National Manufacturing Institute Scotland
Manufacturing is important to Scotland’s economy, accounting for more than 169k jobs, over half Scotland’s international exports, and 47% businesses expenditure on research and development.
We are establishing the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) as part of our commitment to support and grow our diverse manufacturing base, and to make Scotland a recognised producer as well as consumer of goods.
Our significant investment of £75 million in NMIS is at the heart of our Making Scotland’s Future Programme, which is our comprehensive programme working with business, academia and our enterprise and skills agencies to deliver an integrated system of support for manufacturing across Scotland.
NMIS is an industry-led international centre of manufacturing expertise. It is where industry, research and the public sector work together to transform skills, productivity and innovation. It will attract investment and make Scotland a global leader in advanced manufacturing.
NMIS HQ will be located in Renfrewshire close to Glasgow Airport and the existing Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC) which – together with the Lightweight Manufacturing Centre (LMC) – is part of the wider NMIS group.
Construction on the NMIS HQ began in December 2020. The construction phase is planned to finish in late 2022 with the fit out of the Digital Factory starting in September 2022. The formal opening of the facility is scheduled to take place in spring 2023.
NMIS HQ will comprise of three main elements:
- a digital factory to develop the processes and technologies to address companies’ manufacturing challenges or opportunities
- a manufacturing skills academy to provide advanced manufacturing training and upskilling for individuals at all levels of their career
- a collaborative hub to enable companies and their supply chain to work on new projects together without disrupting their existing production lines
NMIS is not only the HQ building itself. It is a group of research and development facilities across the whole of Scotland, with a network of partners and collaborators supporting manufacturers of all different sizes in all regions.
NMIS can provide support for businesses in a number of ways, including by providing access to modern equipment to support prototyping and testing. It can work with companies on projects, providing expertise in areas such as automation and assembly, digital engineering, lightweighting and additive manufacturing.
Support can be tailored, either through its tiered membership model or by one-off bespoke services. And this support will be available to companies of all sizes throughout Scotland.
NMIS is designed to work in conjunction with the extensive network of support that exists for manufacturers in Scotland, including the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) and the 12 projects operating under our Advancing Manufacturing Challenge Fund, which provide free services to small and medium-sized enterprises across Scotland.
NMIS includes a Capability Network of research, education and training providers to help drive manufacturing innovation and offer a means for manufacturing companies to tap into the vast expertise across the support network in Scotland, including the High Value Manufacturing Catapult through NMIS.
The NMIS Capability Network includes partners such as Borders-based Mountain Bike Centre of Scotland, Tay Cities Engineering Partnership and SeedPod, a £21 million investment in the food and drink industry to create a centre of excellence for manufacturing in north-east Scotland.
Together with our enterprise agencies we have committed £75m investment in NMIS, which will be managed through Scottish Enterprise, with the University of Strathclyde, who will host the Institute, contributing £8 million. This figure includes £8.9m for the Lightweight Manufacturing Centre (LMC).
NMIS will be at the heart of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS), which will also house the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre.
We are working in partnership with University of Strathclyde and Scottish Enterprise to deliver NMIS alongside organisations including:
- Highlands and Islands Enterprise
- South of Scotland Enterprise Agency
- Renfrewshire Council
- Scottish Funding Council
- Skills Development Scotland
More information: