Investment for the future – Thinking big, acting bold
Some of you may have seen that we recently announced a significant investment in our infrastructure and our people here at Inscape.
This investment in new skills and machinery together with improvements to our factory layout are already bringing big benefits to our business, doubling our capacity and helping us on our way to be ready for Industry 4.0.
But for Inscape it’s much more than this. For some time, we have been all too aware of the need to play our part in tackling some of the big issues our society and our planet is facing.
Why we’re investing for the future
We will always be a people-to-people business. From our employees and customers to our supply chain and other stakeholders, we are dealing with people – first and foremost.
And we know that if people have a choice between partnering with a business that’s only focussed on profit or, partnering with a business that is both a profitable and sustainable whilst also investing in its people, they will choose the latter every time. They will choose Inscape.
Our push to upskill our workforce together with investment in data, technology, and an intelligent, automated factory is our way of thinking big and acting bold to achieve the so called triple bottom line – People and Planet, as well as Profit.
How we’re doing it
We’re championing personal development within our business through collaboration with our Industry 4.0 supply chain partners and local universities including the Edge Hill Productivity & Innovation Centre, UCLAN’s Innovation Clinic, as well as Lancaster University’s Business Model Innovation Programme and its new MSc Digital Business Programme.
These collaborations with innovation-led organisations have helped us develop new products for existing and new markets, promote digital adoption and boost productivity.
We have also taken part in the Made Smarter Leadership programme to help to further develop innovative thinking within the organisation.
Investment in apprenticeships is also seen as key to plugging skills gaps and creating a bright future for our business. Expect more news from us on this soon.
Fit for the future
On sustainability too, we’re making solid progress. Our investment in energy-efficient electrical production systems started back in 2010 and a renewable energy heating system for our factory was installed in 2015.
A recent move to electric vehicles for most customer facing staff and Euro 6 compliant delivery vehicles to take our products to construction sites are some our latest carbon-cutting moves.
The investment in the automated and data-enabled production machinery detailed above has more than doubled production capacity while reducing energy consumption, reducing waste to landfill, and reducing production errors. This is helping our customers to achieve their own sustainability and low-carbon targets.
We recognise that for a manufacturing business like ours (and one working primarily in the construction sector) this will be a journey and we’re still some distance from where we want to be.
However, we now have a clear plan in place to make further significant reductions in our carbon footprint. And we’re looking to do much more on investment and sustainability over the coming years to continue future-proofing our business and supporting our customers.
Thanks for reading.
By Paul Mills, director of Inscape Interiors.