Northern Ireland businesses looking to boost productivity and competitiveness can sign up to the next round of the Manufacturing Efficiency Programme.
Jointly funded by Belfast and Lisburn City Councils, this training programme is designed to support local manufacturers by focusing on their use of resources – energy, materials and man-hours.
The programme will run from September until March 2013 and is open to 12 local manufacturing businesses – six from Belfast and six from Lisburn City Council areas. It will consist of tailored workshops, one-to-one mentoring and support from industry experts.
Alderman Christopher Stalford, Chairman of Belfast City Council’s Development Committee, said: “The thinking behind manufacturing efficiency is to maximise customer value while minimizing waste. By taking part in this exciting programme, we also hope that local manufacturers will enhance their sustainability and competitiveness.”
Alderman Jim Dillon, Chair of Lisburn City Council’s Economic Development Committee, said: “Modern manufacturing processes are often highly inefficient in their use of precious resources including energy, materials and man-hours. Lisburn City Council is therefore delighted to support this initiative which is designed to support manufacturers to enhance competitiveness and productivity through a structured programme of analysis, workshops and implementation.”
Esme Porter from Suki Tea, a previous participant of the programme, said taking part helped the company steamline its business and gain a 25 per cent increase in production output.
“We now dispatch 96 per cent of our orders in full and on time, a further improvement from before the programme and we have received assistance in structuring a project and following through with it,” she said.
“As a small business, the guidance we received from being part of the programme has been invaluable and of great benefit to the company and we continue to put the teachings into practice as our company continues to grow and new challenges are thrown our way.”
The Manufacturing Efficiency Programme is a partnership between Belfast City Council and Lisburn City Council with support from the Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland. It is being delivered by Ortus Business Development Agency.