FourJaw raises £1.8m to revolutionise manufacturing efficiency

A Sheffield University spin-out that helps manufacturers to achieve their productivity potential and reduce energy usage, has raised £1.8 million from NPIF – Mercia Equity Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, along with Mercia’s EIS fund and private investors.

The funding will enable FourJaw Manufacturing Analytics to further enhance its unique machine monitoring platform and expand its customer base. FourJaw’s award-winning platform acts as a fitness tracker for machines, monitoring ‘vital signs’ such as machine useage and energy usage. It then turns the data into actionable insight that enables manufacturers to remove inefficiencies from the shopfloor.

Unlike traditional monitoring systems which are usually costly to set up and have to be hardwired into each machine, FourJaw’s technology can be installed in minutes, connected to any machine and is suitble for manufacturing companies of all sizes.

FourJaw was founded in 2020 by Chris Iveson and Robin Hartley-Willows, who had previously worked together at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). Its platform is now used by over 120 manufacturers worldwide in sectors ranging from aerospace and automotive to energy and food production and the company currently employs 20 people.

The latest funding brings the total raised to date to almost £4 million and will enable FourJaw to accelerate product development and invest in its technology and customer-focused teams, creating seven new jobs.

Three key challenges
Co-founder and CEO Chris Iveson said: “Improving productivity, sustainability and profitability are the three key challenges facing manufacturers today. FourJaw provides an affordable solution to overcome them and unlock opportunities by providing real-time insights to inform operational and commercial decisions.”

Mercia’s investment director Christopher Borrett said: “Manufacturing is an enormous industry that is undergoing massive digitalisation. Until now individual machine data across the entire assembly line has been prohibitively expensive and cumbersome to install. FourJaw is changing the game, providing the data, the platform and the intelligence required for manufacturers from all sizes and sectors to radically evolve their operations.”

Keira Shepperson, director at British Business Bank, said: “The £1.8 million investment is a significant boost for FourJaw, which underscores the growing importance of IoT (Internet of Things) technology in optimising manufacturing processes. Not only will this investment enable FourJaw to enhance its platform, but it will facilitate its growth to expand beyond Sheffield. It is exciting to see innovative small businesses like FourJaw make a real impact in the manufacturing sector, and it is great to see Sheffield leading the way.”

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund project is supported by the European Union (EU) using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.