Chris is on a mission to transform manufacturing power in Scotland
National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) CEO Chris Courtney tells Emma Newlands that he is firmly focused on the impact of innovation-focused organisation
Chris Courtney is chief executive of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) which unites industryled research and development (R&D), innovation and skills facilities to “transform” the future of manufacturing.
It is operated by the University of Strathclyde, is backed by organisations including Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland, and last summer opened its flagship heather-coloured R&D facility in Paisley.
Courtney’s roles prior to joining NMIS in late 2022 span UK government-backed UK Research and Innovation and corporate giants including Deloitte and Rolls-Royce, while he has also been chief technology officer at a startup. He says his whole career has involved transformation projects enabled by technology. But he also stresses: “Knowing what technology can do is only half the story – you need to know how to apply it.”
NMIS recently delivered a project providing a £1m boost altogether to 100-plus Scottish SMEs, helping them to harness the capabilities of industrial 3D printing.
The Additive Manufacturing Business and Technology (AM-Bats) project is a great example of how NMIS supports manufacturers across Scotland to explore how they can best utilise novel technologies to deliver growth.
The project captures what NMIS was set up to do: help manufacturers of all sizes across the country to adopt new technologies, support their growth, and deliver positive impact for them and their communities. All of this was supported by funding through the Scottish Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Challenge Fund via the European Regional Development Fund, and many of the business involved have gone on to create new products or changed how they manufacture their current ones to incorporate 3D-printed elements.
Another key goal for NMIS is fostering productivity, something that has historically been a challenge for Scotland. How can you help boost this?
It is not a simple issue to fix but, generally speaking, we have lower levels of adoption of automation, robotics, and digital technologies compared to other developed nations, which needs to be addressed.
While manufacturing is relatively productive compared to other sectors, there are opportunities for improvement through adopting new technologies and approaches. NMIS’s role is to help companies innovate and implement the advanced technologies that will most benefit their business, and support them with the skills to make the most of it. Productivity and sustainability are the dominant themes among most of the projects we work on, driving down costs, and driving up throughput. We have a real challenge with skills shortages, so we must be more productive with the current workforce.
NMIS also says it is looking to help “develop a vibrant workforce, and create happier, healthier, greener communities”. How are you hoping to achieve this?
We want to help companies in the development of new products and services, and to make those new products in more sustainable ways, helping them to grow. We are also supporting the growth of sectors key to a net-zero future, such as renewables, and helping established industries like maritime and transport to decarbonise. All of these activities can provide an economic boost and positive environmental impact, creating wellpaid, highly-skilled green jobs in our communities. Ultimately, it’s about developing partnerships to effectively implement ideas, skills, and technologies that enable companies to grow.
How do your partners and the broader ecosystem help drive forward its ambitions?
We work with hundreds of businesses every year; government departments across the UK; research and academic bodies, including our colleagues in other departments of the University of Strathclyde; and economic and skills development agencies; among a whole host of other organisations.
Being part of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult means we have direct access to a national network of globally-recognised manufacturing and engineering capability. The closeness of that ecosystem is a unique advantage for Scotland, and we need to make as much of that as possible.
Can you outline targets for the coming years?
We have set expectations in our funding agreements for a number of metrics. But rather than just talking about the number of projects we have delivered, I want us to also be asking questions such as: Have we seen the creation of companies? Has that translated into job growth and economic activity? So, it’s about a mixture of hard metrics and softer, more difficult-to-measure impact – even at an individual level. If you look at any growth transformation story, it has to involve skills.
Productivity and sustainability are the dominant themes among most of the projects we work on