MTA announces partnership with The Quorum Principle

Left to right: James Selka, CEO of the MTA with John Robinson, CEO of The Quorum Principle. Photo: MTA

The UK Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), the UK’s trade association for companies in the manufacturing technology sector, and The Quorum Principle have announced a strategic partnership designed to 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, however, the sector faces challenges in maintaining global competitiveness.

The Quorum Principle seeks to improve manufacturing performance through a dual approach, which 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 innovative training and consultancy solutions that create competitive advantage through enhanced collaborative capabilities.

James Selka, MTA CEO, said: “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, and this partnership more effectively equips them to seize emerging opportunities and to remove barriers to growth.”

Organisational interoperability
John Robinson, founder and CEO of The Quorum Principle, said: “It is now clear that the current business model in global manufacturing is no longer fit for purpose, and at the root of this systemic problem is how organisations work together, both internally and with their solution providers.

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 will benefit from enhanced collaborative capabilities, while the organisation strengthens its commitment to its members by increasing their access to cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices. MTA members interested in learning more about The Quorum Principle’s approach can find additional information via the website here.