Serving the Teesside Business Community | 37
Clarity - Malcolm Knott (right) leads
an experienced team at ITS.
ITS what we do!
W
hen people asked Malcolm Knott
what his company did, he used to
be unsure of the best answer. It’s
easy to understand why.
If he answered that they were an
independent automation systems
integrator, dedicated to increasing the
visibility of real-time information to improve
the performance of manufacturing and
processing companies, many would send a
blank look in return.
But he’s now much clearer on an answer
that means so much more to those who
ask.
Malcolm has been MD of Industrial
Technology Systems Ltd [ITS, it’s easier to
say] for 28 years.
He’s not only Teesside-born and bred, but
has spent his entire life in the region apart
from a short spell over in the North West for
four-and-a-half years when he was getting
the business off the ground.
Like many engineers from Teesside,
Malcolm was ICI-trained as a chemical
engineer.
He recalls: “I worked for a few managers
in my 20 years at ICI but, more importantly,
I worked with a few great leaders - people
who inspired me and helped me to improve,
people who demanded more of me,
without demanding anything from me.”
They inspired him and gave him the
confidence to set up his own business
nearly three decades ago. Now, however,
people often ask him: “Well, what do you
do?”
His initial reaction was usually “That’s
hard to answer”.
He could get all technical and talk about
bits and bytes, data points and I/O – or he
could go a little higher level and talk about
process control, management information
systems and some of the specialist things
ITS do. Techie things such as automatic
inspection systems and GAMP compliance
might also come into his answer.
But then Malcolm’s business coach asked
him recently to “Really think about what ITS
do” - and he came up with a new summary.
“We prevent pharmaceutical products
from entering the market place without
proper checks on efficacy, sterility, identity
and integrity,” he begins. “Over the years
we’ve been involved with more than 1,500
projects aimed at doing just that.
“We ensure nuclear workers are not
exposed to unacceptable levels of radiation.
Our systems at key nuclear sites in the
UK run 24/7 to make sure the risks are
minimalised round the clock.
“We put in place controls that prevent
harm being caused to human beings
and property. In biopharm, chemicals,
automotive and energy – hundreds of our
systems protect people and customer
equipment.
“We ensure specialist software that’s
used to remove counterfeit drugs from the
market place to work around the clock, so
that people can know the pharmaceuticals
they buy are genuine.”
He continues: “We make some of the
world’s most important chemicals. We work
for people in the top five global chemical
manufacturers and we make sure we do it
safely and efficiently.
“We make sure that hundreds of babies
every year are fed correctly and safely.
We ensure food processes run safely
by removing unsafe products from the
potential market.”
He explains that ITS remove risk and
danger so people who work on their
customers’ plants go home safely. That they
innovate new and ground-breaking ideas
to improve processes in pharmaceuticals,
medical device, biopharms, food and
energy.
And, in addition to all that, he adds that
ITS try to put something back for young
adults, through organisations such as The
Young Entrepreneur Awards, North East
Process Industry Cluster [NEPIC] and Tees
Valley Combined Authority, and to younger
children through the Children Challenging
Industry scheme.
“We care,” he says with pride, revealing
how ITS have raised more than £26,000 for
Butterwick Hospice over the last five years.
“In short, we spend our working lives
saving and improving other people’s lives.
We give people a better standard of living
and we keep people safe. That’s what we
do!”
ITS is seeing the benefit of having made
some significant changes over the last two
years. The company is growing but Malcolm
wants to demand more of the people in the
business, without demanding anything from
them.
So if you’re interested in being part of
their growth story, let him know!