The Directory was developed by the HVM Catapult in collaboration with The Data City and Digital Catapult, as part of the Made Smarter Innovation | Digital Supply Chain Hub. It is claimed to offer more extensive and better quality information on UK manufacturers than any other source. Users can search the directory by company size, location, specialist areas, or other filters. They can also find suppliers or supply chains based on their manufacturing capabilities.
By building closer ties with local businesses, the tool will help manufacturers to increase their supply chain visibility and address potential weaknesses with upstream and downstream partners. Connecting with local suppliers could also cut transport distances, emissions and costs.
Businesses can apply to include their company profiles in the directory, allowing them to showcase information and to attract new customers and suppliers.
The Manufacturing Energy Toolkit service will help UK SMEs to cut their energy costs
• The HVM Catapult has also launched a Manufacturing Energy Toolkit that helps SMEs to cut their energy costs, while boosting profitability. Experts from the Catapult perform an assessment or road-mapping process, at no cost to the SME. The aim is to build a full understanding of an SME’s energy use, as well as potential ways of improving its efficiency.
The process starts with a funded visit to an SME’s site to assess its energy mix and usage. The experts identify production line inefficiencies and offer energy-saving suggestions. They also analyse the SME’s greenhouse gas emissions.
In a pilot run by WMG (an HVM Catapult innovation centre at the University of Warwick), the Toolkit cut SMEs’ energy costs by 12-46%. They saved an average of 21%, and in one case, a single machine achieved a 90% saving.
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