By Jason Murphy, strategy and commercial director, AMRC Cymru

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Five years ago, on November 28, 2019, AMRC Cymru was launched with a bold mission - to apply innovation and advanced technologies to transform products and processes in the manufacturing sector, steering Wales toward a stronger and greener economy.

Our journey began humbly that year. It started with myself and Andy Silcox, AMRC Cymru’s commercial director, sitting in a tiny classroom at Coleg Cambria, crafting our plan while awaiting the completion of our new facility. 

Today, we stand proudly in a state-of-the-art centre, employing more than 50 highly talented individuals. Together, we've assisted more than 100 Welsh businesses in developing superior products, improving process efficiency, and reducing their carbon footprints.

None of this would have been possible without the blueprint provided by the AMRC group founders. Their experience in developing a globally respected translational manufacturing research centre in South Yorkshire guided and inspired us.

Now, we're engaging with some of the most innovative companies in Wales, introducing much-needed technological advancements and fostering creativity with the power to accelerate growth of the entire economy.

A vision for Wales

At first, this was seen as a risk. When the Welsh Government invested £20 million in our cutting-edge technology centre in Broughton five years ago, some recalled earlier failed attempts to rejuvenate the Welsh manufacturing sector.

But the need for change was clear. In 2000, Wales's economic output per capita was just 71 per cent of the UK average. Twenty years later, it had risen only to 74 per cent. 

A new approach was imperative. UK manufacturing as a whole had become uncompetitive, lagging behind global competitors and slipping down international league tables. Countries like South Korea, Singapore, China, Japan, and Germany invested heavily in manufacturing robots and next-generation technologies after the financial crash of 2007, while the UK fell further behind - recording a level of average annual productivity growth for the whole economy between 2010 and 2019 that had not been seen since the 1800’s.

Restoring Welsh manufacturing

Some might think UK manufacturing has had its day — that our economy now runs on services and that the products we rely on are mostly made in Southeast Asia. But recent seismic events like the pandemic and the Ukraine war have prompted the EU and the USA to invest trillions in their own manufacturing sectors. 

We can't afford to be left behind, relying on foreign supply chains and remaining vulnerable to global shocks.

The evidence points to a UK manufacturing industry that has been in decline for decades. That's why AMRC Cymru, also a part of the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult, is a collaboration between the University of Sheffield, the Welsh Government, and aerospace giant Airbus - is poised to be a catalyst for revitalising a sector that contributes more to Gross Value Added output in Wales than in any other region of the UK, an importance for Wales that cannot be overstated.

We aim to build something that delivers tangible and significant impact: improving productivity in the manufacturing sector, bringing supply chains back to Wales, reducing energy consumption, and driving growth in the Welsh economy.

Making a difference across Wales

Such lofty ambitions require time, but in our first five years, we've already gained some important momentum through our industry interventions across Wales.

In Flintshire and Powys, fully funded through their council’s UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund allocation, we've been delivering two outstanding programmes — developed by Mike Booker, head of innovation; Bobby Manesh, head of research and Lee Wheeler, theme lead on future mobility - for local councils. We've helped businesses decarbonise, increase productivity, and upskill their employees.

In Denbighshire, we worked with Denbighshire County Council, we’ve assisted businesses in transforming their operations with smart technology through the pilot Community Renewal programme. 

Across Wales, led by the expertise and excellence of Paul Shepherd, lead automation engineer, we've conducted over 20 programmes teaching companies how to digitally measure their energy use. By bringing this data to life and providing valuable insights through machine learning, we've helped reduce their energy consumption by up to five percent— benefiting both their balance sheets and the planet.

Meanwhile, more than 100 small businesses in Wales have benefited from our expertise on specific projects to solve their problems. Numerous companies have engaged with us across multiple projects, for example Polytag, which initially received support from us to develop a demonstrator for their technology - resulting in us working with them on a long-term basis.  

Through the five-day assist catapult programme, AMRC Cymru have supported a wide range of companies from sectors as diverse as food and drink, where they have demonstrated the use of robotics for packaging, to offshore energy, where we are de-risking the use of AI for underwater monitoring. Two of these companies have been recipients of the King’s Award, one for Innovation, Ruth Lee and one for Enterprise, LimbArt.   

We also helped a waffle maker in west Wales use robots to pack their products faster. We worked with an inventor who has designed carbon-free engines for boats, helping progress his idea towards reality. And we helped speed up the manufacture of prosthetic limb covers, potentially saving a Conwy-based designer £100,000 in capital costs.

Fit for the future

All our projects share a common purpose: to make Welsh industry fit for the future. We focus on new product development, automation, and manufacturing intelligence. But what does this look like on the ground?

Granada Cranes Ltd, manufacturers of davits installed on fixed and floating wind turbines for onshore and offshore energy conversion, approached us to help develop a new product. Our lead engineer, Dr James Allum, created an aesthetically stunning new concept inspired by nature and architecture. 

For several months, and in collaboration with Granada's engineers, we tackled the challenge of creating a design that was code-compliant and cost-effective to produce without diminishing the enchantment of James's vision. The result was an engineering masterpiece that is 20 percent more efficient to manufacture and has already secured orders worth over £20 million. We're now exploring automation of the fabrication and assembly lines to achieve even greater savings.

Rob Weatherhead, our lead engineer for aerospace, is working with Airbus to better understand their need from our organisational shape and technical skills. The goal is to ensure that we deliver exceptional value to Airbus on a program of immense importance to UK aerospace over the next ten years — the development of the next generation of single-aisle aircraft. This initiative is critical for maintaining the UK's leadership in aerospace innovation. 

Rob has also secured a significant ATI-funded programme with Safran Seats, which will draw upon the diverse skills across many centres under the AMRC Group.It is an excellent achievement that not only highlights our ability to lead large-scale projects but also reinforces the strength of collaboration within our internal network. 

Food and drink companies significantly contribute to the Welsh economy, but tight profit margins mean they invest less in research and development than other sectors. Led in this sector by the irrepressible energy of Andrew Martin, our head of food and drink, we have developed a new state-of-the-art production line for The Pudding Compartment, a company producing baked goods for schools, garden centres and train companies.

The introduction of advanced automation and digital data is revolutionising their business — they've recorded record outputs and are attracting exciting new customers. The project, funded by the Welsh Government, involved collaboration with partners such as CAD-IT, EBS Automation, Siemens, Small World Consulting and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, each making important contributions. Whilst this project is ongoing, it is a testament to how innovation can happen most effectively through partnerships and collaborations.

Supply chains are incredibly important. We are engaging with national frontier firms in Wales to better understand their reliance on imported parts and the challenges they face in sourcing locally. Bringing these supply chains back to Wales, we could add £100m a year to the Welsh economy and help address the current net trade deficit.

For example, Andy Silcox and Bobby Manesh, have been exploring how we can use recycled steel in the new electric arc furnaces at Tata to produce high-quality structural steel with good ductility at low temperatures. This steel can be used for large fabricated structures in South West Wales, constructed using automated welding techniques. 

This could lead to infrastructure like wind turbine towers being made entirely with Welsh materials, Welsh people, and Welsh creativity — an incredibly exciting change with huge potential benefits for the regional economy and sustainability. 

Richard James, our lead engineer of assurance, is in the process of developing a  potentially groundbreaking metrology system in collaboration with the National Physics Laboratory, Airbus and BAE Systems, a group which is currently assessing the project for ‘spin-out’ potential.

Sustainability is at the forefront of modern thinking. Wales is third in the world recycling league table - an unbelievable achievement for such a small country. To build on that, Bobby Manesh led on two separate UK research and development competitive funding calls around ‘smart sustainable plastic packaging’ challenges. 

He pulled together an exciting consortium to look at the challenges of identifying, sorting and segregating different types of plastic packaging at Material Recovery Facilities (MRF’s). Supported by engineers Samuel Latham, Alex Lewis, Laura Azaïs, Bobby devised a plan to develop industry 4.0 systems that could recognise unique identifiers (created by two of the project partners involving ink markers and wafer thin Radio Frequency Identification, RFID technologies), so that the packaging could ultimately be returned to the original producers for cleaning and recycling. 

Pride and promise

One of the most noteworthy aspects of our journey has been the increasing number of gifted women joining our engineering teams. 

Laura Azaïs and Vandana Koyampurath are outstanding data and software engineers; Rhian Griffith, Chloe Souter, and Lucy Morley have added tremendous value to our design competency, bringing fresh ideas and perspectives; and Sharan Kaur is an exceptionally talented engineer in the field of human-centric technologies, pushing the boundaries of human and robot interaction. 

We are equally well supported by women in project management. Natalie Young, Rachael Kopanski and Beth Hinchcliffe blend positivity, hard work, discipline and creative thinking —  providing immense value to our external stakeholders. In addition, Michelle Hibbert, Sian Price, Jodie Griffith and Zara-lea Field provide the highest levels of ‘backroom’  business support.

We are immensely proud of what we've built over the last five years. At every level and across every discipline, our team is filled with incredibly talented, passionate people who are dedicated to delivering for Wales. We've created a fantastic foundation upon which we can build something truly significant. 

Together with the Welsh Government, we're creating a vision of what Wales can be, further expanding upon our recent growth into South Wales. In the next five years, we have the potential to start moving the economic dial for Wales while creating indigenous supply chains and reducing energy use and waste across the manufacturing industry.

On our fifth birthday, we look back with pride — and look ahead with promise and confidence.