Success story

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Manufacturing is strategically important for the economies of the Midlands and the UK. Accounting for c. 75% of all R&D spend, it is a key driver for innovation and increased productivity, leading to increased GVA. It is a sector that is transforming and reflects the need for manufacturers to move up the value-added chain and embrace more knowledge-intensive, higher-skilled manufacturing to compete more on quality and less on price.

The focus of the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is to facilitate step changes in manufacturing performance. It will provide facilities and skills to support industrial companies and their supply chains to bring about major improvements in manufacturing competitiveness by leveraging university-derived research and developing it to the point where it can be transferred rapidly into an industrial environment.

 It will be operated by a partnership made up initially of four leading UK research organisations: University of Birmingham, University of Nottingham, Loughborough University, and TWI Limited – the operating division of The Welding Institute. Founder industrial members of the MTC are Rolls-Royce, Jaguar Land Rover, Aero Engine Controls and Airbus UK.

The MTC will provide a complementary node to an expanding UK network of advanced manufacturing centres.

The principle behind such centres is to bridge the gap between academic research and commercial production, to meet the needs and requirements of industry. The UK has historically under-invested in both manufacturing equipment and manufacturing technology. It has often found it difficult to realise the full benefits of technology, despite having a very strong research base. The aim of the MTC therefore, is to provide a high quality environment for the development and demonstration of new technologies, using equipment on an industrial scale, thereby ensuring fully capable processes are transferred at minimal risk.

Key facts:

• RDA investment in the project will return £46 for every £1 invested. In addition, over 10 years, the MTC will create/safeguard 2,100 jobs, support 625 businesses, and generate additional sales of c. £5.5bn.
• MTC represents a £130m investment over 10 years.
• It will be housed in a purpose-built 12,000 sq m facility.
• It will eventually employ 100-150 highly skilled staff.
• The Midlands RDAs have agreed to a £40.55m capital grant for the MTC, which will produce an estimated GVA of c £1.8bn over 10 years.

Dr Hamid Mughal, Rolls-Royce’s Executive Vice President, Manufacturing Engineering commented:

“High value-added manufacturing will increasingly play an important role in securing

the UK’s future competitiveness and prosperity. The MTC has been designed to enable Rolls-Royce and other industrial partners to develop, evaluate and implement innovative manufacturing technologies to improve manufacturing performance.”