FEATURE Time to embrace
GRAHAM MULHOLLAND, CEO of epm: technology group, offers his expert opinion on the challenges facing the technology sector.
Technology in 2016 and beyond is going to be all about capability, capacity and skills. The East Midlands has a central role to play in the Government’s plan for recovery and growth, but the advances in expertise, quantity and scaling up to meet the needs of customers also requires a critical ingredient – brave customers - customers who realise that UK plc can produce cutting- edge solutions, innovations and increasingly be a home for the main event. More recognition is needed for the fact that high-risk,
precision manufacturing, produced in first-class factories by experts, can be found in and around the Midlands. I have one of these factories, producing composites,
carbon fibre components and complex assemblies in a state-of-the-art, purpose-built technology centre with 120 team members. We’re using our knowhow and technological advances to step up and meet the demand for new processes, new techniques, new materials and parts that are lighter, stronger and more performance- focused. But as with many industries, mine included, there are challenges – and even with the convenience of the UK’s world-class supply chain, the challenges to gain and retain customers are still clear. One such issue is how do we stop ‘global’ purchases from flying out of the UK? Suppliers need to realise that global can be local if the solution is credible, the criteria is met, the supplier is a great fit and, importantly, the price is right. Other challenges the industry is currently facing is how
to move from motorsport short runs to filling automotive requirements for thousands of parts, and how to meet the
ABOVE: No job too big or too small at epm: technology's new base
LEFT: Working on Rolls- Royce aircraft engines
the future
26 business network February 2016
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