and directly supported over 500 businesses to use digital technology to overcome challenges or access opportunities to grow their business, BEIS has confirmed.

Now, this latest funding will allow businesses in the North West to continue to access support and, starting in the coming months, for more manufacturers across other parts of England do the same.

The Black Pudding Company is already using support from Made Smarter to help create the world’s first smart black pudding factory by using automation and digital tools to increase product quality and substantially reduce waste.

Also benefitting from the Made Smarter programme, Parity Medical developed a virtual showroom for its specialist medical technology that will reduce sales team travel by 30,000 miles a year and accelerate its demonstration process from two days to just one hour.

Minister for Investment Lord Grimstone said: “The proof is in the pudding and for the companies that have adopted the latest digital technology they are already reaping the rewards.

“To help level up the country, we want to ensure businesses have the right tools for the job so that they can build back better and greener from the pandemic.”

By supporting adoption of industrial digital technology, such as robotics and automation, additive manufacturing or the Internet of Things, the programme can help level up regions by enabling manufacturers to increase their productivity, create high-skilled well-paid jobs and reduce their emissions.

Made Smarter Commissioner and Managing Director of ATEC Engineering Solutions in Salford Andrea Hough OBE commented: “This support plays a vital role in helping manufacturing SMEs like mine understand the advantages of adopting digital technology. My own firm has seen first hand the importance of digitalisation.

“I have supported the pilot programme in the North West since it launched and am pleased that its work will continue and will be rolled out to three new regions to help even more businesses benefit from technology.”

BEIS says that more information about Made Smarter Adoption support in the North East, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber will be made available in the coming months as local partners gear up to work with SMEs to help them take advantage of digital technology.

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