A £7.9m research and development collaboration between the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) and five Northern Ireland manufacturers aims to raise welding productivity through digital and automated technologies, with £4.8m support from Invest NI.

Announcing the initiative, Project 4WARD, during a visit to AMIC's Global Point Avenue facility in Newtownabbey, Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald said: "The shared knowledge of the research and innovation team at AMIC and the practical experience of these companies will help identify innovative and practical ways to improve productivity by adopting new technologies in welding processes. This commitment to innovation and productivity improvements by these five companies will ensure they remain competitive and at the forefront of developments in their field."

Project 4WARD will focus on accelerating the adoption of digitalisation and automation in welding, supporting the creation of new product lines, cutting waste, expanding manufacturing capacity and building expertise in smart production methods.

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The participating firms are Hyster Yale (Craigavon); Terex (Ballymoney, Dungannon, Omagh and Cookstown); Nugent Trailers (Dungannon); Four Dee (Magherafelt); and Datum Design (Lisburn).

Invest NI has offered £4.8m to AMIC and the five companies to deliver the programme. Welcoming the move, Alison Currie, Chief Development Officer at Invest NI, said: “By bringing together AMIC and five local engineering and manufacturing businesses, this project will help accelerate the adoption of digital and automation technologies that strengthen competitiveness and support long-term growth.” She continued: “Our support will help the companies to modernise welding processes, reduce waste and build new product lines, while creating high-quality engineering roles and developing skills that are critical to the future of manufacturing. It also demonstrates how targeted R&D support can help local businesses to innovate, scale and explore global markets.”

In total, the initiative is set to create 21 new roles across AMIC, Hyster Yale, Nugent, Four Dee and Terex.

Sam Turner, CEO of AMIC, said: "Project 4WARD provides an opportunity to work with some great NI manufacturers to advance, demonstrate and deploy state of the art industrial digitialsiation and automation welding processes. The project will help businesses design their products and processes for automated welding, improve quality and productivity and address the gap in availability of experienced skilled welders. Robotic welding in itself is not new, but the fusion of emergent technologies that we will develop together on the project will enable manufacturers to get optimum productivity, usage and yield from automated welding. Using open access equipment and facilities in AMIC, we are able to address common challenges and opportunities for the partner companies, enabling them to collaborate on R&D, stimulate innovation and enhance capability in their organisations, and ultimately deploy the appropriate solutions to help scale their businesses."

Invest NI's R&D contribution to the project is part funded by the UK Government Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF).