Case Study: Manufacturing Technology Centre achieves reduced waste and improved productivity with FICO Xpress Optimization

FICO optimization technology at the forefront of manufacturing innovation

The Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) is an independent research and technology organisation that connects industry and academia to accelerate innovation across sectors like aerospace, rail, food and defence. Faced with the need to reduce waste, improve productivity and better synchronise production and maintenance across diverse manufacturing environments, the MTC sought advanced optimization capabilities to tackle raw-material efficiency, production scheduling and complex what‑if planning.

FICO joined the MTC as a core optimisation partner, supplying FICO® Xpress Optimization and Xpress Insight within the Smart Manufacturing Accelerator and the factory‑in‑a‑box demonstrator. Xpress optimises raw‑material use, automates production sequencing, enables rapid simulation and synchronises maintenance with production schedules. The results: reduced waste and manual errors, faster planning through what‑if analysis, improved operational efficiency, and a reusable framework and demonstrator solutions that have led to ongoing and new optimisation projects.

Manufacturing Technology Centre

Matthew Gibbon

Principal Research Engineer