MTA partners with The Quorum Principle to drive manufacturing collaboration

The Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) and The Quorum Principle have entered into a strategic partnership that will provide MTA members with enhanced collaborative capabilities and deliver competitive edge in the global marketplace.

The partnership comes at a critical time for UK manufacturing, which contributes £224 billion to gross value added (GVA), supports 2.6 million jobs, and accounts for 43% of the UK’s R&D investment and nearly half of all UK exports. Despite this, the sector faces challenges in maintaining global competitiveness.

The Quorum Principle seeks to improve manufacturing performance through a dual approach that improves collaboration between manufacturers and their key solution providers by breaking down silos within manufacturers, and driving more collaborative working among solution providers.

Under the partnership agreement, MTA members will gain access to The Quorum Principle’s training and consultancy solutions, which create competitive advantage through enhanced collaborative capabilities.

James Selka, DL, CEO of the MTA, says: “Manufacturing in the UK faces a unique set of challenges to its ability to compete internationally and remain profitable. The Quorum Principle’s approach to breaking down internal silos and enabling better collaboration echoes the MTA’s belief in the power of collaborative growth, and our goal of fostering a dynamic, competitive, and sustainable UK manufacturing sector. Our members design, manufacture and supply the advanced machinery and equipment that enable modern manufacturing. This partnership more effectively equips them to seize emerging opportunities and to remove barriers to growth.”

John Robinson, Founder and CEO of The Quorum Principle, adds: “It’s now clear that the current business model in global manufacturing is no longer fit for purpose. At the root of this systemic problem is how organisations work together, both internally and with their solution providers.”

He continues: “While many global Industry 4.0 initiatives focus on technical interoperability, The Quorum Principle focuses instead on organisational interoperability, which is key to breaking the current paradigm and unlocking manufacturing’s potential. Our partnership with the MTA recognises that UK manufacturing can gain a competitive edge on the global stage by adopting a qualitatively different approach to collaboration to that being taken elsewhere around the world.”

Robinson’s background includes senior roles at Kearney, SAP, EY, Atos, AVEVA and Schneider Electric, together with more than a decade in manufacturing operations. This diverse experience enabled him to identify the collaborative approach that forms the foundation of The Quorum Principle in 2020.

Through the partnership, MTA members benefit from enhanced collaborative capabilities, while the MTA strengthens its commitment to its members by increasing their access to cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices.