Artificial intelligence could help Yorkshire’s manufacturing firms operate more efficiently, roundtable is told

Some of the participants in the roundtable, which was organised by the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub in conjunction with Made Smarter and The Yorkshire Post, said they were experiencing frustrations caused by red tape, and problems recruiting and retaining staff.

Harry Coates, the managing director of Just Paper Tubes, told the event, which was held at Hospitium in York, that deflation was having an impact on the industry.

He added: “We are the canary down the coal mine; deflation hits us first before affecting others. We are seeing opportunities from using AI (Artificial Intelligence) to help with our customer services. We decided to use AI to assist with post Brexit customs clearance after a new American technology startup contacted us and asked if we would like to be a launch customer. It has made us far more efficient.”

Ben Henry, the production manager at engineering company Hunprenco, said his business was not experiencing problems recruiting staff. He believed one of the best ways of ensuring that you don't suffer from a skills shortage is to think carefully about how you describe the vacancy in an advert."The way the job is advertised is crucial. As well as picking the right candidate, you have to then commit to investing in them. But there are challenges caused by the energy crisis. As well as raw material prices, the bills we are facing are huge."

Davide Cerca, director of Robustrack, which imports excavators and hydraulic attachments for excavators from Italy for distribution in the UK, said his business was facing challenges linked to bureaucracy and increasing costs. He added: "Raw material increases have given us another challenge." He said the business was improving the skills base of its staff at a time when demand for diggers and excavators was growing.

Jo Botham of bakery company Bothams Whitby, said that in common with many businesses, Bothams faced challenges around rising energy and raw material costs. The company has 120 staff with 30 working in production, many of whom have been with the business from school to retirement. However, it was proving increasingly difficult to recruit younger workers.

He added: "Tourism in Whitby is a huge part of the economy and has become even more of a factor since lockdown (with more people going on holiday in the UK). But this can be a double-edged sword. There is an opportunity for retailers in town and selling ‘the dream’ with increased web sales. However, the rate of second home ownership in Whitby is amongst the highest in the country which has pushed up the cost and availability, especially for the younger generation .

"We are trying to capitalise on our company's 150 year history, to generate interest in the baking industry. It's all about changing the image of baking and making people aware that we do more than just make bread buns." Mark Tindley, the MD of Synthotech, said his company made widget and gadgets, some of which are robots that are helping to fix the gas pipes around London before the coronation of King Charles III.

He added: "Small businesses have to focus on three things; customers, colleagues and cashflow” Synthotech provides products and services for utility and infrastructure markets around the world and Mr Tindley said ESG (Environmental, social, and governance) would be a major focus for all companies.

"One of the big things to realise is that being carbon neutral isn't enough anymore,’’ he added.

Jonathan Lupton MD of Econ Engineering said his business had recently invested in land in another location to help it grow.

He said: "We have struggled to find land to buy, that is close to our manufacturing site in Ripon in order for us to expand."

He is also concerned about the lack of support for manufacturing from local colleges, the company now liaises with colleges in Darlington and Skipton to train manufacturing students because it can't find the support closer to home.

He said that there are some outdated perceptions in the engineering industry. He stressed that people who leave school and find jobs in manufacturing can be rewarded with high salaries.

"There are skilled jobs where you can earn a good living,'' he said

The company is taking people on and training them up, with many using tablets in the factory which shows how thing have changed.

Jack Barber, the MD of Nature’s Laboratory, told the roundtable that some of his challenges related to cashflow, complications caused by Brexit and inflation.

He was also frustrated that, despite having academic research to support the company's claim that its products bring clear health benefits, there are restrictions about what it can say on labelling about these benefits.

He added: "The big opportunities are around spreading awareness about our research and manufacturing expertise around Yorkshire. We want to raise our regional profile. If you asked most people in Whitby, they wouldn't be able to tell you that we are a local company. There is a preconception that Whitby is a tourist town and doesn't have a manufacturing base but that is not true."

Andy Gatenby of Allerton Steel said: "Challenges around recruitment are a common theme. We rely on having skilled people on the shopfloor. The biggest challenge is getting young people through the door in the first place. The education system is failing us.

"Our average age is quite high and quite a number of staff have retired in recent years. However, many college courses are not being run in line with producing the skilled workforce that we are looking for."