The judging process for The Manufacturer MX Awards involves tours of the most creative manufacturers in the UK. As a judge on the Product Innovation & Design category, MHP's Adam Wallymahmed shares his thoughts on his trip around the country in September.
“UK manufacturing is dead” – I pondered this often-repeated headline as I waited for my 6.00am train at Liverpool Lime Street. Ahead of me lay a week-long trip around the country as a judge for The Manufacturer MX Award for Product Innovation & Design – seven visits, seven finalists. As a manufacturing specialist and a passionate maker of things (be it cars, robots or Lego models), I was desperate to see this headline proven wrong.
It’s easy to think of innovation in manufacturing as a constant driver to make new products to meet new needs. Needs such as environmental friendliness, size, cost – the list could go on forever. I certainly thought this way as I stood on the platform that rainy Monday morning. I was to learn over the course of the coming week that innovation takes many forms, all equally vital to the longevity and health of this country’s manufacturing sector.
1. Innovation in design and technology
OK, so I said that this wasn’t the only form of innovation, but we are going to start here anyway, because over the course of the judging week I saw some truly extraordinary things. I wish that I had the time/word count to describe everything that I saw. Alas we shall have to stick to the highlights.
For example, if you had told me ten years ago, as a young engineering graduate, that in 2023 we would be manufacturing carbon fibre components metres long to an accuracy of microns, I would have called it impossible. Had you told me that we would be making eco-friendly precision engineering foam out of mushrooms, I might have laughed you out of the room. Nonetheless, these innovations, and so many more were demonstrated to me over the course of my journey.
So, as a country we are designing amazing new things; it’s not just on paper, it is there for real to see and touch. Had I only seen this side of innovation, I would have been satisfied that the headlines were wrong. More however, was to come.
2. Innovation in diversity
As I sat on my train, I thought about the type of people that I would meet this week. I considered my experience as a junior engineer – not a huge level of diversity for sure. This was many years ago and I wondered whether things would be different, but what I saw gave me hope.
I met numerous people, from colleagues on the factory floor right up to senior management. What I saw was a great level of diversity, in gender, background, education and all sorts of other dimensions.
By way of example, I met two young engineers who had been nominated for the MX Young Manufacturer of the Year award – both were young women, one fresh off the end of her higher apprenticeship and another a recent university graduate. Both highly influential in their field and greatly respected by their colleagues.
For sure, there is work still to be done, particularly in management, but we are getting there and the innovative ideas and thoughts that greater diversity will bring into manufacturing will surely only help it flourish. Of course, once these diverse people are recruited, we need to ensure they stick around.
3. Innovation in people management
I was once no stranger to 6.00am starts, working in a factory entails this. Usually, that means one can finish early, but 13 hour working days were often par for the course at the start of my career. As a young man, without children, this was fine – the overtime was great, but clearly this could not have worked for everybody.
What I saw during my visits is that flexible working, far from being a fever dream, is starting to become the norm. Helped no doubt by the pandemic, people are now being offered the opportunity to work in a way that suits them. Flexibility in working location, in hours and a whole manner of ways was on display in full force.
Another crucial innovation that I saw was in how the nominees were receptive to ideas from all levels of the business. The management structures felt extremely flat, and all the finalists were able to point to ideas that had been sourced from factory floor colleagues.
The round-up
And just like that, the verdict is in. Seven manufacturers meticulously assessed; seven manufacturers rigorously judged. Fresh from attending the prestigious awards ceremony in Liverpool last week, I’m thrilled to announce not just one, but two triumphant winners in this category: Druck and MasterMover. A heartfelt congratulations to both companies for this remarkable achievement.
All I know is that the naysayers are wrong and, despite the challenges of the past decade, manufacturing in the UK is as alive and kicking as ever. We are at the cutting edge of innovation, and I can’t wait to see what we do next.
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