Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC)
TURBOCHARGING NORTHERN IRELAND'S MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES
AMIC - a £100m investment under Belfast Region City Deal - is a collaborative, innovative powerhouse of advanced manufacturing set to elevate our region globally.
We are supporting economic growth and prosperity for Northern IreIand by creating high quality jobs and increasing inward investment through high value manufacturing innovation clusters.
We are driving industrial transformation, paving the way for future technologies and competing globally with a more sustainable focus.
Our launch team of over 40 staff has core capabilities in digitalising manufacturing, smart design, sustainable composites & polymers and smart nanotech. We’re excited to be expanding the team throughout 2024.
Belfast’s engineering legacy is remarkable as a major linen centre in the 20th century, home to the world's largest shipbuilding yard and as the oldest aircraft manufacturer in the world.
That legacy continues today. Belfast shines as a city of innovation with an entrepreneurial spirit that drives us forward.
AMIC is key to an exciting future for manufacturing in this region. It builds on 50 years of sustained innovation and industry support through the Northern Ireland Technology Centre (NITC), the Polymers Processing Research Centre (PPRC) and the more recent university-industry partnership, NI Advanced Composites and Engineering (NIACE) as well as UK-leading research capability in smart design and nanotech and photonics.
We’re on track to open a 10,500m2 state-of-the-art Factory of the Future at Global Point Business Park in Newtownabbey in 2026.
Designed for industry, the open access manufacturing and engineering innovation centre will reinvigorate Northern Ireland’s industrial potential and address the future technology and skills challenges faced by the region’s manufacturing sector.
It will provide a specialised environment for advanced manufacturing, materials, and engineering sectors to access the latest digital, automation and robotics technology supported by experienced engineers and underpinned by academic excellence.
With planning permission secured for the site, AMIC’s appointed contractors, Henry Brothers, will start construction in spring 2024.
Construction will include an engineering hall, a clean room, laboratory spaces, an auditorium and office accommodation as well as external landscaping and mechanical and electrical services.
The Factory of the Future will have with capacity for 150 staff, as it delivers for Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector.
At AMIC we’re hugely ambitious.
By 2050, it’s estimated that AMIC will have contributed more than £1bn to the local economy, directly and indirectly created over 1,500 permanent jobs and supported the training of 300 apprentices.
AMIC’s goals are aligned with Queen’s University’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2040.
Working with industry, AMIC will support manufacturers to accelerate the development of net zero products and solutions to market through design and innovation. We will also help companies decarbonise their manufacturing processes and supply chains and improve competitiveness through digitally enabled technologies.
AMIC is being delivered by Queen’s in partnership with industry, Ulster University, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and supported by the UK Government and NI Executive.
AMIC’s Industry Board was formed in late 2022 to ensure that our industry partners shape strategic decisions around technology priorities and capital equipment investment.
Chaired by John Irwin, managing director of Kiverco, the Board includes leaders from 20 local companies.
As AMIC CEO, Sam Turner is driving forward plans to propel industrial transformation and address the future technology and skills challenges faced by Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector.
With over 20 years manufacturing R&D experience in the aerospace and automotive sectors, Sam has extensive knowledge and capability to lead the AMIC team.
He’s been seconded to lead AMIC from his role as chief technology officer at the High Value Manufacturing Catapult where he played a key role in the successful development of Factory of the Future at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in Sheffield.
For many years our researchers have been collaborating with industry to use cutting-edge research to make a real difference in society.
Queen’s University researchers are working to deliver the next generation of nano-photonic devices in partnership with Seagate Technologies in an initiative that is driving significant inward investment to Northern Ireland.
The partnership has led to the creation of the Smart Nano NI Consortium which has been awarded over £60m to develop new technology for medical devices, communication, and data storage.
Automation engineers from the Northern Ireland Technology Centre at Queen’s have been working with Moyola Precision Engineering on a project to ensure the safety of components on aeroplane wings.
The Queen’s group identified a new process by which Moyola could apply sealant to prevent moisture entering the components, ensuring that they do not become corroded. So far, use of the sealant has increased by 45%, while time savings of 78% have been recorded. In total a 64% financial saving has been reported since the new equipment was introduced.
The partnership is taking place under SCENIC, a £9m collaborative research and development project, between the Northern Ireland Technology Centre and a consortium of aerospace companies in the region, part-funded by Invest Northern Ireland.
Project SCENIC will give Northern Ireland a strategic advantage and ensure that the region is at the forefront of expertise for titanium and hard metal machining within the global aerospace sector.
CONTACT US
Contact us at amic@qub.ac.uk or via Catherine Clydesdale, AMIC project support lead, on C.Clydesdale@qub.ac.uk