News: South Yorkshire Innovation District launches business-led energy challenge

A pioneering initiative is underway as the South Yorkshire Innovation District, in collaboration with industry leaders, announces the start of a pilot ‘Innovation Challenge’ aimed at transforming manufacturing practices through the practical application of regional innovation capabilities.

This joint effort, supported by the business community, South Yorkshire Innovation District, Four Jaw Analytics, and Made Smarter, boasts a collaboration with prominent industry partners including Gripple, AESSEAL, PEP GB, Amodo and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).

The initiative underscores a collective commitment to foster innovation-led growth and tackle challenges faced by manufacturing SMEs in South Yorkshire. Originating from the Innovation District Business Network established in 2022, the initiative aims to drive a more prosperous regional economic outlook by facilitating practical solutions and access to new opportunities.

The Innovation Challenge targets energy optimisation and operational efficiency improvement within participating SMEs. Companies such as Arden Winch, Charles Day Steels, EE Ingleton, Footprint Tools, Maher, Steetley Corner, and Whites Bakery are set to benefit from Four Jaw's manufacturing analytics technology during a 3-month trial period. This solution, coupled with tech advice and peer mentoring, empowers businesses to enhance insights, reduce costs, and boost productivity.

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In addition to technological support, participating SMEs will receive financial support from Made Smarter, enabling them to embark on a digital transformation journey. Made Smarter will also craft bespoke digital roadmaps for each business, paving the way for future success in an increasingly digitised and competitive landscape.

Recognising the importance of mentorship in navigating these transformative changes, the South Yorkshire Innovation District has curated a mentor programme comprising seasoned industry experts. These mentors will provide invaluable guidance and support to the leadership teams of participating SMEs, ensuring they are equipped to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the innovation challenge.

Gordon Macrae, Special Projects Manager at Gripple, siad: "We are thrilled to unveil this collaborative initiative, which exemplifies the spirit of innovation and partnership in South Yorkshire. By leveraging the expertise of industry leaders and SMEs, we aim to drive meaningful change, accelerate innovation adoption, and unlock new growth opportunities."

The Innovation Challenge will run for 12 weeks, culminating in a "Demo Day" in May where SMEs and mentors will showcase their innovation journey and future business prospects.

Images: Harworth

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News: Y-Accelerator returns

Rotherham entrepreneurs, start-ups and businesses are being encouraged to apply to take part in an intensive business programme of free expert support, development and one-to-one mentoring.

The Y-Accelerator programme is offering Sheffield city region's (SCR's) business leaders of tomorrow the exclusive opportunity to benefit from a 12-week, fast-track development package and will see participants take advantage of expert advice and mentoring, access to a network of industry experts and specialist workshops.

Concluding the 12-week project, which runs from October 2019 to January 2020, each business or entrepreneur will have the opportunity to pitch their idea to an audience of potential investors. UK Steel Enterprise is offering a £1,000 prize to the best pitch on the night.

Led by business experts from both the public and private sector, the project is facilitated in partnership by Rotherham Investment and Development Office (RiDO) and a resident entrepreneur from Sheffield engineering organisation Gripple Ltd. on behalf of the Sheffield City Region Growth Hub.

The businesses chosen to take part will have a bespoke programme of one-to-one support designed for them, delivered on a part time basis. Businesses will also benefit from a series of informative workshop style session delivered by industry specialists.

Applications will be open until September 15, when the Y-Accelerator team will select ten projects to join the programme. They will be supported in building a strong customer proposition and financial model, as well as learning to effectively communicate their business value to potential customers and investors.

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Gordon McRae, special projects manager at Gripple, said: "We are really excited to be involved in the Y-Accelerator for the third time. With a strong aim to create and strengthen new businesses for the economic benefit of the region, Y-Accelerator will work hard to provide specialist workshops and expertise for people in a completely tailored way.

"The programme is a fantastic chance to not only gain specialist business expertise, but an opportunity to really take advantage of in-house advice, a strong network of industry contacts and experience of creating a strong business model.

"If you or your team have an innovative idea and have an aspiration to build a strong new business in the Sheffield City Region, then we want to hear from you. We're looking for all stages of applicants – students, employed or unemployed people are all encouraged to apply – it's the idea and ambition that counts."

Amanda Parris, business growth manager for RiDO, said: "The Y-Accelerator programme is a truly fantastic, unique initiative and we offer a very bespoke package for the people we work with. As well as a great idea, we want to work with people who think differently and who will soak up our specialist advice to create a viable, scalable business.

"People from all industry sectors are encouraged to apply, although logistics, manufacturing, and automation are especially of interest. We are delighted to run the programme for the sixth time, and we are looking forward to working with some more exciting businesses."

Linked to the project, Gripple will host an informal workshop on August 8 that will look at identifying and solving problems, exploring opportunities, creating value and innovating by thinking out of the box.

Y-Accelerator website

Images: SCR Growth Hub

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News: GLIDE companies invest in Rotherham

PMS Diecasting and Go Tools are both continuing to invest in their Rotherham manufacturing facilities.

One of the best equipped toolmaking business going, PMS was founded in 1975. It developed a precision manufacturing process to produce handsaws that proved so successful that every DIY retail outlet and most handtool distributors sold an "own brand" saw which was made and branded by PMS in Rotherham. In just five years PMS became the largest volume manufacturer of handaws in the UK.

As part of plans to increase diecasting capacity the Hellaby firm has now set up "Diecasting Hall 2" to manufacture high value zinc diecastings which require various secondary operations, surface finish preparation and assembly. A new assembly room has been built to accommodate these processes and investment has been made in new equipment to keep improving productive output and quality.

Special projects include a new broaching jig to deal with increased orders for Range Rover park break rockers, a new CNC machining centre to help PMS cope with the higher demand of products expected during 2016, and the installation of specialist equipment to process high value items such as gear box housings and frame products where finishing to a high standard is required without creating any surface blemishes on the parts.

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Established as a "sister" of PMS Diecasting, GoTools is a precision engineering and toolmaking company equipped with the latest equipment. Recent investments include a semi-automatic MACH 250A-SB Horizontal Bandsaw, a High-Speed Eagle V - the very first to be sold to a business in the UK, and a Quantum III coordinate measuring machine.

Both companies are part of a group of employee-owned companies where each employee is a shareholder member. GLIDE (Growth Led Innovation Driven Employee-Owned) is the central body that represents all the shareholder members who work in its partner companies.

As one of Europe's leading diecasters PMS produces more than 36 million castings annually for the global manufacturer, Gripple, another GLIDE company.

Established in 2011 as a way to preserve and develop employee culture, to look after the interests of its members and to generate engagement by everyone in their company, all shareholders are members of GLIDE which is a private company limited by guarantee. This means that it has been set up, for example, on the same basis as a sports club, where the individual shareholder's liability is limited to £1.

Other GLIDE members include Laser Scanning, the Rotherham company that has developed 3D reverse engineering expertise through working at the cutting edge of high precision tooling and product development.

The latest member is Gripple Automation, which provides the world-beating manufacturer with design and build bespoke machines to improve manufacturing processes and significantly increase performance.

PMS Diecasting website
Go Tools website

Images: PMS Diecasting

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News: Get to grips with employee ownership

Gripple, the market-leading innovative manufacturer of wire joiners and tensioners and wire-rope hangers, will showcase its successful business model based on employee ownership at an event this week.

Employee ownership refers to the employees of a company having a significant and meaningful stake in their company. To be meaningful the employees' stake should go beyond mere financial participation and underpin organisational structures that ensure employee engagement.

The Sheffield firm is so committed, and convinced of its advantages, that the company has recently moved the model on still further by establishing a private employee owned company, GLIDE (Growth Led Innovation Driven Employee Company Limited), which represents all the shareholder members working in its partner companies with an employee elected board of directors speaking for all GLIDE members – the staff.

On July 4, at The Old West Gun Works, attendees will be able to learn and understand face to face its proven benefits as part of the Employment Ownership Association (EOA) initiative - National Employee Ownership Day.

During the Open Day visitors will not only have the opportunity to talk to Gripple staff and the other members of the Gripple family of employee owned companies – Loadhog and PMS Diecasting – but also representatives from local companies who have already taken the step after recognising the advantages of employee ownership to their companies and employees, including John Lewis, KPMG, Swann Morton, Abacus Design Associates, School Trends, City Health Care Partnership, Walker Morris, Spectrum Community Health, Sheffield Hallam University, TransaveUK, Co-ownership Solutions, Wrigleys and Wicker Pharmacy.

Andy Davies, business development director at Gripple and chairman of the GLIDE board, said: "The employee owned companies in our region are keen to spread the good news that EO can be of tremendous benefit to their business because staff feels that they own it! We are delighted to open our doors and will welcome anyone who wants to learn and dispel any misconceptions about EO they may have."

Gripple website

Images: Gripple

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News: Gripple provide the spark

Young graduates, currently trainees at the Sheffield manufacturer, Gripple, are aiming to contest girls’ perception that manufacturing is a "boys' subject."

Frances Davis and Susan Ramsden recently addressed 100 13-year-old girls at Aston Academy in Rotherham where they explained how revolutionary design, engineering and manufacturing have been, and continue to be, instrumental in Gripple becoming a world beater.

Gripple is the market-leading innovative manufacturer of wire joiners and tensioners and wire-rope hangers.

The young engineers also launched a challenge to re-design their workstation, the reward for the winning designers being a visit to the multi award-winning innovator.

From 20 entries, Frances and Susan selected ten winners, who saw their ideas turned into reality at Gripple. Their tour started at the company’s Ideas and Innovation department, based at The Hog Works, also home of the company’s sister company, Loadhog where they saw their suggestions at the design stage. This was followed by a prototyping session at Gripple’s head office – The Old West Gun Works - where the students were able to make use of Gripple facilities and materials to create their winning workstation designs.

Following the tour Frances and Susan said: “We were both impressed with the girls’ enthusiasm and commitment in identifying problems and difficulties in existing workstations and in seeing their ideas brought to life – albeit in prototype form – and that engineers will use them to create actual sized working tables. We aimed to give the winners an insight into product development, design and prototyping and that they will spread the word to their peers about the joys of innovative manufacturing.”

Gripple website

Images: Gripple

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News: Yormii in Denby deal

Award-winning Rotherham cookware company, Yormii, has attracted its first national retailer, Denby, who have 29 cookshops nationwide.

Product designer Nathan Bestwick set up the innovative kitchenware firm in partnership with Sheffield-based company Gripple, under its "Incub" programme, which nurtures local inventors with the aim of creating future jobs in South Yorkshire.

Enterprising Nathan's first product, millmii, is an innovative spice mill that can be used by people who have limited strength or dexterity in their hands and works by being rolled in the hands without any need to grip or twist. It got an "honourable mention" amongst some of the world's leading brand names and product developments in the red dot awards for product design 2012.

The first few weeks of 2013 saw the company send out their first orders of millmii from new premises at RiDO's Matrix Business Centre in Dinnington. The company received a lot of interest after Nathan showcased the products at the Autumn Fair in 2012, the largest home and gift buying event of the season that showcases new designers and new products.

In February, Yormii showcased millmii plus new innovative products at Spring Fair International, a similar home and gift trade fair. It was the launch of spicemii, a specially designed product that works like the pestle and mortar but again it can be used by people who have limited strength or dexterity.

Spicemii was demonstrated on Cook Live in front of an intrigued audience and used to create a tasty meat rub, salad dressing, a harissa paste mixed with mayonnaise, a mustard mayonaise dip and a fresh basil pesto. After the showcase Nathan Bestwick, managing director at Yormii, said: "The audience were happy, and feedback was fantastic. Even the cameraman was licking his fingers. Getting stuck in! That's what Yormii is all about - inspiring creativity in the kitchen!"

As well as taking orders from lots of new independent giftware shops and cook shops, Yormii attracted their first national retailer, Denby.

Yormii continues to grow, and with RiDO's support through the Soft Landing Zone programme, Nathan is building on the interest from distributors worldwide.

Three further products are getting ready to launch, including count-on-mii - easy peel, scratch-off food freshness labels, and Nathan is now looking forward to Yormii's first consumer facing show at Grand Designs Live at the ExCel in London next month.

Nathan added: "Every year hundreds of thousands of people flock to Grand Designs Live to spot the latest in home and lifestyle products, and this year is no exception. Especially because Yormii will be there selling our products at our first consumer facing show. We're so excited to be there."

Yormii website

Images: Yormii / Gripple

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News: Rotherham MD raises thousands for charity

Gordon Panter, managing director of PMS Diecasting in Rotherham, has raised more than £4,000 to help extremely ill children.

Gordon scaled Mount Kilimanjaro's dizzy heights in support of Alice's Escapes, a charity providing free holidays in the Lake District for families with serious and terminally ill children.

Inspired to tackle this daunting feat by family friends and their terminally ill daughter, Alice, Gordon prepared for the climb this summer with treadmill sessions, endurance training and abstinence from alcohol.

Founded in 1975 by Gordon's father, Neil, PMS developed a precision manufacturing process to produce handsaws that proved so successful that every DIY retail outlet and most handtool distributors sold an "own brand" saw which was made and branded by PMS in Rotherham. In just five years PMS became the largest volume manufacturer of handaws in the UK.

The Hellaby firm is now one of Europe's leading diecasters producing more than 36 million castings annually for the global manufacturer, Gripple. The Sheffield firm supported Gordon on his four day trek to reach the top of the 19,000 ft high mountain in Tanzania.

PMS Diecasting

Gordon's JustGiving page

Images: PMS Diecasting

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News: Millmii on show at Autumn Fair

Millmii, an innovative product developed by a Rotherham graduate, is on show this week at the Autumn Fair 2012.

Nathan Bestwick, who grew up in Rotherham and studied at Sheffield Hallam University, designed the spice mill so that it can be used by people who have limited strength or dexterity in their hands and works by being rolled in the hands without any need to grip or twist.

The playful and stylish design received one of the coveted awards at this year's red dot awards for product design, which were given by a 30-member jury after an evaluation process lasting several days. The product got an honourable mention due to its particularly successful detail solution.

Shortly after graduating, Nathan launched a product and graphic design consultancy called If? Works, which grew from RiDO's Fusion @ Magna Business Centre in Rotherham. He went on to set up a kitchenware firm in partnership with Sheffield-based company Gripple, under its "Incub" programme, which nurtures local inventors with the aim of creating future jobs in South Yorkshire.

Taking place at the NEC in Birmingham, the Autumn Fair is the largest home and gift buying event of the season and showcases new designers and new products.

Nathan Bestwick, designer of the millmii, said: "We are presenting all five colours at the show and on Tuesday, millmii will also be demonstrated on stage at Cook Live.

"We look forward to meeting new customers, and we never tire of seeing the surprise and smiles that millmii creates when people try the product for the first time."

Future products from the Yormii company include Spicemii, Munchmii, Honemii, Pourmii, and more.

Yormii website

Images: Yormii

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News: Are You Ready? and Gripple Ltd team up to inspire primary entrepreneurs

Rotherham's award winning enterprise team Are You Ready? has joined forces with Sheffield manufacturer Gripple Ltd to pioneer primary enterprise on an innovative web-based student-business platform.

Are You Ready? and Gripple have worked together to create the first ever challenge aimed at primary school pupils on national enterprise challenge website MyKindaCrowd.

Until now, MyKindaCrowd has been focussed on secondary schools, colleges and universities. The website connects students and teachers directly with brands including Cisco, Nike and McDonalds through exciting enterprise challenges. Young people benefit by connecting with the world of work and business and teachers can integrate real life industry challenges into the curriculum.

The new challenge aimed at primary schools is called "Innovating for the Environment" and asks pupils to develop an idea for a product or service that would have an environmental benefit. To support teachers and pupils there are comprehensive learning materials to provoke and develop new ideas and innovations.

A £350 prize is available for the winning idea, and the chance for the winner to work with Gripple to produce a prototype of their idea.

Catherine Brentnall, director of Are You Ready?, said: "It has been great to work with Gripple Ltd and get the first ever primary challenge onto the MyKindaCrowd website.

"We love what Gripple Ltd stands for – it's a global business that is employee owned and puts sustainability at the heart of everything it does.

"Gripple Ltd has worked with us to develop its innovation methodology into a resource for primary school teachers and set a really exciting challenge. This is an amazing opportunity for teachers to stretch young people's creativity and excite them about how innovation and enterprise can benefit people and planet."

Gordon Macrae, special projects manager at Gripple Ltd, said: "We believe that business has a key role to play in inspiring young people about the world of work and business.

"Are you Ready? is leading the way in enabling teachers to make learning about enterprise part of children's school experience, and that is impacting on young people's skills, attitudes and ambitions.

"It is great to play a part in the process and be able to share our values and expertise with the next generation of entrepreneurs and enterprising employees."

Are You Ready? website

Gripple website

MyKindaCrowd website

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