Industrial fellows will provide tailored support programmes for manufacturers.

A new team at Cambridge University's Institute for Manufacturing will provide support and training services for local companies. Companies joining the Institute as members will have access to a range of services, including trouble-shooting, management and business training, collaborative research projects and tailored support.

While the Institute has a long history of working with businesses, this new initiative provides simpler access to IfM expertise and a dedicated contact for each company joining the Institute. A team of industrial fellows will manage each member's relationship with the Institute, ensuring that members are guided to the services most suited to their needs.

Services and training courses are drawn from expertise developed by the Institute's research centres and educational courses, and cover topics such as Technology Road mapping, New Product Introduction, and Make versus Buy decisions.

'While we have worked with many local companies over the past few years, the new membership scheme will formalise these programmes and provide a framework for us to work in more depth with our partner companies,' said Paul Christodoulou, who as Director of the Industry Links Unit heads the team of industrial fellows who will manage  interaction between the Institute and companies.

'The Institute for Manufacturing is home to a wide range of expertise in technology, management and policy,' said Professor Mike Gregory, head of the Institute for Manufacturing. 'Our new membership team will be working hard to link this expertise with the needs of local businesses.'

Customer quotes

'Omnifit has worked successfully with Dr. Derek Ford from the Institute in order to develop a simple and robust system of production planning and control. Work undertaken has resulted in a dramatic improvement in on-time delivery, lead-time reduction and has provided the basis for a number of current ongoing improvement projects throughout the company.' Paul Moss, Manufacturing Director, Omnifit, Cambridge (instrumentation)

'We found that the IFM offered access to experts, not consultants. Their ability to offer objective analysis and steer us towards key solutions has been invaluable.' Nicola Kay, Managing Director, Prosol Electronics, St Neots

'We have always had a good response from the Institute for Manufacturing. They have answered my queries and introduced us to specialists within the university. We have found their expertise invaluable in  reviewing developments within our industry.' Robin Hutchinson, Technical Director, Procal Analytics, Peterborough (instrumentation)

'It's always an interesting evening, always well-run with plenty of opportunities for networking. We meet a cross-section of people from our industry, people we wouldn't meet on a day-to-day basis. We can compare notes in a relaxed atmosphere it's very useful,' Roger Allan, Mountune, Essex (motorsport engineering).