An engineering firm, supported by Made Smarter, is using immersive technologies to drive global growth and innovation, and create new highly skilled jobs.

Forth Engineering, based in Flimby, specialises in the manufacture of bespoke robotics that can be used in harsh environments for nuclear, oil and gas, marine, and renewables sectors. 

With the support of Made Smarter’s North West adoption programme, Forth is investing in a hardware and software solution which will allow its client to step into a virtual room and interrogate a 3D model of their asset from anywhere in the world.

READ MORE: Forth Engineering, open doors to their Flimby headquarters

Mark Telford, Managing Director, said this service will raise its profile in the global, harsh environment market and support its growth strategy to double turnover by £2m each year and help to upskill the team, secure jobs and increase job satisfaction.

He said: "Our engineering solutions are giving customers new and accurate insights into the state of their assets, without risking their workforce, and ultimately saving them a considerable amount of money,” Mark explained. 

"The application of immersive technology will be a value-added service, offering our customers something no one else is."

With the support of Made Smarter’s North West adoption programme, Forth is investing in a hardware and software solution which will allow its client to step into a virtual room and interrogate a 3D model of their asset from anywhere in the world.

They are adapting office space to create a mixed reality studio and will use a leading Extended Reality (XR) headset and mixed reality smart glasses to enable customer demonstrations.

The use of digitalisation, immersion, and presentation technologies will allow Forth to deliver innovative and novel solutions to complex problems globally, opening up new markets and increasing services offered to customers.  

Moreover, the team of 38 staff believe the value-added service will give it a competitive advantage as it is forecast to increase GVA by at least £500,000 over the next three years and in the process create five new, highly skilled jobs.

READ MORE: Forth Engineering to host inaugural open day at Flimby base

Donna Edwards, Made Smarter’s North West Adoption Programme Director, said: "We are delighted to be supporting Forth Engineering with such an innovative project. It is a fantastic example of a business using technology to add customer value, drive growth in new markets, become more sustainable, and create new jobs and new skills."