Staff from WMG, alongside colleagues from the School of Engineering were pleased to take part in the Cheltenham Science Festival which took place recently (2-6 June 2015).

Yesterday evening (Wednesday 10th June 2015), WMG at the University of Warwick celebrated the completion of its funded programme at the International Institute for Product and Service Innovation. It was announced that the programme had reached 1400 West Midlands companies, with 207 projects completed and as a result 200 jobs had been either safeguarded or created in the region.

The SME Team at WMG has also created four innovation driven businesses, and generated additional revenue for SMEs to engage in further research with the institution. A number of products have also been developed through the programme including a novel mudguard product - Mudhugger, ski locking system - Loqski with Barkley Plastics Ltd and an innovative LED light which has been designed for high speed camera applications with Simpact Engineering Ltd.

The International Institute for Product and Service Innovation was part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the University of Warwick to the value of £12.4 million. Over the last four years IIPSI and its Innovation Programme has supported West Midlands SMEs access world-leading technology to develop highly competitive, innovative products and services.

One company to benefit from the scheme was Autins Group who after initially attending a digital marketing workshop worked with WMG to develop a novel material from their factory waste and developed a new product line. Jim Griffin, Chairman at Autins Group said:

It has been a delight to work with WMG over the last four years. SMEs across the UK should make the most of the support offered by academic institutions to help them innovate and grow; it has certainly worked for us!”

Droitwich based company Barton Coldform Ltd has secured a contract with the Ford Motor Company thanks in part to the implementation of an innovative new process developed with WMG, University of Warwick.

The contract, worth £300,000 to the company, was awarded following the development of prototype parts that were produced using the latest additive manufacturing (3D Printing) techniques through an innovative programme based at WMG, University of Warwick.

The programme offers West Midlands SMEs the opportunity to access a range of cutting edge technologies to develop innovative new products and services. The programme operates from a dedicated facility called the International Institute for Product and Service Innovation which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Leading West Midlands SMEs were at WMG, University of Warwick, for an awards night which recognised Impact and Innovation.

The Innovation Feast took place over two days on the 10th and 11th December with a number of practical workshops and speeches delivered by leading industry figures including the chairman of the Midlands Assembly Network and managing director of PP Electrical Systems Ltd Tony Hague, manufacturing expert Will Stirling, managing director of Coventry based Sprue Safety Products Ltd Nick Rutter, innovation specialist at WMG Dr David Bott and customer engagement pioneers Rant & Rave Ltd. In total 14 companies and six interns were also celebrated for their contribution to economic growth in the West Midlands.

Birmingham based Barkley Plastics won the Impact award having increased turnover by over £1 million through their collaboration with WMG. The company’s former technical director Maurice Cassidy also won a special recognition award for his contribution to innovation in the West Midlands.

On Wednesday 10th December Coventry company Premier Group are to present a gift of an Olympic torch to Professor Lord Bhattacharyya Chairman of WMG at the University of Warwick revealing the secret story of how leading edge UK car manufacturing technology was used to create the torch.

Automotive companies are constantly looking for new high tech alloys and metals to make vehicles greener by reducing weight while retaining strength. Companies such as Premier Group who supply metal vehicle components need to quickly find new ways of working with shaping, welding and bonding these new materials if they are new to meet their customers evolving needs and in Premier Group’s case it turns to WMG for the manufacturing technology it needs.

When Premier Group received the contract to supply the 2012 Olympic torch it immediately faced a very familiar problem - an ambitious design using lightweight materials that would aid the runner carrying the torch but challenge the manufacturer creating it. As ever it was WMG who solved this problem, and they did so without charge as WMG’s contribution to a successful Olympics.

University of Warwick student Dan Beddow is one of 18 talented graduates and students from across the West Midlands region who have just helped local Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) with a variety of industry challenges thanks to a scheme run by the ERDF funded International Institute for Product and Service Innovation (IIPSI) at WMG at the University of Warwick.

SMEs in the West Midlands region benefitted from a funded internship programme to support innovative projects in their businesses. Projects included the development of digital marketing strategies, development of new technical services, implementation of new product lines, materials testing and product design.

One of the SMEs to benefit was Rugby’s Automotive Insulations Ltd (AI Ltd), specialists in the design and manufacture of innovative noise reduction systems and thermal management solutions. They took on two interns, Dan Beddow, an Engineering student from the University of Warwick, who lives in Coventry’s Tile Hill area, and Sarah McDougall a Chemistry student from the University of Central Lancashire. Sarah spent time testing the viability of a number of new materials ready to go into production and Dan worked on an exhibition demonstrator project for the IZB exhibition in Germany resulting in a cut away of a MINI Cooper that showcased all of AI’s products in one vehicle and an innovative touch screen system for visitors at the exhibition to use.

Adit Jaiswal, an intern working with the SME team, was part of the winning team at the Euromoney Hackathon, and was also awarded an idividual prize for his efforts.

The Hackathon, which was held on 4^th and 5^th October, was organised by Euromoney PLC at CCT Venues, London, for which MarkLogic was the main sponsor. Teams had 36 hours to come up with a software tool, for which the winning team would be awarded a cash prize of £4,000..

Every team comprised of four members, each of whom fulfilled the role of either a back-end developer, front-end developer, tester, or a business analyst. Additionally, each team had an employee from Euromoney appointed as the team mentor.

Adit says: "During my discussion with our mentor, I identified two ongoing areas of concern in the company; realising full potential of their API’s, and identifying potential customers. I used both these issues to come up with a web tool which identifies potential customers using social media profiles. Moreover, this enables tremendous opportunities for cross segment and cross market selling.

The application not only won my team the Hackathon competition, but I was also awarded an additional title for the individual displaying “Best Efforts” along with a cash prize of £1000."

The Manufacturing Excellence Awards (MX), run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), were held at the University of Warwick on 30th September. Ahead of the ceremony, Professor Lord Bhattacharyya hosted a drinks reception for the nominees and guests in WMG's International Digital Laboratory.

Guests were welcomed by Lord Bhattacharyya and Colin Brown, Engineering Director at the IMechE, and given private tours of WMG's materials research and Energy Innovation Centre.

MX is a business improvement and awards programme that supports and promotes manufacturers in the UK ensuring industry productivity and worldwide competitiveness within SMEs, Mid-Caps and OEMs. WMG has been a partner of the MX Awards for many years and Professor Lord Bhattacharyya said:

The MX awards show the very best of British manufacturing, and I’m delighted to congratulate every company and every innovator who has had a part to play in the success stories being highlighted this evening"

WMG at the University of Warwick and the Midlands Assembly Network (MAN) have announced that by working together they have boosted sales by over £1m and are set to create more than ten new jobs.

The dedicated SME team at WMG and MAN, a consortium of ten world class manufacturers based in the West Midlands, have been working together on a number of research led innovation projects, including the development of novel prototypes, materials analysis and the capture of funding for capital equipment.

They have now agreed to collaborate on a long-term innovation strategy that will also encompass leadership support to equip the management teams with the skills and know-how to implement their growth plans.

WMG has secured the 100th job in the region since the launch of a dedicated innovation support programme for businesses in our International Institute for Product and Service Innovation in September 2012. Alongside this, we have created another 45 jobs and helped establish 7 new businesses.

The innovation programme helps West Midlands SMEs solve specific manufacturing, product development and business process challenges that they may have. It also offers a range of interactive workshops; collaborative networking events and specialist internships, helping SMEs embed the skills and processes they need to innovate and to grow their businesses.

The 100th job was secured at Coventry based Region Services Limited (RSL) market leaders in developing and supplying public information systems, such as interactive terminals, broadcast screens and smart ticketing machines.