17th October 2024
PP Control & Automation (PP C&A) is excited to announce its recent membership with Upcell, a network that bridges public institutions, industrials, and universities on a singular platform to transform the future of electric battery technology.
This move signifies a commitment to advancing sustainable solutions, boosting local capacities, and contributing to a more connected, innovative energy ecosystem.
By joining Upcell, PP C&A gains access to a vast network of collaborators where it can share insights, align on objectives, and contribute to initiatives that enhance the electric battery value chain. This collaboration fosters a collective approach to the complex challenges of energy storage and electric mobility, sparking innovative ideas and making a concerted effort to ensure European leadership and authority.
One of the core tenets of Upcell is promoting local capacities, people, and skills. PP C&A has a reputation for excellence in training the manufacturing disciplines necessary for high-quality control and automation systems, module/assembly, and full machine build solutions. Employing over 200 people at its award-winning facility in the UK, PP C&A holds the credentials to have a significant impact on the Upcell mission.
The business has always recognised the importance of bolstering local talent and the Upcell membership will only help amplify the capabilities that this approach helps manifest. It will assist innovation that not only supports local communities but effectively addresses global needs.
At its heart, Upcell is dedicated to creating cutting-edge solutions in the battery sector, especially those that are sustainable and forward-looking. PP C&A will be committed to offering advanced engineering and production capabilities that align seamlessly with Upcell’s innovation-driven objectives.
“We’re adamant that our expertise in control and automation systems, as well as our engineering and production capabilities, can actively contribute to the development and optimisation of new battery technologies. With Upcell, we can take part in collaborative projects that push boundaries.”
TONY HAGUE, CEO, PP C&A
Beyond technological advances and sustainable practices, Upcell also enables significant business opportunities across the battery and energy sectors. By aligning with a diverse network of companies, institutions, and academic organisations, PP C&A is better positioned to identify emerging trends, partnerships, and market demands.
Joining Upcell is just the beginning for PP C&A. As active members, it looks forward to contributing to projects, participating in knowledge-sharing events, and collaborating on innovations that will shape the future of battery technology.
It is a partnership that reflects an ongoing commitment to sustainability, technical excellence, and shared growth.
Upcell Alliance is a European not-for-profit association aiming to create a unique and competitive ecosystem of stakeholders in the equipment and machinery for battery manufacturing industry, believing that a collaborative approach is giving Europe a leading position in this important field.
Ian Knight, Chief Information Officer at PP Control & Automation (PP C&A) challenges the prevailing, often vague narrative around AI adoption and reframes the conversation around a more practical starting point: operational constraints.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept for manufacturers. It is already being explored across quotation, production planning, engineering, quality, supply chain and customer service functions. Yet, for many organisations, the gap between experimentation and meaningful operational impact remains difficult to close.
A leading aquaculture specialist – that is changing the way fish are vaccinated safely – has signed a major manufacturing deal.
On paper, defined discipline-specific suppliers can look organised. However, every additional supplier introduces another handoff, and every handoff creates another point where time, quality, communication and accountability can be lost.
Very rarely does growth not surface because an OEM lacks ambition. Shortcomings arise because operating models built to support such ambition don’t evolve quickly enough.
Recent weeks have brought two important industry moments into sharp focus, concluding that demand for AI and automation is rising, but investment, skills, and long-term thinking must follow.
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 by any means, but perhaps it is an incomplete one.
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 signed off. And then everyone moves on. But what if that’s the wrong way to think about it? What if change isn’t the disruption to the system but the system itself?
