New Leeds university partnership to support growth of Welsh manufacturer

Leeds Beckett University is leading a new partnership with Welsh manufacturer ABER Instruments, applying academic expertise in management and business process to support the company’s growth and future ambitions.

ABER Instruments Ltd is a global company supplying advanced systems for use in the Brewing, Biorenewables and Biotech industry. Formed in Aberystwyth in 1988, ABER started life as a university spin-out and, in 2011, became an employee-owned (EO) company.

The manufacturer has experienced rapid growth and is now making the transition from being a small niche manufacturer to becoming a medium-sized company with a larger value proposition. Its customers now include global pharmaceutical and brewing companies including Glaxo SmithKline and Heineken.

ABER will be working with academic experts from both Leeds Beckett University and the University of Leeds on the two-year Management Knowledge Transfer Partnership (mKTP), which is led by Leeds Beckett and co-funded by UKRI through Innovate UK and the Welsh Government.

Dr Catherine Ashworth, senior lecturer in marketing at Leeds Beckett University and academic project leader, explained: “ABER is a rapidly growing company, with many opportunities to develop and innovate new products, to diversify and expand into new markets.

“The company wants to achieve a position where they have a proactive plan for innovation and sustainable growth that fits with their distinct values as an EO business. We are delighted to be working on this mKTP with Professor Andrew Robinson at the University of Leeds, a leading international expert in EO.

“The aim of the project is to provide ABER with the knowledge to transition into a more structured and sustainable growth-oriented business.”

To enable this, the project will have two strands, each led by a skilled graduate associate who will work as a full-time member of the business over the course of the two years. One role will centre on ABER’s R&D structures and innovation pathways and one on reviewing and optimising the EO structure and operations to facilitate strategic growth.

Matthew Lee, director of ABER Instruments Ltd, added: “ABER Instruments is currently undergoing a phase of exponential growth - despite the current climate, we have more than doubled our number of employees in recent years and are primed for this to continue.

“Expansion requires careful management to maximise our potential while staying true to our core values and ensuring our employee owners reap the full benefit of our unique business model and culture.”

By Matthew Neville – Correspondent, Bdaily

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