Supercar make Briggs Automotive is one of a number of Liverpool city region businesses boosting their productivity through the Made Smarter programme. Tony McDonough reports

A programme helping manufacturers boost productivity and growth using digital tools has reached a major milestone, having now backed its 200th technology project.

Made Smarter is a national, Government-backed programme which, since 2019, has worked with more than 1,200 Merseyside and. North West businesses. It supports them to introduce digital tools and technologies to help boost productivity and growth.

The latest businesses in the Liverpool city region to secure support from the Made Smarter Adoption programme in the North West include:

• Heap & Partners (Birkenhead)
• Briggs Automotive Company (Speke)
• SFL Mobile Radio (Bromborough)
• Fold Hill Foods (Liverpool)
• Lewis Howes Signs & Engraving (Liverpool)
• The Dental House (Liverpool)
• Pearsons Glass (Liverpool)
• CAE. Services (Wallasey)
• Rose Lane Technology (Liverpool)

And some businesses who have already experienced the benefits of the government funded and industry-led programme are now taking the next step on their digitalisation journeys. They include: Generation Juice (Birkenhead) and Machfab Engineering (Birkenhead).

Launched in 2019, the Made Smarter Adoption programme in the North West has now supported 161 businesses with £3.9m matched funding for 201 projects, leveraging £10.5M of private sector investment.

This includes 35 businesses in Liverpool city region which have secured grants worth £898,000 for 42 technology projects, valued at £3.2m after private investment. Some manufacturers are developing projects using emerging technologies which enable them to integrate systems, capture and analyse data.

Across the North West, this transformative technology adoption is forecast to create 990 new jobs, upskill 1,845 existing roles, and deliver an additional £162.4m in gross value added (GVA) for the North West economy.

In Liverpool city region 270 new jobs will be created, 248 existing roles will be upskilled, and an additional £39.1M in gross value added (GVA) for the region’s economy.

Briggs Automotive Company (BAC), a supercar manufacturer based in Liverpool, is adopting technology to drive data and systems integration throughout the company with the support and advice of Made Smarter.

Neill Briggs, co-founder of BAC, said: “In a world where remote working is becoming more and more prominent, being connected across the business is becoming more and more important and we are looking forward to tackling this challenge head on and evolving off the back of it. 

“This investment will accelerate our business goals to grow and create new jobs and upskill our current workforce.”

Since 2019 Made Smarter has engaged with 1,266 businesses in the region to help them introduce digital tools and technologies to help boost productivity and growth and navigate the impact of Covid-19.