UK Government increases investment in PICME

A PICME product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jan 31, 2003

The Process Industries Centre for Manufacturing Excellence has won an additional GBP 2.25 million funding package from the UK Government.

The Process Industries Centre for Manufacturing Excellence has won an additional GBP 2.25 million funding package from the UK Government.

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Patricia Hewitt announced the Government decision at the Annual Business Outlook conference of the Chemical Industries Association last week.

Hewitt quoted the testimony of PICME's satisfied clients at the conference and concluded that: "PICME has done really well.

It has already helped twenty companies secure benefits of GBP 14 million.

Expressed another way: for every pound from Government, industry has already gained ten - with much more to come".

Hewitt added: "This is what industry forums are all about; hands-on practical help that has a direct and measurable impact.

The funding that the DTI is providing over the next four years will allow PICME to step up its efforts".

This additional government backing will extend PICME's grant funding for a further two years up to 2006 and enable it to broaden its scope.

PICME's core mission is to help UK process manufacturers improve their efficiency.

PICME Chief Executive Mark Lewis praised the government's decision to back an existing body rather than create a new one and urged companies in the process sector to take advantage of the services being offered.

"We now have a range of packages tailored for every company's needs in the process sector - large and small.

An operational improvement programme may seem like a large investment - but all participants to date have been paid back many times over".

The news of PICME's extra funding was also warmly received by the Chemical Industries Association (CIA); the body which oversaw the creation of the company.

CIA Director General Judith Hackitt said, "This news underlines the UK government's commitment to manufacturing and will enable PICME to build on its considerable success over the past two years".

PICME Chief Executive Mark Lewis notes that the disciplines of manufacturing assessment, benchmarking and manufacturing improvement have already delivered significant benefits to those companies who have taken advantage of the Government provision through PICME.

Lewis estimates that clients to date have saved six figure sums once they have gone through PICME improvement workshops and programmes.

"It is very pleasing for us to see clients such as UCB, Rohm and Haas, Anson Packaging, Novartis, Jotun and others going from strength to strength.

Anson Packaging, our first client, won three prestigious awards at Britain's Best Factory last November and we hope to be guiding many other businesses through similar channels of success".

Lewis adds that "PICME's basic aim is to get the UK's process manufacturers working smarter and more profitably.

I would urge any processor to discover the PICME benefits for themselves".

PICME has been charged by the Government to add GBP 120 million to the profitability of UK process manufacturing over the next five years through increased productivity and reduced cost.

Half way through its first term PICME has already achieved savings of some GBP 65 million for its clients.