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Northcoders drives apprenticeships agenda with new ReSkill programme launch

Sam Whitear
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With apprenticeships now a vital part of many firms’ recruitment and retention drives and following National Apprenticeship Week which took place last week, Manchester-based Northcoders – the industry leading software development training and solutions provider – is launching its brand new ReSkill programme which can be paid for with apprenticeship levy funding, co-investment, or levy-transfer.

ReSkill has been created for employees who want to change their career direction into coding but have little or no prior coding experience.

It follows the recent launch of its UpSkill programme which is aimed at businesses that employ junior developers who would benefit from ongoing training and skills development. To date, more than 45 people have started the programme.

The first ReSkill programme cohort will start on 8th March. Like all Northcoders courses, it will be delivered remotely due to Covid-19, but it will be available on campus in Manchester or Leeds once it is safe to return to in-person delivery.

Businesses can pay for both with apprenticeship levy funding, co-investment, or levy-transfer. If employers don’t have a levy, they can share the cost with the government. This is called ‘co-investment’ and means the company pays 5% and the government will pay the rest.

As part of the Government’s Plan for Jobs, other additional support is also available. Employers can access £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire aged under 25, and £1,500 for each newly recruited apprentice aged 25 and over. This includes taking on an apprentice who has been made redundant.

The ReSkill programme will be taking an academy style approach that will focus on C#, TypeScript, GO or for the first time Java and Kotlin. Northcoders has combined all the best bits from its industry-leading, award-winning coding bootcamp with a level 4 apprenticeship. The course is front loaded, turning anyone with the right aptitude into a fully trained, project-ready developer, in as little as 11 weeks. All ReSkill programmes include engineering masterclasses in DevOps and CloudOps, AWS Certificate, human skills workshops, and end point assessment.

For the UpSkill programme, Northcoders curated a bespoke modular structure where participating developers can choose a language track – C#, TypeScript, GO or Java and Kotlin – to specialise in and then add in either an applied testing or mobile application development masterclass. They will also access a DevOps & Cloud Engineering Masterclass, AWS Certification Prep, a Software Lifecycles & Methodologies – Human Skills and have a Projected End Point Assessment Period.

The programme follows a 13-month apprenticeship curriculum developed by industry experts and is delivered by Northcoders’ software developers who specialise professionally in the area they teach. Content is tailored to each organisation’s goals and objectives and will be designed to complement a full-time software development commercial working environment.

Amy Wild – chief commercial officer at Northcoders – said: “The appreciation, value and understanding of apprenticeships have grown and grown over the past few years. They have now become an integral part of how companies recruit and train their people across many sectors. The government’s commitment to supporting them financially has also been incredibly positive to see and I’m sure their popularity will continue to flourish.

Amy added: “The fact that both ReSkill and UpSkill can be funded using the Apprenticeship Levy opens them up to many more companies. We want the programmes to add real value and, most importantly, deliver commercially for our partner businesses.”

Since its inaugural course in 2015, Northcoders has helped over 750 people switch careers into tech, with average starting salaries of £25,500. As well as the Manchester campus, Northcoders also has a site at tech hub Platform in Leeds.

Over the past two years, it has been selected as one of the country’s brightest tech stars in Creative England’s CE50 list and was named Business of the Year at the 15th Annual Chamber Business Awards. It has also launched scholarship schemes and a deferred payment programme aimed at women and gender minorities, as well as those who identify as BAME or LGBTQ+, have a disability or have had limited access to education, to help address diversity in tech. The firm also relocated its Manchester campus to a new 10,000 sq. ft space at Manchester Technology Centre on Oxford Road in early 2020.

Rochdale construction firms hit record £16m turnover

Sam Whitear
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The family-run business was founded by managing director Philip Bradley. His son Laurie Bradley and daughter Joanne James are both directors and responsible for the day-to-day running of the business.

PLP Construction employ 40 people and specialise in education; commercial; and housing.

Last year the company was involved in 30 projects and had a record turnover of £16m, made up of £13m from their construction division and £3m from their civils division. The figure is up from £12m in 2019.

Projects included the building of a £3m assembly centre at Rochdale manufacturer Dunphy Combustion.
Director Laurie Bradley put their record-breaking performance down to the combination of hard work and having a dedicated workforce.

“2020 was a very challenging year because of Covid-19 so we’re very proud of our trading performance,” he said.

“A lot of hard work went into it. We were involved in around 30 projects, which included schemes started in the previous year and finished in the last financial year and also jobs started in the last financial year and still live today. Our average value of project is increasing.”

Director Joanne James said: “The company is a family-run business built on a foundation of strong family values of honesty and openness which is reflected in the high level of repeat business we have from our clients.

“Our greatest asset is our locally-based, directly employed workforce. We have a low staff turnover with the majority of our staff being employed by us for in excess of five years.

“We invest heavily in staff training and development, as well as employing apprentices and trainees, to future-proof our business. We also have a strong supply chain.

“Hopefully our clients appreciate the level of quality and uniformity in terms of our product and the fact we strive to deliver our projects on time and to the agreed budget.”

Laurie added: “We can do most things in a construction environment ranging in value from £50,000 up to £5m. We endeavour to have a good mix of work to insulate ourselves against the rise and falls we experience within the sectors of the market.”

Education accounts for 25 per cent of their work while commercial work constitutes another 20 per cent. The company’s house-building arm is also flourishing.

“Rochdale is very important to us and accounts for about 20 per cent of our work,” said Joanne. “We’re proud that a lot of our education work has been in Rochdale at places like Castleton Primary School, Hopwood Hall College; St Luke’s C of E Primary School and Harwood Park Primary School.”

Laurie added: “A significant part of our work is in the housebuilding sector and we work closely with housing associations and private developers where individual house prices can be in the millions of pounds.”

Experienced property expert Matt Sorrigan has recently started working with PLP Construction, which is due to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2022.

Laurie said: “We want to continue to invest in our people and strive to improve the quality of what we deliver. We also want to protect our margin by looking at our systems and procedures to ensure we deliver the right product to the right quality on the first attempt.

“Finally, we want to ensure we can pass on to the next management team a business with a strong balance sheet and a healthy pipeline of work and is which is resilient in all measurable aspects”.

Absurd grows team following hat-trick of client wins

Sam Whitear
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Manchester headquartered strategic design agency Absurd is making a number of new hires across strategic design and technology, as it reports a 113% growth in its first quarter.

The appointments come on the back of Absurd being awarded a number of major new projects, three resulting from competitive pitches.

The agency, which specialises in digital products and service design, works as the design partner for large organisations through to scale-ups, with long-standing clients including Umbro, Brother and LV=.

After a successful inaugural service design programme for leading pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca, Absurd is now looking at further projects with the Luton-based team to support its Oncology Business Unit (OBU), which specialises in the development of cancer treatment medicines.

Work is also underway for Institut Francais, the official French government centre of language and culture in London, which has appointed Absurd to help the organisation transition to online learning on a more permanent basis following the pandemic. The agency will support Institut Francais on its digital transformation journey and will be identifying tools and processes to allow them to continue operating online for the long term, whilst improving student and customer experience.

A third new business win sees Absurd supporting online dungarees brand Lucy and Yak to accelerate its e-commerce growth. The business has enjoyed huge success in recent months and, as its technical partner, Absurd will introduce new technologies for its next phase of expansion.

On the back of the growth, Absurd has five vacancies currently being filled, with front end developer Ben Hirst joining the team this month as the first of these new positions.

Oliver Bailey, co-founder of Absurd, said: “Now is a critical time for many businesses to be ramping up their digital and design capabilities and all of our new business has come from ambitious, forward thinking companies looking to grow or accelerate digital services that will better meet the needs of their audiences, be that business customers or consumers.

“With a specialism in service design as well as a breadth of experience in technology solutions we’re managing to compete against some large and established global agencies to partner with some fantastic organisations. Our growth is testament to the hard work of our team and results from our agility to adapt our services to best meet client’s requirements.

“We have ambitious plans for 2021 and the calibre of the team, and growth, puts us in a strong position to continue on our trajectory in the coming months.”

Headquartered in Manchester, Absurd also has offices in London and the US and employs 15 staff.

Experimenting – the best bet you’ll place this year

Sam Whitear
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User experience expert highlights three types of business experiments to create growth opportunities in 2021.

Finding ‘hidden’ revenues is something all businesses could do with this year. And one way to achieve this can be through growth experimentation. So why is 2021 the year to become an ‘Experiment Business’?

 

Jess Sherratt Code 300x300 1 Jess Sherratt, Head of User Experience at Digital Product studio Code Computerlove, explains: “In times of great change – experimenting within an ever-altering consumer landscape is more important than ever. Assumptions won’t cut it anymore. We can’t use the things we’ve known in the past; rely on stereotypes or even user behaviour findings from 12 months ago to shape strategies. Continual learning has always meant continual research, but today’s world is shifting at such a pace that it’s time to go beyond Conversion Optimisation (CRO) and look at addressing some big business questions through experimentation.

 

“Experimenting can also help businesses spend wisely – as a way to de-risk product development and without having to go into big build cycles in a world that we don’t have a clue about. Any research helps us reduce risk around our decisions, whether that be for marketing, product placement or a digital service. So even if you’ve got great insight from a survey or focus group – experimenting is a fail-safe way to validate assumptions, with real users in real time, and as a way to get real value out of insight by actually making change.

Experimenting b 300x200 1

“And sometimes it’s the big bets – the unexpected results – that count the most. Challenging the most deep rooted assumptions about a business.

“Similarly, experimentation organisations have the potential to tap into the power of high-velocity incrementalism as well as find the big disruptive idea, and there are some key types of experiments that can help to achieve this.”

 

Three key business experiments beyond CRO

There’s a definite shift towards business experiments to drive innovation around business growth in 2021 and to validate fundamental business questions, challenge even big assumptions and long-standing processes through even the simplest of experiments.

“To approach this kind of experiment, we map out the entire business model before we identify where to focus and to set our hypotheses.

“In general, hypotheses – and types of experiments – then fall into three key categories: desirability, viability and feasibility, and running experiments across the entire customer journey – across business silos, with acquisition, conversation and retention all working together. In short Product Thinking applied to a business.”

 

Desirability experiments

“Within product thinking we consider desirability to be a product or service that meets a user’s needs, considering the factors for acquisition and retention. Experimenting with these can be carried out via many methods to test whether users are interested in what you are creating.

“A great example is a fake door test. A fake door test is where an advertisement or button on a website enables the user to interact with something ‘new’. This could be used for various pricing structures, value propositions or new features. The fake door bit is that it’s actually coming soon, but we can track an interested click through rate and even gather user information to update them when the product, feature or service is launched.

“Desirability experiments help businesses to identify key usps for their product as well as prioritise the different features and their level of importance to users. It can also help businesses to really understand what messaging works with which audience, which can help with targeted marketing.”

Feasibility experiments

“A feasibility experiment is carried out to address what is possible to do, whether this be a technical investigation into API’s or a data assessment to make sure we can actually pool information in the correct way, it is all about assessing can we do what we want to.

“Something we often do around the product lifecycle is conduct “Technical Spikes”. What these enable us to do is understand a piece of technology in detail and investigate how this might work within the ecosystem. The output of this could be a prototype demonstrating that the outcome we want to achieve is possible.

“Feasibility experiments help businesses to understand what effort is required to achieve a specific outcome as well as identifying whether it is actually possible. This type of activity can help to identify a tech north star and define an MVP.” image005 300x165 1

Viability experiments

“Viability experiments enable us to experiment with how the solution fits within our business model and ultimately tests whether there will be a return on the investment in the solution. Viability may be the hardest to test but it is the one that holds the biggest risk to the business.

“An example of this would be to run a pilot that doesn’t have to cost the full extent of the business operations but is a key indicator of how much it would actually cost. For example if a business was intending to run a manned live chat they could dedicate a person to answering the sessions and see how this performs from an operational perspective.

“Viability experiments help businesses to understand what would be required to invest in the solution in order to operationally deliver it. This also helps measure the ROI of this solution to explore whether it is something that a business could invest in.”

“A final point on experimentation is to create a balanced portfolio of experiments. Treat your experiments like you would a venture capital portfolio – the idea being that if you run 10 experiments there will likely be one or two that will deliver a big return, two or three that give a reasonable yield and some that won’t work.

“And be brave. Because if you’re only testing ideas that you know will work, you will probably miss out on finding that gem of a result.

“Or if you’re not feeling so brave – place small bets and focus on speed. 

“So place your bets – make 2021 the year to make and change things, by placing bets big and small, seeing what works and doesn’t – both front end and with technology.”

 

Altrincham retail investment sold

Sam Whitear
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The retail investment at 43 Stamford New Road, Altrincham has been sold by Regional Property Solutions on behalf of Mansion House Group to a private pension fund for £243,000.

This town centre retail property comprising 1,200 sq ft on ground and basement is let, to Homme Cheshire trading as the upmarket Hanson Barber Shop, on a 10 year lease from November 2017 at a rental of £17,000 per annum, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.8%.

Daniel Lee, director, Regional Property Solutions, said: “Stamford New Road has become an increasingly favoured location particularly with independent retailers and opportunities to acquire investments with quality tenants are rare at present. This was reflected in how quickly this investment was sold off-market”.

Three tech start-ups secure funding on Enterprise City’s Exchange programme

Sam Whitear
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Solid Bond Venture Builder, the residential investment vehicle at Exchange within Enterprise City, has invested almost £500k in three of the programme’s first cohort of businesses.

The residential investment vehicle – part of the Solid Bond Capital Group – has made initial investments in three start-up tech businesses on the Exchange scheme, a digital and technology development programme for the UK’s next best start-ups, as it aims to accelerate their progress.

Solid Bond Venture Builder has invested £250,000 in PixelMax, a 3D events and conferencing software solution, £150,000 in Veo World, an online marketplace for connecting conscious consumers to sustainable brands, and £40,000 in Mapmate, an app for discovering new friends nearby and exploring your area.

Led by Shaz Sulaman, Solid Bond Venture Builder plans to fast-track the early-stage businesses to the next phase of their business journey. It will provide them with smart investment, giving the founders access to one-to-one mentorship from the venture builder business heads who have previously created and worked within some of the UK’s most successful start-ups.

Shaz Sulaman, co-founder of Solid Bond Venture Builder, said: “We’re thrilled to have invested in these three exciting start-ups, and hope to help them fulfil their full potential. The North is often overlooked when it comes to start-up talent, however it is a hotbed for aptitude and innovation. Enterprise City and its Exchange programme have amplified the tech and digital businesses in the area, and given them the opportunity to come together, collaborate and share notes.”

Shaz is an active business angel and has worked with technology businesses across the globe over the past 20 years. He successfully helped scale Phones4u from 80 to 400 stores, and has operated at board level in the retail finance and service sectors. Along with co-founder, Gordon Bateman, who has worked with over 700 investor-backed businesses, and manages the InvestorLadder network consisting of over 100 active investors from across the UK.

Gordon added: “It’s not just about the money – investment isn’t everything for new businesses, and insight into how to run the operational side of the business, as well as deliver outstanding work is invaluable. Start-up founders also need help anticipating the hurdles they will encounter in the first few years of business, and support in reaching the milestones needed in order to scale and raise further investment.

“We often see a number of common mistakes among new businesses, despite them having huge potential, which if corrected will result in them being wildly successful. The work and mentoring we provide will help PixelMax, Veo World and Mapmate excel in their respective industries on a national and global scale.”

Tanya Grady, head of partnerships at Enterprise City, said: “Having our own dedicated in-house investment vehicle is a huge bonus for the businesses on our programme. Not only do they have access to some fantastic strategic partners in Tech Nation, Microsoft Advertising and RMS, the businesses also have direct access to potential investment, and invaluable expertise from people that have held senior positions at companies that have achieved the things they dream of.

“Solid Bonded Venture Builder brings the expertise of Shaz, Gordon and their team to the doorstep of our start-up businesses at Exchange. I have no doubt that the insight and advice Solid Bond will add will boost the progress and potential of these businesses to become Britain’s next big tech, digital and media companies.”

The residential investment vehicle which all Exchange members have access to as part of the development scheme, is based in Bonded Warehouse in Enterprise City, Manchester.

What is Exchange?
The Exchange programme was created to support and empower the UK’s next best digital and tech start-ups. It provides access to the right tools, digital infrastructure, professional support and voices of experience can make the difference between success or failure in businesses’ critical early months, and Exchange aims to make that difference. By granting ambitious early-stage tech companies and entrepreneurs access to the tools and expertise they need to learn and develop, Exchange hopes to pave the future of tech and digital in the UK.

How will it be delivered?
The scheme is situated in Bonded Warehouse, part of Enterprise City. In order to qualify for the scheme, businesses must meet at least one of the following criteria: the business has been trading for 1 – 3 years, it is headquartered in the UK, it is a digital tech business with a product or service to sell, has at least one active client or pilot in progress, or has ambitions of growing and scaling. Successful applications will receive subsidised workspace at Bonded Warehouse throughout the length of the programme, and be supported through the wider Enterprise City district once they become alumni.

Enterprise City is set in the heart of Manchester, and developed by Allied London, an award-winning property development and investment company, Exchange intends to create a collaborative community of like-minded, forward-thinking entrepreneurs and global organisations.

The company that’s developed a new way to clean – using probiotics

Sam Whitear
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Bolton-based We Are Probiotic has introduced a new way to clean that is eco-friendly, cost effective and sustainable.

Co-founder Samantha Kitchen believes that cleaning with nature’s own beneficial bacteria is the way forward – and is flying the flag for a transition from simply ‘eco-friendly’ to verifiably ‘earth-beneficial’ products.

Thanks to support from GC Business Growth Hub’s Eco Innovation team, the company has now embarked on a year-long study in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) to test probiotic cleaners against standard products. The Hub is part of The Growth Company and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Brewed at a farm in Wiltshire, probiotic products have shown to be far more effective at cleaning than their chemical equivalents. Evidence suggests that they can protect a surface from re-contamination for up to three days after cleaning, the firm said.

Once the data from the MMU study has been finalised, Samantha plans to break into the commercial market, initially targeting the hospitality and leisure sector.

Having completed a degree in environmental science in 2018, Samantha has recently embarked on a master’s course in environmental management and sees rigorous scientific study as crucial to growing the business.

“We’re wary of ‘green wash’ and overegging it in our marketing,” she said.

“This is a relatively new way of cleaning, so to successfully sell it to consumers we have to explain what the science suggests they can achieve. But we can’t make grand claims or be over-certain in any of our explanations without direct evidence.

“Last year, we undertook a trial in a care home which gave us incredible results. But we need to be able to replicate this many times in a laboratory environment for it to hold any weight.

“Our aim with the MMU study is to have a published research paper in the next two years, and we hope there will be many more studies to increase awareness of these incredible little cleaners.”

The partnership with MMU was made possible with the support of the Hub, which helped secure 50% of the funding through its Innovation Voucher scheme to get the project off the ground.

Dharma Nurse, Senior Innovation Development Manager at the Hub, said: “We Are Probiotic is an innovative company that is challenging the industry with its eco-friendly sustainable cleaning products.

“Research into the effectiveness of probiotic cleaners is still in its early days, but this study is going to have a massive impact on the sector. It will provide Samantha and her team with huge opportunities to accelerate the company’s growth.

“We were thrilled to work with Samantha to get the University collaboration off the ground and are looking forward to seeing how it develops.”

Innovation Vouchers enable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Greater Manchester to apply for up to £5,000 funding to access expertise, research and specialist facilities to accelerate the development of innovative products and services.

The vouchers provide an opportunity to develop a new, long-term and sustainable partnership with a university or a recognised research organisation (typically not for profit).

For more information on how GC Business Growth Hub’s Eco Innovation team can help, visit https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/services/eco-discovery

BRUNTWOOD SCITECH TO BRING NEW MARKET HALL AND DINING CONCEPT TO CIRCLE SQUARE

Sam Whitear
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Bruntwood SciTech has secured a deal with the Chi Yip Group to bring a new market hall and dining destination – Hello Oriental – to Circle Square, Manchester, in July 2021.

Located in Symphony Park at the heart of Circle Square, Hello Oriental will occupy more than 6,000 sq ft, over three floors in the South Pavilion – a unique ground floor and subterranean space.

The new concept which is being launched by the group behind well-known Manchester restaurant Ocean Treasure and online supermarket of the same name, will offer everything from Chinese roast meats and dim sum to East Asian street food, alongside a modern Chinese bakery and on-site supermarket seven days a week.

Ricky Yip, Owner of Hello Oriental, said: “When we launched Hello Oriental as an online supermarket 12 months ago, that was only the start of our journey. We also wanted to deliver the very best Asian and oriental produce to our customers in Manchester, but we needed a flagship venue that would bring our vision to life.

“It was clear to us that Circle Square is the perfect place for us, a new city neighbourhood that is bringing people together to create a really thriving community. We can’t wait to launch Hello Oriental later this year and we’re confident that our new market hall experience will be a place for food-lovers of all backgrounds to come together, socialise and enjoy the very best Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine.”

Hello Oriental is the latest in a string of new food and lifestyle concepts to announce their move to Circle Square. It follows the announcements that Canvas, a first-of-its-kind lifestyle and events space, and TRIB3, a specialist high-intensity fitness studio, will open their doors to the public later this year.

Azim Kourah, Director of Hello Oriental, added: “We’ve always had one goal – to bring the finest oriental food to the people of Manchester to enjoy. Moving to the city’s newest, fast growing neighbourhood enables us to reach new audiences through an original concept and delivered with the same exceptional levels of quality and service we’re famous for.”

Tom Renn, Managing Director, Bruntwood SciTech – Manchester, added: “The very best cities around the world are known for being hotbeds of culture, entertainment and social activity, and that vibrancy and community is exactly what we’re creating at Circle Square. Hello Oriental is a fantastic concept that will appeal to the students and residents that call Circle Square home, as well as to office workers and visitors alike.

“With the arrival of Hello Oriental, TRIB3 and Canvas, Circle Square is set to become a must-visit destination in the heart of Manchester city centre.”

Chris Middleton, retail and leisure manager at Bruntwood, said: “Supporting successful and ambitious independent businesses with their growth journeys has never been more important. In what has been a challenging year for the retail and hospitality sector, it’s really exciting to be working with Hello Oriental supporting them to bring their innovative, first-to-market dining concept to Manchester.”

When complete, Circle Square will boast more than 1,700 new homes, 1.2 million sq ft of workspace and over 100,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, including a variety of restaurants, boutiques and bars.

Greater Manchester manufacturers to share inspirational stories of digital technology adoption at Made Smarter virtual summit

Sam Whitear
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SME manufacturers using digital tools and technology to transform their businesses will share their inspiring stories at a free-to-access online summit.

The virtual conference, Made Smarter: The journey to digital manufacturing, on Wednesday, March 10, will show manufacturers how to leverage and fast-track digital technology and tools for a year of recovery, growth and resilience.

World leading puppet-makers MacKinnon and Saunders based in Altrincham, behind TV characters including Bob the Builder and Postman Pat, and currently collaborating with Hollywood director Guillermo Del Toro on the forthcoming Pinocchio animation, will talk about how 3D printing is driving efficiencies, increasing productivity and giving it a technological lead over its international rivals.

Meanwhile, clothing manufacturer Creative Apparel, based in Stockport, will discuss its journey to build a state of the art, smart factory while becoming a leader for change in the sector by putting sustainability at the heart of its production processes.

Other, SME manufacturers sharing real-life stories of their experience of Made Smarter’s North West Adoption programme include: Fabricon Design (Ashton Under Lyne), Arden Dies (Stockport), Bindatex (Bolton), Crystal Doors (Rochdale), and Starlight Bedrooms (Bolton).

Curated by manufacturers for manufacturers, the conference also features an impressive line-up of industry heavyweights such as Juergen Maier, Chair of the Digital Catapult and co-Chair of the Made Smarter Commission; and Stephen Phipson, the Chief Executive of Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation; Andrea Hough, Managing Director of ATEC Engineering Solutions; and Glyn Jones, Service Delivery Director at BAE Systems and Chair of the Made Smarter Pilot Steering Group, who will showcase the ‘why?’, ‘what?’ and ‘how?’ of digital manufacturing.

The packed one-day programme, running from 9.00am-5.00pm, will be hosted virtually using an interactive online platform and include insightful panel discussions and roundtable debates, interactive workshops; demonstrations of the latest digital manufacturing technologies; and one-to-one advice sessions, giving businesses the vital intelligence needed to start their digital journey or take the next step.

To ensure the Made Smarter message reaches as many people the conference is free to access for anyone from the spectrum of UK manufacturing and engineering, including aerospace, automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical, construction, defence, electronics, energy, food and drink, nuclear, plastics, security, steel, space and textiles.

Juergen Maier said: “I am delighted to be participating in the Made Smarter: The journey to digital manufacturing conference to share my passion for the benefits of digital technology and celebrate the positive impact that Made Smarter’s adoption pilot is having on individuals, businesses, the environment, and the UK economy.

“For manufacturers by manufacturers, this summit is a must-attend event for anyone working in the sector to learn how to make their product or process smarter.

“In these tumultuous times COVID-19 has, without doubt, demonstrated that digital tools can enable and accelerate innovation, and create resilience.

“Grasping the digital opportunities has never been more important for businesses to recover and return stronger.”

To register your interest, visit https://www.madesmarter.uk/conference

A rich blend of sessions will cover themes including: the Made Smarter vision, achievements and future; building resilience through digital tools, and how technology can help manufacturers enhance and improve sustainability, exports, new product development, and the supply chain.

Manufacturers will be able to access practical, actionable advice through workshops including: how to get started on a digital journey, led by Made Smarter’s technology advisers; and how to lead the digital transformation in your manufacturing business, led by Lancaster University Management School;

Technology Demonstrators Alley will showcase the latest solutions available to manufacturers which enable them to integrate systems, capture and analyse data, create simulations of their plants and processes, as well as how 3D-printing, automation, and robotics can solve business challenges.

There will also be the opportunity to speak one on one with a variety of business advisers to explore the advice, support and funding available to manufacturers.

Made Smarter: The journey to digital manufacturing will be hosted by the Made Smarter North West Adoption pilot, which has been driving technology adoption in the region for two years.

The pilot has worked with 1,200 makers in every corner of Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Liverpool, providing advice, expertise and financial support to help them grow their business, increase competitiveness and reduce inefficiencies through digital tools.

550 businesses have received intensive support including expert, impartial technology advice, digital transformation workshops to help manufacturers take their first steps to transform their business, a leadership programme, and funded digital technology internships.

Donna Edwards, North West Pilot Programme Director at Made Smarter, said: “This conference is a unique opportunity to showcase to UK manufacturers the tremendous achievements of the pilot, the value technology can bring to the sector, and give real-life examples of makers who have started their digital journey, reporting growth, productivity and efficiency gains, and job creation.

“Whatever you make from wherever you are in the UK the journey to digital manufacturing event offers you the chance to learn from the experiences from industry leaders, gain the know-how you need from experts, and hear from peers who have been through the journey.”

KOMI Group’s ARK Media continues growth with new Head of Distribution and Partnerships appointment

Sam Whitear
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As part of its strategic growth plans, ARK Media – the licensing, syndication and rights management division of Manchester-based the KOMI Group – has appointed Terry Pierce as its new Head of Distribution and Partnerships.

Pierce joins ARK Media from Newsflare where he was Head of Sales since 2016. Over the past four and a half years he oversaw the rapid growth of Newsflare’s content distribution and partnerships arms – both in terms of revenue and team capability. He has also previously worked at Elisa as its Head of Content Distribution, and he spent four years in TV news culminating in him being made News Editor at Sky Sports.

Terry’s new role at ARK Media will see him lead the licensing and distribution of KOMI’s acquired and licensed content for use across editorial, TV production and brand/ad segments. He will also be consulting across the wider group to enhance its entire content licensing and distribution services.

Terry said: “User Generated Content is powerful, and KOMI is at the heart of this rapidly scaling content vertical. UGC conveys stories from everyday people and its influence on the media landscape is only growing. You only have to look at the last year to grasp how important it has become for media companies and brands who are trying to tell authentic and emotive stories. It’s proven to be more trusted and more engaging, particularly during the times we’re living through.

Terry added: It also provides a voice to those people whose stories may not have been shared traditionally, and it’s amazing to play a role in sharing those experiences. I believe this is only the beginning for the sector and I’m looking forward to helping ARK Media, the whole KOMI Group and its partners use UGC to grow.”

Andrew Trotman – Managing Director of the KOMI Group – added: “Terry has some fantastic experience that will help us to capitalise on the booming UGC landscape. We already have huge and hyper-engaged communities who we acquire amazing content from, and I’m confident that under his direction the agency will continue to offer a full 360-degree service for brands and ad agencies who are looking to integrate UGC into their messaging, as well as accelerate our distribution to editorial organisations who have a huge appetite for the amazing content we work with.

The KOMI Group is a three divisional agency business consisting of dedicated social media, marketing and licensing teams. It was founded in 2016 and is led by Andrew Trotman and Ryan Williams. Over the past four years, its team of content creators, analysts and video producers have made and then distributed video content and viral campaign adverts for international brands such as BBC Films, O2, Universal, Bud Light and Disney.

Content has been shared across its Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts including It’s Gone Viral, which is dedicated to relatable, informative and educational content; as well as Go Fetch, a platform for dog lovers to connect with one another; Happiest, which focusses on bringing the most entertaining and uplifting content and real life stories; and Ultimate which is all about sharing fascinating and clever DIY, crafts and hacks followers can do at home.

The last year has seen the company reach other various milestones including launching ARK Media – its new licensing arm, delivering over six billion views across its portfolio of in house brands, relocating its HQ to Beehive Mill in Ancoats, reporting its highest ever NewsWhip results, acquiring social media brand Happiest Media Ltd and appointing Urban Splash’s Sam Lenehan as its new non-exec director.

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