New centre to support the region’s manufacturers

The University of Teesside is holding a special event on Thursday 4 September to officially launch its new B2B Manufacturing Centre.

The keynote speaker will be Sir Kumar Bhattacharya, head of the University of Warwick’s Manufacturing Group. Also speaking will be Dr John Bridge, Chairman of regional development agency One NorthEast and Professor Graham Henderson, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Teesside.

The B2B Manufacturing Centre is the result of collaboration between the University of Teesside and the National B2B Centre based at the University of Warwick. The Teesside centre has been supported by a £1.8m grant from One NorthEast and Europe and directed by Professor Munir Ahmad of the University’s School of Science & Technology.

Professor Henderson said: “I am very pleased that we have been able to work successfully with the University of Warwick and our other partners on this valuable initiative. The new venture aims to provide businesses in the region with the help, facilities and support they need to make the most of new technologies to become contenders in global supply chains.”

The centre’s manager is Brian Burgess. He said: “The centre is crucial to raise the region’s manufacturing performance through better use of Information and Communications Technologies. Areas to be covered by the B2B Manufacturing Centre include e-trading, supply chain management, collaborative product development, and distribution.”

Dr John Bridge, Chair of One NorthEast, added: “The National B2B centre established at the University of Warwick is nationally recognised for its work in helping business meet the challenges of new technologies and advances. The new Teesside resource - which is based on this national model - will provide North East manufactures with ways to re-engineer their operations, identify areas where innovation can be introduced and better equip them to compete globally.”

The B2B opening event will be held from 3.30pm on Thursday 4 September at the University of Teesside’s Innovation and Virtual Reality Centre. For more information contact Brian Burgess on 01642 384444.

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