Issue 22 | Page 65

SUCCESS RAPID RESPONSE Industry-leading independent systems integrator ITS has cemented its plan for growth during a busy lockdown period which has seen the firm continue to provide its high level of service to clients. The company, based on Middlesbrough’s Riverside Park, brought in solutions including virtual engineering services and remote access for clients to ensure it continued to execute projects in line with safety advice. Documentation writing services, design, building, testing and validating control, machine vision and management information systems did not stop – and it is a source of pride for managing director Malcolm Knott that the ITS team, predominantly working safely and remotely from their own homes, have continued to deliver essential services. The company has also shared a series of free webinars for clients to share knowledge and assist manufacturing and processing companies to be more competitive. And it has switched its Regulatory Compliance Training offering to an online course to help those who might have had more time during lockdown to extend their knowledge. And all this with safety of employees, clients and supplier partners at the forefront. Malcolm says ITS has completed many actions over the last few months to protect its employees and help manufacturing companies looking to diversify, address market challenges and meet new customer requirements. “After the lockdown we immediately introduced contingency plans to reduce the spread of the virus and enable our team to continue serving client needs effectively, remotely and safely,” he added. “Whilst carrying out these actions, the safety of our employees, customers and supplier partners has been our highest priority.” ITS has introduced virtual engineering services and where needed, set up remote access to clients’ IT systems. The contingency plan also enabled the firm’s engineering team to continue supporting industry and manufacturing operations, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, efficiently, reliably and safely. Short term, flexible and tailored Service Level Agreements were also introduced, making it possible for ITS to remotely assist with support for control systems, vision systems and management information systems. As were reliable solutions to support the manufacturing restart. “ITS is always there to help our customers make substantial and perpetual advances in their operational performance through innovative thinking and engineering excellence,” said Malcolm. “Solving the problems that others have tried and failed to solve and to highlight solutions to problems they may not yet see.” The company has three decades of industry experience in the pharmaceutical sector which enabled it Industrial Technology Systems, ITS House, High Force Road, Riverside Park, Middlesbrough TS2 1RH its-ltd.co.uk ITS adapts portfolio to support operations during Covid-19 and beyond Direction – ITS managing director Malcolm Knott. to design and deliver a range of training courses. It has already received positive feedback for its online courses from learners who were able to increase their knowledge and competencies from the comfort of their own homes. Growth plans remain in place and as part of them, ITS engineers have recently attended training courses to learn about the latest technology and best practices. “We’re still aiming for the growth plans we’ve put in place and will be investing £100,000 in new equipment to help us achieve those plans shortly and safely,” added Malcolm. Besides running the business successfully in this uncertain time, ITS has also been proud to take care of team wellbeing, encouraging and providing support for colleagues to talk openly about mental health issues with each other. As a result of the gradual relaxation more and more projects are restarting, a team of ITS engineers has already gone back to work at a site in Europe and the company has generated a number of opportunities in the past few months. Malcolm remains very optimistic about the future of the company. ITS is expecting an increased order intake in the second half of the year and dynamic growth in the next couple of years. The voice of business in the Tees region | 65