ABOUT US

WE ARE AN INDUSTRY 4.0 TRAINING AND CONSULTANCY PROVIDER, BASED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL LANCASHIRE (UCLAN) AND THE LANDING AT MEDIA CITY.

Our mission is to establish the North West as the place for pioneers in the fourth industrial revolution by supporting businesses to be early adopters of industrial digital technologies, building a future workforce that supports innovation and creates exciting new job opportunities that keeps talent in the region.

We’ve formed a ground-breaking joint venture business with UCLan that focuses on using disruptive technologies to streamline manufacturing processes in order to increase revenue and efficiency.

We want to help SMEs and start-up businesses who may not previously have considered – or had the opportunity to implement – industrial digital technologies to get into this space.

Our expert team brings together Technical Disruptors, technology post-graduate talent nurtured and developed through our partnership with UCLan and IN4.0 Fellows, Industry leaders with a track record and pedigree in achieving business success to work directly with our clients and help accelerate change.

We are committed to:

Fostering long term growth and profitability in local communities

Enabling businesses to grow and succeed

Reinvesting in training and creating opportunities for young people

Consistently innovating to meet our clients evolving needs.

Collaborating with clients, communities and world-class industry partners.

MEET THE TEAM

Our team are a mix of passionate, dedicated and highly skilled individuals.

We love technology and we’re committed to delivering sustainable excellence to our

customers, helping them grow and succeed!

MO ISAP

CEO

During his career, Mo has successfully started and scaled several businesses. He is a Board Member of the Greater Manchester LEP leading on schools and future skills, and he chairs the Greater Manchester Careers and Employability Board.

Mo also has an MBA, is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and is the Founding Director and Vice Chair of STAR Academies, a Multi Academy and Free Schools Trust, operating some of the most successful schools in the country.

ANDY BEADEN

CHAIRMAN

Andy has 30 years’ experience in business finance and manufacturing technology, having listed the materials technology business Luxfer on the NYSE and worked at two major FTSE 100 Groups.

He established his own venture capital business in late 2017 and is an experienced main board director of innovative and creative businesses. He’s a Fellow of both the ICAEW and RSA, qualified econometrician and a poet with a blog of over 250k views!

DANIELLE BROWN

MARKETING MANAGER

Danielle holds a first-class Marketing and Public Relations degree from the University of Central Lancashire. She’s also currently studying towards the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Digital Diploma in Professional Marketing.

Danielle has always been interested in technology and after graduating from university she worked for a computer software company for 3 years. She loves travelling and as part of her university degree she took part in a Chinese exchange programme to Beijing.

ALAN REID

BUSINESS DIRECTOR

A Chartered Mechanical Engineer, Alan has over 30 years industrial experience ranging from project management, machinery design and build, detailed manufacturing process specification and equipment commissioning, both nationally and internationally. He has been a lifelong advocate of social responsibility with roles including volunteer youth work as well as chairing governing bodies of a number of organisations including youth clubs, detached youth work, a primary school and a local graveyard preservation group. He was awarded an MBE for services to young people in 2002 and continues his social responsibility commitments to this day.

IN4.0 FELLOWS

Our Fellows are experts in their respective industries and they are advocates for Industrial Digital Technologies.

They’ve been carefully selected due to their commitment to making a positive change and their pedigree in leadership and technology innovation and adoption.

Not only are they passionate about talent development and education, they’re also willing and able to work collaboratively and share good practice with our members.

IN4.0 Fellows will support the design and delivery of the IN4.0 Access Accelerator. Our clients will benefit from their industry experience and knowledge.

Meet our Fellows…

Richard Hagan

MD OF CRYSTAL DOORS

Richard founded Crystal Doors, a Rochdale-based manufacturing company, 25 years ago and he’s revolutionised his business operations through the adoption of industrial digital technologies. Crystal Doors manufacture bespoke kitchen, bedroom and bathroom vinyl wrapped doors. They’ve fully incorporated industry 4.0 technology into their production processes by implementing 3D printing, CNC nesting cells and robotic spraying. They also operate the country’s first customised industry 4.0 dust extractor which has saved the company £10,400 a year!

Dr Marilyn Comrie

OBE FRSA

Dr Marilyn Comrie is an award winning serial entrepreneur, international trade & innovation specialist and strategist working in the area of advanced manufacturing and zero emission vehicle technologies. Marilyn was honoured by HRH the Queen in 2009 with an OBE for services to women’s enterprise. She was also awarded the prestigious Kofi Annan African Leadership Excellence Award as well as an honorary doctorate by Birmingham University in 2018. Marilyn’s expertise is in the field of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Additive Manufacturing.

Mike Blackburn

OBE

Mike has significant experience in the IT industry, specifically in helping the development of organisations as they grapple with the implementation of technology to support or transform their business. As we move into the next generation of technology, getting the correct balance of technology, people and process will be even more critical for success. Mike’s experiences in business transformation and leadership development means he can support individuals and businesses to adapt and be even more successful.

PARTNERSHIPS

We want our clients to learn from the best.

Therefore we’re actively collaborating with businesses and partners that share our passion for delivering tangible outcomes through technology adoption.

Alex Alexandrescu

CEO - Dicey Tech

Alex is a Romanian-born and Manchester-bred entrepreneur who graduated top of class from his MSc in business strategy at the University of Manchester. With a background in strategy consulting, he rediscovered a childhood passion for technology and digital making when he assembled his first 3D printer. Now he is co-founder and CEO at Dicey Tech, where he aims to inspire and enable generations of students to learn and develop themselves for the future of work, through building the things that make them curious.

Sofiane bebert

CTO - Dicey Tech

Born and raised in Niger, Sofiane came to the University of Manchester in 2011 to study an MEng in Mechatronic Engineering. He graduated in 2016 and joined Thales graduate scheme, where he was awarded Graduate Engineer of the Year award in 2018. At this point, he’d been working part-time for 6 months to also focus on founding and growing Dicey Tech. Sofiane now works full time as CTO of Dicey Tech, blending programming accessibility with the design freedom offered by 3D printing into enhanced learning experiences. His goal is to enable another dimension of creativity for students to unlock their potential and thrive in the industry of tomorrow.