This is a service that is offered to small firms for free via funding from the ERDF. To be eligible for this funding, a firm must be considered manufacturing-based, it must be a small firm (i.e. it must employ 250 staff or less) and it must be registered within the Northwest of England. Since its inception in March 2000, over 135 small companies have benefited from the services offered by the Cent
re. Besides practical workshops, we offer “in-depth” projects that involve working hands-on within the company. So, for example, this could mean us acting as a mentor for one or more of your staff, or it could mean a student secondment on your premises supervised by one of our experts. It is really down to you, but what we really would be looking for is a project that will have lasting benefits for your company. Projects we have completed already have included the implementation and updating of Quality Systems as well as IT-based systems (e.g. ERP & MRP) and also strategy-related projects (e.g. simulation modelling of machinery and its resource implications). Marketing-type projects have included the assessment and development of marketing plans, re-alignment and updating of the brand image and assistance with targeting new markets.
