Genlab Ltd was crowned winner of the Industry 4.0 award at the Northern Automotive Alliance annual dinner on the 9th November 2018. The award was in recognition of the Widnes based Industrial and Laboratory oven manufactures work with the Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC) of the University of Liverpool through the LCR 4.0 Programme, which is part-ERDF funded.
The Industry 4.0 award category was open to SMEs that have used advanced manufacturing technologies including additive manufacturing, augmented or virtual reality, autonomous systems, simulation, industrial IoT or big data to help improve their business.
Genlab approached the VEC for support in exploring the applications and benefits of factory simulation in driving efficiency within the company’s highly skilled manufacturing process. Genlab identified how to increase its productivity by 5% in the short term with a plan to increase this to 20% of the longer term.
Phil Crompton, Finance Director of Genlab said:
“We are delighted to be recognised for our advancements with our digital strategy through the work with the Virtual Engineering Centre. Genlab has always been an innovator in our field, embracing the potential of simulation and Industrial IoT so quickly in a large part due to the support of the VEC, has given us the confidence to make the decision to embrace new technology in a way that is practical, achievable and benefits the bottom line.”
The VEC accepted the award on behalf of Genlabs and Andrew Borland, VEC Commercialisation Manager said:
“Genlab is a great example of a manufacturing business with a focus on highly skilled manual tasks that have benefited from the adoption of digital tools, using them to refine rather and optimise time tested approaches.”
Since working with the VEC to explore the application of factory simulations, Genlab is now looking at how Industrial IoT and virtual prototyping can be implemented into the business to complement their product line.
