Plessey Semiconductors announced it will be featured in a new website showcasing 21st century British manufacturing which will be launched 23rd April at a high-profile event in London.

www.madeherenow.com, the brainchild of former Financial Times Manufacturing Editor Peter Marsh, is looking to tell the story of modern-day industry through a series of articles, stunning pictures and video on four exemplar companies.

Plessey was chosen for its market leading innovative technology, transforming the fortune of the UK's electronics sector by developing new ways to make light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Other case studies include Bentley Motors, the luxury car maker, FormFormForm, and Aesseal.

Dr. Keith Strickland, Plessey's Chief Technical Officer, said, "Plessey's LEDs are produced in the UK at the company's Plymouth wafer fabrication facility, using its proprietary GaN-on-Silicon technology. By utilizing standard silicon semiconductor production techniques and process automation, Plessey is able to produce high-volume, high-quality, industry standard LEDs that are demanded by the solid state lighting market.

"Combining the inherent features of GaN-on-Silicon, such as low thermal resistance and a focused light emitting surface, with advanced packaging technology will permit monolithic integration of LEDs with other components and provide differentiated solutions for lighting applications. Plessey is working with a number of 'blue chip' lighting companies to develop Application Specific LEDs (ASLEDs) for the next generation of lighting solutions", he added.

Peter Marsh, said, "We are still very good at making things and manufacturing has immense potential to contribute substantially to our economy, however, not enough people are aware of our success stories and one way to improve the growth prospects of UK industry is to find new ways to tell the world about it."

"The project has really captured the imagination and we've already received significant support from leading organizations, such as JCB, Nesta, Rolls-Royce, Santander Bank, Siemens, the Royal Society and University of Cambridge.", he added.

A total of 46 organizations have already backed the website, which is setting out to educate young people on the career opportunities in manufacturing, influence academics and politicians and change perceptions of Britain's industrial strengths.

In addition to the profiles of the exemplar companies, Made Here Now will also feature articles from authors Jeremy Leonard (Oxford Economics), Marcus Gibson (Gibson Index) and James Woudhuysen (technology expert) covering the future for manufacturing in the developed world, the prospects for reshoring and major technology shifts respectively. 

In a further contribution, Economics Professor, Robert Rowthorn, of the University of Cambridge makes the case for a program of "re-industrialization" to boost the UK economy.

The launch event, which starts at 6.30pm at the Building Centre Gallery, will also feature keynote speeches from Author and Commentator Will Hutton and Terry Scuoler, Chief Executive of the EEF, the manufacturer's organization.

Plessey LEDs. (Photo Courtesy of Plessey)

Plessey's MaGIC™ (Manufactured on GaN-on-Si I/C) High Brightness LED (HBLED) technology has won numerous awards for its innovation and ability to cut the cost of LED lighting by using standard silicon manufacturing techniques. For further information and datasheets, please visit www.plesseysemiconductors.com or email enquiries@plesseysemi.com.