Empowering the Future: Smiley Monroe’s Mentorship in Smart Nano Innovation

Smiley Monroe, a global manufacturer of conveyor belts and rubber parts, has been delivering innovative solutions to help equipment manufacturers increase efficiency since 1979. As the company continues to grow in the international market, it has taken the time to look at its own production processes and invest in a digital transformation and sustainability drive.

As part of this, Smiley Monroe recently participated in Digital Catapult’s programme, taking on the role of mentor to support emerging deep tech startups in the manufacturing sector. This allowed Smiley Monroe to look for solutions to help transform their business into a Smart Manufacturer, while allowing an emerging deep tech business to reach viable product status more efficiently.

Smiley Monroe aimed to explore new technologies to enhance its smart and sustainable manufacturing processes and looked at solutions that digitised its existing processes and allowed it to monitor performance and report on efficiency.

“We are investigating how technology can enable us to make data-driven decisions across our business. From making efficiencies on our factory floor to using technology to improve our customer experience, there are a whole host of ways emerging technologies and Digital Catapult’s experts can help us on the next stage of our digital journey.”

The Smart Nano programme provided a platform to work directly with potential solution providers and develop bespoke solutions to Smiley Monroe’s core challenges. Meanwhile, the mentee companies were able to workshop solutions with real data and test prototypes in a live environment with years of real-world expertise at their disposal.

Rachael and her team worked closely with the mentee companies, engaging in regular conversations and site visits. This hands-on approach allowed the mentees to test their solutions and get fast and direct feedback. The collaborative approach provided practical insights and helped refine the proposed solutions more quickly.

“Working closely with the mentee companies allowed us to identify problems and risks earlier and to collaborate on solutions,” explained Rachael. “The mentor-mentee relationship created a great environment to support “failing fast,” which allowed the final solution to be developed faster and ultimately be a better fit for our needs.”

Smiley Monroe plans to continue leveraging the connections and knowledge gained through the Smart Nano programme.

“We’ve been made aware of companies and technologies that we wouldn’t have come across otherwise,” Rachael explains, “which has opened up a world of opportunities for future collaborations and the technologies they’re developing.”

Smiley Monroe is now fully engaged in a thorough digitalisation and sustainability strategy and hopes to refresh its product offering, aiming to stay at the forefront of manufacturing innovation.

Digital product developer Nigma was one of the emerging tech firms that benefited from the Smart Nano connection with Smiley Monroe and its input into the development of Nigma’s manufacturing platform, ‘Factory Flow.’

Conor Graham, Managing Director of Nigma explained:

“Rachel’s guidance transformed our experience with the manufacturing innovation programme. Her passion for innovation and continuous improvement, along with her expertise, helped us identify several bottlenecks and potential improvements for our product.  Through her advocacy within Smiley Monroe, we secured on-site meetings with key production managers and operations directors, giving us valuable insight into our target market’s needs and real-world applications of our solution. Thanks to her and her team’s support, we accelerated our development and secured commitments for our pilot programme—crucial for accessing the funding needed to bring our new product to market.”

Digital Catapult’s Smart Nano NI Accelerator programmes aim to advance manufacturing technologies in Northern Ireland as part of the Smart Nano NI consortium. The Manufacturing Innovation Challenge, a key component of the programme, saw eight technology SMEs and startups work to develop solutions to real-world manufacturing challenges.

To facilitate this, ten industry mentors partnered with the programme, offering exclusive access to their factories, systems, and data, enabling participants to test their proof-of-concepts in practical settings. In return, mentors gained direct engagement with some of Northern Ireland’s most innovative tech startups, exploring new ideas and technologies to enhance their businesses.