Member Article

PP Control & Automation launches PP+ to help bridge ‘valley of death’

One of the UK’s leading strategic manufacturing outsourcing specialists is aiming to help domestic businesses cross the well-publicised ‘valley of death’.

PP Control & Automation (PP C&A), which already works with over 20 of the world’s leading machinery manufacturers, is launching PP+, a unique ecosystem of experts that will help start-ups, SMEs and multi-nationals take advantage of scale-up opportunities and the commercialisation of new technologies.

The initiative works by offering a single point of contact for management teams that, after an initial consultation, will be connected to market leaders in design, engineering, legislation and approvals, sales and marketing and PR.

They will also receive support in accessing funding, management coaching and a clear route to some of the best academic and R&D knowledge in the UK.

Already signed up to deliver their expertise are Cucumber PR, Institute for Clean Growth & Future Mobility at Coventry University, the Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN), Product Approvals, S2F Marketing and the Silverstone Technology Cluster.

Tony Hague, CEO of PP C&A, said: “The UK has a wealth of innovative engineering and manufacturing companies that often come up with new concepts and ideas that have true commercialisation potential and the opportunity to scale – however, they simply don’t have the capacity or additional expertise to realise these fantastic ideas.

“We have seen first-hand these challenges are often down to lack of available resource, advice and ‘bandwidth’ and we want to do something to change this.”

He continued: “Utilising our wider network of partners, we have put some real thought and energy into how we can develop our unique outsourcing offer so we can help support and signpost as many organisations as we can to ensure growth and prosperity within UK manufacturing.”

The PP+ ecosystem starts with an initial discovery session to outline the business goals of the client, the market opportunity and any potential barriers to success.

This is facilitated by PP C&A, S2F Marketing and Cucumber PR, with a clear strategy formulated that identifies where access to the wider network of experts is required.

To unlock their potential, they’ll need scaling-up coaching, sales consultation, and marketing and PR strategy.

Furthermore, as they grow, there will be opportunity to enter international markets where legislative demands bring new challenges and complexity, as well as a need to make efficiencies through design optimisation and access to academia and engineering groups.

“PP C&A can be the key to this sought-after access thanks to its well-established partner network,” continued Tony.

“New market footholds generally exist where disruptive innovations originate, and novel technologies can be deployed to change the way a sector or even the world behaves.

“This disruption is often the starting point, but there is only a small window of opportunity to make sure this same disruption becomes a sustainable business.”

He added: “PP+ is here to deliver immediate expertise, knowledge and a track record of bringing new products to market. It’s all about unlocking and commercialising the ideas to make UK manufacturing stronger and more successful.”

Pim van Baarsen, CEO of Silverstone Technology Cluster (STC), offered his support: “I’m delighted that we can be part of this venture and we look forward to working with Tony and the rest of the team to help the UK prosper.

“It’s great to see PP C&A setting up initiatives like PP+, which will undoubtedly prove valuable for early-stage innovators and fast-growing companies that could really use the expertise on offer.

“The STC has a vast network of relevant businesses that we can connect people to, in order to get their projects off the ground, both from a technological, as well as a management and finance point of view.”

Just a week into the launch and PP Control & Automation is already in conversation with several potential users of the new ecosystem.

It is also exploring extending the network even further to encompass even more specialisms.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .