As a result, we are moving towards new business models, which are demand-led and based on doing more with less. Sustainability and affordability therefore go hand-in-hand as we enter this New Normal world. Agility is therefore becoming a critical success factor. And once the need for change has been understood, it is clear that the New Normal is creating a major opportunity for companies to rapidly build and scale new businesses.
NiTech Solutions technology is low-cost and very flexible – helping companies to rapidly build and scale the new facilities that they need to produce more sustainable, affordable and locally manufactured products. These new models will likely provide solid revenue and profit growth for decades to come.
With reductions in footprint, capital and operating costs, but a higher and better-quality yield, NiTech Solutions’ range of crystallizers and reactors provide a safer, greener, faster and cheaper alternative to batch processes.
They have collapsed, not only because of the uncoordinated nature of the lockdowns around the world, but also due to volatility in demand patterns. These problems are unlikely to disappear quickly, making it essential to rebuild supply chains on a local scale, close to end-user demand. The good news is that the costs of replacing existing infrastructure are relatively low, due to the ability to use advanced manufacturing technology.
Our technology means your company can supply customers cost-effectively on a local basis – cutting out the risks and costs on extended supply chains.
Reshoring manufacturing facilities closer to end-markets offers a more sustainable option as businesses, such as those in the pharma industry, transition to offer more personalised products. NiTech Solutions supplies portable and scalable units as either independent components or as complete manufacturing systems.
Even without the pollution issue, it would make little sense for the world to continue spending $80bn-$120bn each year on producing single-use plastic products, which are then thrown away immediately after use. The coronavirus pandemic has confirmed that plastics are very valuable materials – but we need new locally-based business models to be created, covering the value chain from collection through processing, manufacturing (based potentially on 3D printing) and distribution. Thinking ‘out of the box’ will likely create a goldmine for those innovative companies that focus on capturing the sweet spot in the new value chain, and rapidly scale the new business model(s) across the main cities and towns in their chosen regions.
Our innovative work with the University of South Wales is just one example of how NiTech Solutions can provide solutions for a circular economy.
The BioGrid project is working on a process for turning waste CO2 into ‘green methane’ using NiTech Solutions tubular baffled and oscillatory baffled reactor technology. NiTech Solutions continuous technology can help companies to cut CO2 emissions. The smaller scale of its units and the ability to install all ancillary equipment in very close proximity, significantly reduce energy consumption – giving a substantially lower carbon footprint and lower costs.
The moves to localise supply chains provide a major opportunity to rethink both design and operation, with the aim of finally moving away from traditional batch processes to adopt digital, continuous and bio-enabled technology to create a safer, greener, faster, cheaper and more flexible manufacturing footprint.
A shift to innovative and scalable manufacturing, such as continuous or flow chemistry, is gathering pace among various sectors, including pharma and fine chemicals as they discover the benefits offered by the technology.
These include lower manufacturing costs, higher and more consistent product quality, reduced energy consumption and faster scale-up. The business case for adopting advanced manufacturing has never been stronger with manufacturers facing continued disruptive risks such as price volatility, trade wars and pandemics as well as a need to respond faster to changing market trends.
UMi caught up with Paul Hodges, chairman, NiTech Solutions.
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