Tell us whether you accept cookies

We use cookies to collect information about how you use Made Smarter. We use this information to make the website work as well as possible and improve our services.

Made Smarter has launched a £3 million digital adoption push to drive growth in East Midlands manufacturing SMEs and help them boost productivity.

Made Smarter East Midlands Digital experts will provide advice and support to manufacturing businesses on how to switch to advanced and automated technologies. The programme provides digital transformation road mapping, leadership development, grant funding and access to industrial digital technology expertise to help with implementation until 31st March 2026.

Made Smarter East Midlands is delivered by the Lincolnshire County Council on behalf of the East Midlands Cluster.

Start your digital manufacturing journey
What’s on offer in the East Midlands?
Localised advice and support

 

Our Digital Transformation Specialists engage with each eligible business to understand how Made Smarter can support their digitalisation journey. Made Smarter East Midlands offers the following wide range of fully funded support to the region’s Manufacturing SME.

Digital Road Mapping – Working with you to create a digitalisation plan for your business, including an initial implementation plan detailing immediate next steps and support we can offer to help to get you on your digitalisation journey.

Access to fully funded impartial Industrial Digital Technology Advice (IDTA). This is external impartial consultancy support to answer your questions and provide trusted advice.

Helping leaders develop the critical skills required to “Lead Digital Transformation” for their business. This is done through our Leading Digital Transformation Programme aimed at CEOs, MDs and Owner Managers. This offering is fully funded and free of charge.

Five Short Technical Training Courses, fully funded free of charge, in the following subjects:

  • Introduction to MRP and ERP Systems

  • Introduction to CRM Systems

  • Business Process Improvement for Manufacturers

  • Transforming Manufacturing Efficiency

  • Cybersecurity for Manufacturers

Fully funded HR Consultancy Support in the following topics;

  • Organisational Design

  • Cultural Change Management

  • Values & Behaviours

  • Teamworking

  • Talent Management

  • Succession Planning

  • Employee Engagement

  • Employee Performance Measurement and Management

Digital Internships - Giving you access to students from the region’s six leading Universities to undertake focussed Internship projects. The Internship timeframes, scope and scale are flexible to meet the needs of your business. Internship wages and National Insurance contributions are fully funded.

Localised leadership development in “Leading Digital Transformation”

Made Smarter East Midlands offers a leadership development programme focussed on equipping leaders to lead the digital transformation of their business. Programme details are as follows

  • 3 Month programme

  • 6 Bite-sized workshops

  • Peer group cohorts of 12 Manufacturing leaders – All leading digital transformations

Content covers:

  • Leadership challenges of digitalisation

  • Managing digital change

  • Digitalisation strategy

  • Sprint methodology for implementation

Localised funding Support

Up to 50% match funding (Maximum of £20,000 per company) is available for equipment and/or specialist advice to implement Industrial Digital Technology (IDT) projects in the following disciplines;

    • Additive Manufacturing (3D printing)

    • AR & VR

    • Big Data & Analytics

    • Cognitive Computing & AI (machine learning)

    • Data & Systems Integration

    • Industrial Cyber Security

    • Internet of Things/ CPS (sensors, Barcode, QRCode, RFID, NFC, bluetooth etc)

    • Mobile Devices & Wearables

More from Made Smarter
Case Studies - Our impact as told by our clients
Skipper’s Pet Products Ltd
Driving Growth with Digital Innovation

Founded in 2013 by former fish merchant Steve Moore and based in Grimsby, UK, Skipper’s Pet Products Ltd specialises in manufacturing and retailing high-quality, natural pet treats made from sustainably sourced fish.

With a strong commitment to pet health and nutrition, the company has developed a loyal customer base.

While they have successfully integrated digital technology into its e-commerce operations, its largely manual production processes created inefficiencies that limited growth potential.

Case Study: Skipper’s Pet Products Ltd
Label Apeel
Leading the Way in Digital Transformation

Label Apeel has a long history of excellence in delivering high-quality label printing and decoration services. 

Founded in the early 1980s, the company has grown from a small garage operation into a leading UK print manufacturer, serving various industries, including beers, wines, spirits, cosmetics, beauty, luxury food, and sports nutrition.
As a family-owned business, Label Apeel prides itself on maintaining world-class levels of customer satisfaction.
Recently, they started on a digital transformation journey with the support of Made Smarter East Midlands to enhance their operational efficiency and customer service

Case Study - Label Apeel
Rutland Plastics
Accelerates Their Digital Journey through Made Smarter East Midlands

Rutland Plastics has always been recognised for its technical expertise in injection moulding.

Their consistent drive for improvement has helped the family-run company, and major local employer, grow steadily over the past 70 years whilst facing various economic crises.

Rutland Plastics has a long history of working with customers, both domestic and international, helping them with design for manufacture, manufacture of mould tools and production of injection moulded plastic parts. Rutland Plastics manufactures a wide variety of plastic parts from everyday household items for small and major brands through to medical parts and even large-scale infrastructure components weighing up to 45 kilograms.

Case Study - Rutland Plastics
Heat Seal Trade Windows
From Tradition to Technology

How Heat Seal Trade Windows Embraced Digital Innovation

Founded in 2003, Heat Seal Trade Windows (trading as HS Trade) has established itself as a leader in manufacturing high-quality uPVC windows and doors for trade customers across the UK. With a commitment to exceptional quality, competitive pricing, and unrivalled customer service, HS Trade has built a strong reputation among installers nationwide. 

Case Study - Heat Seal Trade Windows
Pyramid Motorcycles
Technology moves quickly

Technology moves quickly, and Pyramid Motorcycles has been making use of cutting-edge technology thanks to Made Smarter East Midlands.

Made Smarter worked with Pyramid Motorcycles a specialist designer of after-market motorcycle parts, to find innovative new ways to speed up their design through to production process, getting good quality parts to market as quick as possible.

Case Study - Pyramid Motorcycles
Processing