Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing (SAM) project is a £10.9m project to support the implementation of product and process development and the introduction of technology within the SME manufacturing base in the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NE LEP) area.
The programme is a collaboration between ERDF who is providing £5.77M funding (£2.6million from 2014-2020 and £3.1million from 2020-2023) and the University of Sunderland who are managing and, alongside industry, are investing £5.15M in delivery of this project.
The University of Sunderland have committed significant academic resources and recruited a team consisting of industrial and research specialists to support the delivery of both practical and research projects all fully funded to eligible SME’s
The project has over £1M of industry leading capital including 3D printers, I4 rigs and VR/AR equipment and software to encourage SME engagement with advanced technology.
The project also has grants of up to £50,000* available to support capital/product validation/tooling and other financial inhibitors to driving strategic development of both product and process.
SAM Project has offered fully funded technical & financial support for manufacturing SME’s since 2018 through ERDF & University of Sunderland. We are currently involved
North East soft drinks manufacturer Clearly Drinks has seen sales fizz after investing £6million into a new canning line and recording its best year to date.
A fast-growing food packaging manufacturer is the latest business to box clever and benefit from the SAM Project’s electronics and industry 4.0 support.