MANUFACTURING
Planning permission has been granted for the development of the state-of-the-art National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) facility.
Situated on Netherton Campus at the centre of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) in Renfrewshire, the new facility is set to transform manufacturing in Scotland.
Renfrewshire Council’s planning authority gave the green light to plans for the brand new energy carbon neutral building, which comes complete with a distinctive heather coloured façade.
At around 1.5 times the size of Hampden football pitch, the facility will include a skills academy, a fully digitalised factory of the future and a collaboration hub. The new facility will help support manufacturing and engineering firms of all sizes and from all sectors across the country, and internationally, to innovate and grow their businesses.
NMIS is a group of industry-led manufacturing research and development facilities where industry, academia and the public sector work together on ground-breaking manufacturing research to transform productivity levels, make companies more competitive and boost the skills of our current and future workforce.
It is operated by the University of Strathclyde and supported by Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Funding Council and Renfrewshire Council.
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UK manufacturers are leading the way in automation uptake across key processes when compared with the national average, despite lingering caution over the technology’s “potential for physical and financial upheaval.”
More than 90% of firms in the manufacturing sector have adopted automated processes during the past year, viewing its implementation in key areas as a necessary long-term investment for sustained business.
This against a nationwide uptake of 87% and pockets of the UK where fewer numbers see automation as an opportunity, according to the latest research by business advisory firm BDO.