
Strengthening UK supply chains – supporting businesses to innovate, grow and compete globally
We work across sectors to strengthen UK supply chains – supporting businesses to innovate, grow and compete globally. Whether improving productivity, embedding new technologies or enabling circularity, our supply chain services deliver sustainable, long-term advantage.
Strong supply chains are the foundation of a competitive economy. NCC’s supply chain services strengthen UK industry by helping businesses innovate, scale, digitalise and secure the materials and capabilities needed for future growth.
Following our ‘engage, discover, transform’ process, our dedicated SME support team works with smaller manufacturers through tailor-made services that help overcome the particular barriers they face.

Connect with our Specialists at NCC to find out more about our world-leading innovation capabilities and how we can support your business.
Whether you’re looking for expertise on a technical challenge, access to the latest technology or training to upskill your team – we can help. NCC provides a dedicated SME support team to ensure your business can swiftly access our resources. With a team of over 350 expert engineers and a world-class technology R&D centre, we’ll work with you to deliver solutions that meet your time and cost requirements.
• Cut production costs, energy usage and waste
• Optimise and scale your production capability and supply chain
• Improve product quality and cost
• Upskill your workforce
• Improve your access to crucial data
For your business to grow, you need to get your ideas to the right place, build the right plan for your success and develop the right solution to deliver for your needs.
• Engage: Getting you to the right place
• Discover: Building the right plan for you
• Transform: Enabling you with the right solution
Working with NCC and the wider HVMC couldn’t be simpler. We can support your business in a variety of ways – from a standard commercial contracting basis, through to supporting or leading bids into wider funding calls and participating in major collaborative research programmes.
After your initial consultation, our experts may need to visit your facilities to:
- Find any ‘easy wins’ across your whole operation
- Assess your ability to adapt to market changes with your current setup
- Meeting your business leaders to find out more about your plans for growth.
After the initial consultation, our experts may need to bring you into our facilities (either physically or digitally) to host a workshop on your business needs and:
- Find out more about your complex business challenge
- Work through your ideas using the experience of colleagues across the HVM Catapult
- Share our ideas for your business needs
- Start initial scoping of a roadmap for your business challenge
We deliver:
- Prompt turnaround on technical and supply chain challenges
- Affordable access to cutting-edge technology
- Engineering consultancy from our team of over 350 engineers and specialists in composites
- World-class R&D facilities to de-risk innovation and demonstrate proof-of-concept
- Ongoing support to scale-up production
If we are the right partners for your business needs, a team of our world-leading engineers will work directly with you to research and develop the right solution for your challenge.
There are three ways you could work with us:
- Self-funded innovation project - the price of this support package will depend on the scale and level of complexity of your business needs, but we will help you to find some external funding for our services where possible
- Match-funded innovation project (formally SME Boost) - where your project aligns to our strategic business goals and there is funding available, we may offer an up to 50% discounted rate (or match-funding) to work with us, covering up to half the cost of our expert’s time and required equipment use
- Grant-funded innovation project - if your business challenge serves a wider industry need or policy objective of UK Government, we may offer to use our global connections across industry, academia and government to help source a group or consortium of partners for the project.
NCC is one of 100 ‘Knowledge Bases’ established in the UK that work with businesses of any size and graduates in unique partnerships that aim to create positive impact and drive innovation for the UK. Our focus is on the SME community to embed technologies and management processes, supporting our business plan for growth. Partner businesses have access to dedicated support from the NCC as part of the KTP, as well as a KTN Knowledge Transfer Advisor. Find out more.
We offer:
- Bespoke training and off-the-shelf courses created by the NCC and our network of training providers
- Hands-on experience of the latest digital manufacturing technologies
- Courses matched by topic or level of experience, from apprentices to technicians, experienced engineers to senior management
- Courses designed for individuals, teams and companies
- Training available at the NCC, locations across the UK, and online through our award-winning learning management system
SME Affiliate membership is designed to provide affordable access to NCC capabilities, expertise, training and networks, making composite materials research and development as accessible as possible to all levels of industry.
Benefits include:
- Places on specialist training courses
- Exclusive access to networking events and knowledge sharing sessions that address industry challenges
- Exposure to other members and industry via the NCC's communication channels
- Training on the NCC’s technologies and software packages
- Bookable hot desk at NCC’S HQ in Bristol, providing on-site access to advice from our specialist engineers
We are running a national pilot scheme to help you cut your energy costs and grow your bottom line. The changing price of energy, both electricity and gas, can be a major risk for your business. HVM Catapult’s Manufacturing Energy Toolkit can help you to protect your business from future shocks.
Our experts have the experience and industry know-how to help you slash energy usage across your manufacturing process by up to 46%, helping you to make your money go further. You could save over 90% of your energy usage from a single machine. Find out more.
Made Smarter Innovation is a national programme to help businesses who make things capitalise on new digital technologies. It gives UK manufacturers access to a digital innovation ecosystem that helps prove their idea, quickly develop it with experts and scale it. The £300 million partnership between government and industry will provide match-funding, specialist advice and result in radical manufacturing solutions. Delivered by UK Research and Innovation. Visit the Made Smarter website for more information.
The NCC SME Match Funding scheme offers up to £25k to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK to help them develop products and technologies. Depending on business eligibility and the nature of the project, SMEs can benefit from this discount on work they contract NCC to deliver. Get in touch with the team today to learn more and view the eligibility criteria.
Services Portfolio
Innovation
Technical
Supply Chain
Skills
Our dedicated SME team helped UK SME Limosaero Ltd unlock the potential of their Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) design concept through a low-cost rapid development route to manufacture of a product demonstrator. The UAV was used in a world-first outdoor ammonia sensor mapping demonstration with the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

We've helped UK SME Adaptix Ltd extend their medical imaging expertise into non-destructive testing for aviation.

With support from NATEP (National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme), we're helping UK SME Carbon ThreeSixty to develop scalable rotor blade manufacturing for electric vertical take-off & landing (eVTOL).
