A government-funded and industry-led initiative has marked its fourth anniversary by helping its 250th SME manufacturer invest in new technology.

The program, which was launched in 2019, aims to help businesses digitalize, decarbonize, and drive growth.

Over the past four years, Made Smarter has helped 70 Lancashire-based businesses, including one in Colne, with £1.5m towards 82 technology projects, worth £6.1m after £4.6m in private sector investment.

These investments are expected to create more than 450 new jobs, upskill almost 1,000 existing roles, and deliver an additional £71.6m in gross value added (GVA) for the Lancashire economy over the next three years.

Lancashire businesses to secure support from Made Smarter include Airframe Designs, Cornvale Fine Foods, Derek Fox & Sons, Honeywell Meats, Mitchell Interflex in Colne, and Northern Joinery.

Airframe Designs, a specialist engineering company in Blackpool, is investing in 3D scanning technology to support the launch of its new AFD-3D division, which will supply 3D engineering and manufacturing services to the aviation, defence, space, marine, nuclear, rail, and automotive industries.

Manufacturers who have already benefited from Made Smarter support are taking the next step in their digitalization journey, including Fylde Fresh & Fabulous and Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses.

Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses, based in Preston, became more flexible and agile after investing in software systems and is now looking at improving other areas of the business.

Manufacturing manager at Airframe Designs, Garry Sellick, said: “The technology and innovation that the scanner brings is game-changing, enabling an efficient seamless integration of geometrical point data between our design, analysis and manufacturing teams and with our customers.

"The support from Made Smarter has been fantastic and accelerated our ambitious plans."

Owner of Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses, Daniel Hall, said: "We’re driving innovation across the market to meet the needs of our customers, and with a growing team, we’re always looking for more ways to optimise our efficiency and support and motivate our people to be their best.

"Digitizing key areas of our production has enabled us to visualize key trends and insights on screens in real-time, helping the team to make quick decisions through transparency of data. The investment has had a really positive impact."