Editor’s View

I have visited a fair number of small to medium sized German manufacturers, and it can sometimes come as a shock to the system the extent to which they have adopted, or are in the process of adopting, end-to-end digitalised manufacturing processes.

It is quite common to find family owned companies in the 50 to 150 employee band investing millions of Euros to bring together the automated importing of part files from customers, automated scheduling and integration with enterprise software, automated quoting, automatically generated bills of material and the automated offline creation of CAM programs. These are then produced on the latest hightechnology automated systems and digitally tracked at every step of their production journey.

It is heartening to see that UK manufacturers are getting on track with the digital transformation too. The Made Smarter initiative has done a lot of sterling work to bring smaller companies up to speed. It has now launched a new ‘fast-track’ leadership programme to help the bosses of our UK SMEs accelerate the process.

It says that in just three months, the ‘Leading Digital Transformation’ programme will turn participants into digitally informed, empowered leaders, armed with a bespoke digitalisation strategy. Leaders will walk away with a set of practical tools, a strategy for digital transformation and an offer to access further support from Made Smarter, including funding for new technology.

Places are limited and you can find out more on MadeSmarter.uk.

If you want some meaty insights to back up your own digital thinking, you can download a report from Siemens from its 2022 Transform event. This bought together 2,000 industry, government and economic ‘thought leaders’ to share their views on the state of progress towards digital transformation in industry, infrastructure and society. You can find it at siemens.co.uk/transform.

Andy Sandford, Editor

With over 20 years’ experience in machining aerospace precision turned components, APT Leicester was recently set the task of producing some guide roller shafts for a lift to support pigs weighing as much as half a tonne.

Two years ago a sounder (the collective noun for swine) of 100 pigs found safety at the not-forprofit Beneath The Wood animal sanctuary in Wales. Having been rescued from an illegal and horrific slaughterhouse, the pigs were in a dreadful physical state. Their hooves had grown, in some cases becoming curved and uneven, to the point where they were struggling to stand and walk. They were in desperate need of pedicures.

News of the pigs’ plight was initially shared by Leicesterbased product design company, Designeering, who had stepped in to engineer the special pig lift. Recognising that this was an excellent cause, APT Leicester was happy to offer its services.

Following the creation of the unique modular pig lift design, APT manufactured the guide roller shafts. These mill-turned parts were made from marine grade stainless steel, providing the level of strength and weather-resistance needed in the harsh outdoor environment of the sanctuary.

Sasha Bennett, Director at Beneath The Wood Sanctuary, said: “We’re delighted with the overall design The pig lift is fit for purpose, easy to operate and safe to use. This innovation is a