The Future of UK Manufacturing and Supply Chain Infrastructure

The Midlands provides a leading example as the heartland of the industry. Manufacturing in the Midlands generates more than £32 billion GVA a-year and accounts for 22% of jobs. Despite the prevalence of large manufacturers in the Midlands, most of the value of the output in manufacturing comes from the SME businesses which make up these organisations’ supply chains. Recognising the criticality of the manufacturing sector, a group of leading 5G businesses have come together to co-invest in these pioneering trials. West Midlands 5G (WM5G) is the UK’s first region-wide 5G innovation programme set up by West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). A key partner is the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), representing one of the largest public sector investments in UK manufacturing with a clear vision to inspire Great British manufacturing on the global stage. At this event you will also hear directly from AE Aerospace, a leading manufacturing business in the West Midlands. They will be the first UK SME to deploy a 5G private network and will work together with WM5G, Worcestershire 5G and its technology partner BT, on three new 5G use cases set to transform manufacturing productivity.

Manufacturing is one of the main focus areas for WM5G and a key partner is the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), which was established in 2010 as an independent Research & Technology Organisation (RTO) with the objective of bridging the gap between academia and industry. It represents one of the largest public sector investments in UK manufacturing with a clear vision to inspire Great British manufacturing on the global stage.  In Scotland a consortium of partners – comprising of the Scotland 5G Centre, University of Strathclyde, and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), which is operated by Strathclyde – is developing a next generation network at the NMIS specialist technology centres, the Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) and Lightweight Manufacturing Centre (LMC), in Renfrewshire.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted the manufacturing sector. New Industry 4.0 technologies driven by 5G have the potential to power recovery by transforming manufacturing resilience and productivity. This online event will give you a clear understanding of the impact 5G will have on the future of manufacturing and will put you in contact with some of the UK’s leading experts already working on advanced projects in this area. They will advise you on how best to address your own region’s manufacturing challenges and how to provide the best possible foundations for growth.

Companies seeking to provide technology and services in this sector will be able to hear directly about opportunities to engage in leading implantation projects. Case studies will include using 5G for component tracking, quality assurance and supply chain logistics.

This event will provide an opportunity to:

• learn about best practice, share knowledge and provide an opportunity to coordinate new activities and initiatives to deliver digital/5G manufacturing across all regions in the UK
• showcase innovative solutions already being deployed and spark new ideas and opportunities for collaborations
• to engage with the community of businesses and organisations involved in building, deploying and using 5G networks to increase efficiency and automation in the manufacturing industry

This event is designed to benefit representatives of:

• Local and regional authorities
• Manufacturing corporates and SMEs
• Established telecommunications players
• UK 5G manufacturing testbeds/programmes
• Innovative SME solution providers

• Graham Malley | Principal Director, Digital Manufacturing and Operations, Accenture/UK5G
• Riccardo Weber | Project Manager: Manufacturing, WM5G
• Alejandra Matamoros | Technology Manager, MTC
• Peter Bruch | Managing Director, AE Aerospace
• Danny McMahon | Manufacturing Team Lead, National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland
• Andy McKenzie | Associate, Scotland 5G Centre
• Lesley Holt | Accelerator and Communications Director, WM5G/UK5G

• 10:00 – Welcome and introductions
• 10:10 – Presentations and Q&A – WM5G

5G – The new global force in manufacturing technology – Overview
Case Study 1: Machine servitization
Case Study 2: Asset and gauging location and tracking
Case Study 3: Quality assurance / automated visual inspection

• 10:45 – Presentation and Q&A | MTC
• 11:05 – Presentation and Q&A | NMIS and Scotland 5G Centre
• 11:25 – Open Discussion and Q&A
• 11:40 – Closing remarks
• 11:45 – Event ends
• 12:00 – Online networking via Meeting Mojo*

*Networking Features: After the session, there will be an opportunity for 1:1 networking to help you make new connections. You will be sent information to create your profile on our online system (Meeting Mojo) once registered.