Family-run Witham Oil & Paint Ltd benefit from Made Smarter support.
Through initiatives like Made Smarter, Lincolnshire County Council is helping local manufacturers harness technology, increase resilience and unlock new opportunities, ensuring the county remains a strong and competitive place to do business.
Trading since 1921, Witham Oil & Paint Ltd, trading as Witham Group, is a fourth-generation family-run business based in Lincoln, operating as one of the leading lubricant manufacturers and paint suppliers in the UK.
Through the Made Smarter programme, the company is continuing its strong legacy of embracing and adapting to change, which has seen its business evolve from eras of the horse and cart and steam power, to vans, tractors and cars.
The latest major upgrade to the company’s Enterprise Resource Planning system, helped made possible through a £20,000 Made Smarter grant, will help to unlock significant efficiency gains and enhanced digital capabilities across every area of the business.
Nigel Bottom, Group Managing Director of the business said: “We remain traditional in terms of our core values of putting our people and our customers first, and yet we are also committed to innovation with existing product development, environmental breakthroughs, and technological advances to face the challenges of our industry.
“This grant funding from Made Smarter has allowed us to bring forward a significant upgrade to our operations, helping us become more efficient, and their wider support has been hugely beneficial to recognise longstanding challenges and identify new, digital solutions to these. It’s a simple process to join the programme, and I’d strongly encourage anyone eligible to do so.”
Cllr Liam Kelly, executive councillor for Growth at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Made Smarter is all about giving our manufacturers the tools and confidence to embrace digital technology. We’ve a strong, growing sector in Lincolnshire, and our businesses are constantly looking at ways to innovate and find efficiencies. By administering this programme locally, we can ensure those businesses get the tailored support that works for them to drive growth.
“This latest Made Smarter success story demonstrates the tangible impact the programme continues to make across our manufacturing businesses. Since 2022, the team have helped over 160 manufacturing businesses in Greater Lincolnshire which is great news for growth in the sector and our wider local economy.”
Made Smarter is a government-backed programme designed to help manufacturing and engineering SMEs adopt new digital technologies, improve productivity and drive growth. The scheme offers grant funding, specialist advice and digital road mapping to help businesses identify the right solutions for their needs and implement them effectively.
For the East Midlands, the programme is managed and administered by Lincolnshire County Council, which works closely with manufacturers across the county to ensure they have access to the funding and expertise needed to modernise and thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
By moving to Odoo v19, Witham Group will benefit from enhanced functionality, improved automation and more robust system performance, supporting smarter decision-making and long-term growth. This will help to streamline operations, improve data management and reporting, and enable greater integration across departments.
Manufacturing businesses interested in learning more about Made Smarter can visit www.madesmarter.uk for further information.