• Razor selected as one of three digital consultancies by the AMRC in landmark contract to deliver groundbreaking digital transformation
  • Project aims to create a shining example of modern digital integration to inspire all UK manufacturing environments
  • Initial 2-year contract unites two of the region’s cutting-edge tech organisations with a reputation for innovation and a shared vision for the UK tech scene

June 2020: Razor  – the leading-edge technology company – has been selected by the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in a landmark framework for the region worth up to 7 figures in groundbreaking digital capabilities. Selected as the front runner alongside two other digital consultancies, Razor is in an excellent position to begin to forge the AMRC’s new digital vision.

The contract  – which has the potential to span up to four years – is to deliver a new, innovative digitisation strategy bringing in emerging AI, machine learning and big data technology. The wider mission is to position the AMRC as a champion for digital integration in the manufacturing environment, creating a centre of excellence to inspire manufacturers up and down the country to consider the productivity output digitalisation can achieve.

Expected to begin in June 2020, the overall objective of the AMRC strategy is to provide a robust, manageable and highly capable data and information processing platform. With the AMRC’s strong research links to the University of Sheffield, this partnership is a striking example of academia, advanced manufacturing and disruptive digital technology coming together to solve the most challenging engineering problems facing the industry.

Dr Aiden Lockwood, Principal Enterprise Architect at the AMRC said: “This project will bring together all our expertise and use the AMRC as a whole to demonstrate how enterprise scale modern IT could be used across the UK manufacturing sector. This is an exciting new era of the AMRC which will allow us to fully connect our staff, members and partners into a unified digital platform.


Having worked alongside the AMRC on a number of projects in recent years, Razor is well-positioned to take on this new challenge. In 2019, the two organisations worked in partnership on a project for one of Britain’s best known aerospace manufacturers, the results of which were startling. The Razor team managed to improve production speed far beyond expectation – in this case –  4,000 times quicker than imagined by the AMRC.

Jamie Hinton, CEO and Co-Founder at Razor, commented: “The AMRC has been a part of our world for a number of years now after first being invited to one of their first digital meet manufacturing events, myself and the team were captivated from the first moment. It’s incredible to be in this position now.

“From our recent work together, we feel like part of the family. It’s coffee, pizza, and solving some pretty huge and exciting challenges for the names in manufacturing we’ve admired throughout our careers. It’s not just the big names too, we’re working with lean spin-offs and start-ups coming out of the AMRC which are kicking up some groundbreaking tech.

“This partnership is huge for us at Razor, and we’re delighted our two organisations are coming together. Both Razor and the AMRC believe in the potential of our region, we are on the cusp of a new industrial revolution fuelled by relationships like ours, which supercharge the connection between digital and advanced manufacturing. We can’t wait to get started.”

Steven Foxley, CEO at the AMRC said: “Razor is at the forefront of the fast-growing digital tech community in the Sheffield City Region, through our work with us they’ve proven time and again that they are capable of the forward-thinking, fast moving and innovative approach this work requires.

“The AMRC is determined to bring together the digital and manufacturing communities in the North of England to drive growth and productivity through innovation, this new partnership is that and much more. We hope to position the AMRC  – with Razor’s energy and approach  – wholly as a demonstration of the use of modern IT capabilities in an enterprise-scale organisation.”