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Build vs. Buy vs. Blend: rethinking how machine builders design capability

For decades, one question has sat at the heart of operational strategy for machine builders and OEMs: make or buy? It’s a familiar debate and it isn’t the wrong question …

Change is constant: How to handle Engineering Change Notices (ECNs)

In most machine building businesses, change is still treated as an exception. A late-stage drawing revision, component substitution, or wiring tweak discovered during build. Each one is handled, resolved, and …

Strategic outsourcing: where do machine builders start?

Our ideas. Now in audio. This series turns our latest opinion pieces into easy-to-access insights, exploring the real-world challenges facing machine builders and OEMs today. Simple. Practical. On demand. EXPLORE …

PP C&A signals £100m global expansion with new acquisition push

Global expansion is on the agenda for PP Control & Automation after it announced a major acquisition drive.

The Illusion of Busy

Output doesn’t move proportionally. This is the illusion of busy: a system that feels stretched but delivers diminishing returns.

Pinaki Banerjee named among inaugural Great 100

We are thrilled to announce that Pinaki Banerjee, CEO of PP Control & Automation, has been recognised in the first-ever Great 100 list by Made in Group – a celebration …

Midlands manufacturing experts sign up to ‘VORS’ to target £bn defence, medical and life sciences opportunity

Three Midlands manufacturing and design specialists are joining forces to make the most of a £bn opportunity in medical, life sciences, defence and security.

CEO responds as the Chancellor delivers her Autumn Budget

The Autumn Budget landed yesterday, following an early leak from the OBR, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves setting out a blueprint to strengthen the UK’s manufacturing and industrial base.

The triple threat constraining in-house production

The pressure on OEMs isn’t coming from a single source, it’s coming from all sides. Products are more complex, quality expectations are rising, and skilled labour is harder to find …

Are OEMs losing the innovation game?

In the second of three editorials on the hidden cost of ‘in-house manufacturing’, PP Control & Automation’s Richard Spears, examines how this mindset is creating fragmentation across engineering, operations, and …

The capacity trap and how in-house thinking is slowing OEM growth

In the first of three editorials on the hidden cost of in-house manufacturing, PP Control & Automation’s Richard Spears explores why the model – once a symbol of strength – …

PP C&A eyes acquisition trail with new CEO appointment

One of the UK’s leading manufacturing outsourcing specialists has appointed a new CEO to lead its global expansion.

Focus where it matters most

Hidden Cost of In-House 12/12: In machine building, success depends on where you direct your time, energy, and expertise. Yet for many OEMs, the focus has shifted away from where …

The true cost of doing it all

Hidden Cost of In-House 11/12: For many machine builders and OEMs, keeping production in-house feels like the most cost-effective way to operate. But when you dig deeper, the numbers often …

Designed for manufacture… eventually

Hidden Cost of In-House 10/12: For many machine builders and OEMs, innovation starts strong. But then comes the challenge: moving from concept to production.

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