Making Scotland’s Future: a vision for manufacturing

Public support

The Scottish Government has invested heavily to support the manufacturing sector, in particular to promote the take-up of advanced manufacturing technologies and processes.  This is vital in order to keep the sector competitive in the global marketplace.  In particular, the Scottish Government and its partners have invested a total of £75 million in NMIS – the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland – enabling the construction of its outstanding flagship facility in Renfrewshire.

Located near Glasgow Airport at the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS), NMIS is a high performing industry-led research and development group with a mission to make Scotland a global leader in advanced, sustainable manufacturing.  As such, it works with industry to unlock productivity gains, develop new products and processes, and promote sustainable practices that will offer a competitive edge.  The new facility, alongside the other specialised elements of the NMIS Group, acts as a powerful catalyst for investment, innovation and continuous improvement across the sector. NMIS Group consists of:

• The Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC)
• The Lightweight Manufacturing Centre (LMC)
• The Digital Factory
• The Manufacturing Skills Academy
• The Capability Network

• The Digital Process Manufacturing Centre (due to open later in 2024)

We also established the Advancing Manufacturing Challenge Fund (AMCF) to support manufacturing sector leadership and capabilities in Scottish SMEs. From 2020, a total of twelve projects across Scotland were taken forward by a mix of organisations.  The European funding which enabled them is no longer available.  However, many of the projects have been very successful, leading to significant ongoing funding support.  The projects that continue to offer a service are listed below:

• Advancing Manufacturing Centre (West Highlands hub located in Fort William and managed by UHI)
• Advancing Innovative Manufacturing in the South of Scotland (AIMS) (AIMS) (led by Dumfries and Galloway Council, with support from Scottish Borders Council, Dumfries and Galloway College, Borders College and South of Scotland Enterprise)
• Eden Campus Energy Demonstrator (part of Eden Campus, St Andrews University)
• Make it SMART Hub for Manufacturing & Construction in the Highlands and Islands (a programme provided by Built Environment - Smarter Transformation, Inverness College UHI, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and other innovation partners)
• Medical Device Manufacturing Centre (located in Heriot Watt University)
• SCOUT (Scottish Outreach) (provided by CPI along with CMAC Future Manufacturing Research Hub and the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre)
• Smart Hub Lanarkshire (located at New College Lanarkshire, Motherwell Campus)
• Supply Chain Aerospace (while this project completed in June 2023, support is still available through South Ayrshire Council’s Business Support team)

Scottish Enterprise also run the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS).  SMAS was established in 2004 to provide small and medium sized manufacturers with practical support and advice on new manufacturing technology and best practice.  SMAS can offer a number of services to businesses including:

• a capital asset review service, to help companies to assess the benefits of investing in advanced manufacturing technologies and equipment.
• a manufacturing 4.0 service that helps manufacturing companies to take advantage of new technologies and advance their integration with data and digital.

For a more comprehensive view of facilities and services on offer to Scottish-based manufacturers, have a browse of the Manufacturing Support Network.

For general business support, go to Find Business Support