The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) has chosen Liferay as a core digital infrastructure component in the factory of the future at the Digital Manufacturing Accelerator (DMA).
The initiative lets manufacturers experience the advantages of industry 4.0, IoT, smart manufacturing, robotics, and automation in a risk-free environment with accurate financial and operational projections in relation to selected manufacturing applications.
As part of the project, MTC is building a state-of-the-art re-configurable factory in the centre of Liverpool to house the technologies that will provide manufacturers with modular “plug and play” physical and digital solutions that will accelerate the development of technological capabilities, and demonstrate the operation of flexible manufacturing systems.
The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry. Image courtesy of the MTC
Liferay will be the core technology in the DMA’s Digital Customer Portal, which will enable multiple stakeholders, including customers, supply chain partners, and MTC experts to collaborate on projects. The DMA will make Liferay’s solution available to all the companies using MTC’s services. Authenticated users will be able to use the Digital Portal to:
- Select virtual assets from a catalogue to deploy in their project
- Choose applications to integrate with the assets
- Access live data and make changes to their environments
The DMA will also utilise Liferay’s Knowledge Hub and enterprise search capabilities to provide information specific to a variety of industry use cases.
Liferay is one of 30 companies chosen to participate in the project. The selection was made by MTC’s team of leading academics and researchers who assessed the technologies, rating Liferay as one of the top applicants. Liferay’s experience in working with top global manufacturing companies and the flexibility of Liferay’s Digital Experience Platform (DXP) distinguished its solution from the competition.
Sai Sharma, Manufacturing Sector Lead, at Liferay UK & Ireland, said: “We are very proud to participate in this initiative. Being included in the DMA programme is a great endorsement of the use of Liferay technology within the manufacturing industry. MTC is an important partner for us, and this cooperation will enable us to support many more UK manufacturing companies in transformative digital projects.”
Nigel Haigh, DMA Supply Chain Manager at MTC, commented: “The success of the DMA requires a network of suppliers with strong capabilities in technology, supply chain, and project delivery. We have a comprehensive supplier engagement and assessment programme to identify and select companies that can deliver the DMA assets and the longer-term collaboration needed. Being part of DMA’s supplier network is an endorsement of Liferay’s strong capabilities and its commitment to build a mutually beneficial relationship. We recognise that the DMA will be a challenging environment, but we are confident in Liferay’s capabilities and excited to be working together.”
Related reading: An automation update from the MTC