Rochdale business man to embark on a trailblazing leadership programme 

Jeremy Kemsley-Pein, Director of Heatsense Cables, is among 12 business leaders from across the region who have embarked on an eight-month leadership programme involving a mixture of workshops, site-visits to ‘smart’ SME manufacturers around the region and facilitated-learning sessions.

Heatsense Cables is a specialist high-performance cable manufacturer based in Rochdale.

Mr Kemsley-Pein is part of the Made Smarter Leadership Programme, run in collaboration with Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) and the government-backed £20m Made Smarter initiative for North West manufacturers.

Programme participants undertook their first site visit to Runcorn-based Hosokawa Micron Ltd, a manufacturer and supplier of powder processing systems and equipment, which has transformed its production performance through the application of digital technologies, allowing them to see a smart factory in action.

Jeremy Kemsley-Pein said: “This visit to Hosokawa has shown me the evolution of adopting a digital strategy, rolling it out and then offering it to industry.

“I am looking at taking some of my production lines and digitalising them using the Internet of Things.

“I want to develop a digital strategy. It’s all very well doing little snippets, but you need the whole picture before you start to spend money on that type of journey. This programme is certainly helping that.”

During the programme, participants will enhance their leadership capacity to enable them to take a strategic view required to adopt hi-tech and digitally-based manufacturing techniques into their own production processes.

They will also gain insights into undertaking an audit to reveal how digital-ready their business currently is, how to measure the true impact and value of any changes they make to the way they work, and how to successfully bring employees and other stakeholders along on their journey of business transformation.

Other parts of the programme, which will be delivered jointly by LUMS’ academic experts and business leaders already using smart technology, will include special project sprints to test new ideas.

Donna Edwards, Director of the North West Made Smarter pilot, said: “I’m delighted to see that the Made Smarter Leadership Programme delivered by Lancaster University Management School is already having a positive impact on its first cohort of business leaders in the North West.

“The programme is a unique opportunity for manufacturers who want to accelerate the adoption of advanced digital technologies within their business.

“Crucially, it allows leaders to take time out of their business to reflect on the bigger picture and share ideas and experiences alongside their peers in manufacturing. This will help them return to their own business and develop a digital strategy – which has been identified as something many businesses lack, yet it is essential to create growth and efficiencies.”

Made Smarter includes match funding opportunities and the provision of impartial technical advice SMEs adopting digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Industrial Internet of Things, 3D-printing and robotics, to support advanced manufacturing.

Companies interested in registering or wanting more details should visit

• www.madesmarter.uk