The best of 21st century British manufacturing

Plessey was chosen for its innovative technology, transforming the fortune of the UK's electronics sector by developing new ways to make LEDs. Other case studies include Bentley Motors, the luxury car maker, FormFormForm and Aesseal.

A total of 46 organisations have already backed the website, which is setting out to educate young people on the career opportunities in manufacturing, influence academics and politicians and change perceptions of Britain's industrial strengths.

In addition to the profiles of the exemplar companies, Made Here Now will also feature articles from authors Jeremy Leonard, Marcus Gibson and James Woudhuysen covering the future for manufacturing in the developed world, the prospects for reshoring and major technology shifts respectively. 

In a further contribution, Economics Professor, Robert Rowthorn, of the University of Cambridge, makes the case for a programme of 're-industrialisation' to boost the UK economy. The launch event, which starts at 6.30pm at the Building Centre Gallery, will also feature keynote speeches from Author and Commentator Will Hutton and Terry Scuoler, Chief Executive of the EEF, the manufacturer's organisation.

"Combining the inherent features of GaN-on-Si, such as low thermal resistance and a focused light emitting surface, with advanced packaging technology will permit monolithic integration of LEDs with other components and provide differentiated solutions for lighting applications. Plessey is working with a number of 'blue chip' lighting companies to develop ASLEDs for the next-gen of lighting solutions", Peter Marsh said.

"We are still very good at making things and manufacturing has immense potential to contribute substantially to our economy, however, not enough people are aware of our success stories and one way to improve the growth prospects of UK industry is to find new ways to tell the world about it."

"The project has really captured the imagination and we've already received significant support from leading organisations, such as JCB, Nesta, Rolls-Royce, Santander Bank, Siemens, the Royal Society and University of Cambridge", Marsh added.