Made to Grow: the UK manufacturing podcast for SME manufacturers

Season 2 of Made to Grow digs into the practical wins UK SME manufacturers are after right now – from video marketing that fuels sales and recruitment, to data strategy, MRP adoption, lean and SOPs, supplier collaboration and carbon reporting.

Hosted by Rich Dale of Flowlens, each episode brings clear, no-nonsense advice from manufacturers and industry specialists so you can improve planning, throughput and margins without the fluff.

If you’re searching for a UK manufacturing podcast that turns ideas into action, start here and pick the topics that match your next step.

cover graphic for made to grow uk manufacturing podcast

Listen on your podcast app of choice:

Spotify Podcasts

Apple Podcasts

Amazon Podcast

About the host: Rich Dale

Rich Dale is the founder of Flowlens, an MRP and CRM platform for SME manufacturers.

The podcast features Rich in conversation with leading UK experts and manufacturers who have successfully scaled, modernised their operations or delivered meaningful digital transformation.

Flowlens is mentioned where relevant, but the focus is firmly on useful, vendor-neutral insight you can act on.

Made To Grow: Season 2

Cover image for Made To Grow podcast Season 2, Episode 1.

Ep 1: Video Marketing for Manufacturers with Peter Craven

Peter Craven if Blue Sky Video Marketing talks to Rich about how SME manufacturers can plan case study videos that support sales, recruitment and aftersales, and how to repurpose long-form into short-form for LinkedIn, YouTube and your website. 

Cover image for podcast episode 2 of season 2 of the made to grow podcast. Title - Making Smarter Decisions: Unlocking Growth with Manufacturing Data with guest Simon Coward of Smart Manufacturing Data Hub

Ep 2: Making Smarter Decisions: Unlocking Growth with Manufacturing Data with Simon Coward

Use your data to drive decisions, not just pretty dashboards. Simon Coward (Smart Manufacturing Data Hub) explains benchmarks, the SMDH Lighthouse projects, and how SME manufacturers can manufacturing data into better planning, less downtime and confident decisions.

made to grow manufacturing podcast episode 3, season 2. denatec

Ep 3: £0 to £3 Million in 3 Years – Denatec’s Growth Story with Nathan Peele

From start-up to scale-up at speed. Nathan Peele shares Denatec’s growth levers—niche positioning, tight procurement, disciplined systems and resilient leadership through the pandemic—plus what it really took to win customers and prepare for international expansion. Proper inspiration for ambitious UK manufacturers.

manufacturing podcast cover uk

Ep 4: Free Digital Support for SME Manufacturers with Will Kinghorn

Where to get funded help for digital manufacturing. Will Kinghorn (Made Smarter UK) maps the grants, advisers and tools available, and how SMEs can prioritise use cases (energy, visibility, planning) before investing in software. Clear pointers for de-risking your first or next MRP/Industry 4.0 step

Ep 5: SMEs: Collaborate to Succeed with Sam Baynham

Peer networks that move the needle. Sam Baynham (Conex Portal) shows how manufacturers share playbooks, fix skills gaps, and fast-track opportunities through structured collaboration—without the hard sell. Perfect if your leadership team wants support beyond the factory walls.

covervimage for uk manufacturing podcast made to grow with jcs nuclear solutions md oliver caunt.

Ep 6: Unlocking Growth with Digital Tools for Manufacturers with Oliver Caunt

A real-world digital transformation story. Oliver Caunt (JCS Nuclear Solutions) covers cleaning legacy data, ditching spreadsheet sprawl, and using cloud MRP and dashboards for real-time decisions across stock, WIP and production. Practical change lessons for any SME manufacturer.

Video Thumbnail: The A to Z of SOPs: Continuous Improvement in Manufacturing. Made to Grow, S02E07 with Tom Hughes.

Ep 7: The A to Z of SOPs – Continuous Improvement in Manufacturing with Tom Hughes

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)  that actually stick. Tom Hughes (GembaDocs) breaks down simple, visual SOPs that reduce defects, speed onboarding and embed daily kaizen—so your lean efforts survive beyond the poster on the wall. Shopfloor-first advice for SMEs.

podcast cover image for Nishant Raj manufacturing podcast episode 8 - carbon reporting for sme manufacturers

Ep 8: SME Supply Chain Collaboration and Carbon Reporting with Nishant Raj

Nishant Raj of Valuechain explains digitising supplier data, collaborating upstream, and collecting carbon metrics that meet customer and ESG demands. A timely take for UK manufacturers under carbon reporting pressure.

marv and holly from the flowlens team join Rich to talk about manufacturing data, dashboards and tough decisions.

Ep 9: Data Strategy, Dashboards and Decision-making for Manufacturing SMEs with Holly Steele-Nicholson & Marv Van Niekerk

From “numbers everywhere” to insight you trust. Flowlens’ Holly and Marv share how to design a data strategy, wire MRP/CRM dashboards to KPIs, and create a cadence that drives action on bottlenecks, margin and delivery. A blueprint for leaders who want better decisions, faster.

Ep 10: Embedding a Culture of Excellence with Rob White (DD Scientific)

Excellence as a daily habit. Rob White shows how DD Scientific scales quality and innovation—linking leadership behaviours, automation and data to 4m+ safety-critical sensors a year. Culture, systems and CI for manufacturers who want durable performance.

Ready for more?

Head back to Season One for a listen to Rich’s first forays into podcast hosting, or fast forward to the highly skilled multi-media mogul of today with Season Three!

cover graphic for made to grow season one manufacturing podcast uk

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