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FOR MANUFACTURERS

IT that keeps production running, from the shop floor to the front office.

When a line stops, orders slip and costs climb. ITbuilder keeps your systems, network and data secure and available, so your team can concentrate on making things.

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The shape of IT in manufacturing

Manufacturers run two worlds side by side: the office systems that handle orders, finance and customers, and the operational technology on the shop floor, from machine controllers and scanners to production planning and ERP software. Both depend on a reliable network, and an hour of downtime can mean missed deliveries, idle staff and expensive rework. Add supplier and customer security questionnaires, rising cyber attacks on the supply chain and ageing equipment that cannot easily be patched, and IT becomes a direct driver of output and reputation.

Most manufacturers we work with are owner-managed or mid-sized businesses with one or more sites and a small IT team, or none at all. Without dedicated support the same issues keep surfacing: flat networks where one infected laptop can reach the production system, unsupported legacy software, backups that have never been tested, and no clear plan for what happens when a key system fails mid-shift.

What we typically run for a manufacturer

  • Resilient site networks and Wi-Fi, segmented to separate production from the office.
  • ERP, MRP and production planning systems, hosted, supported and integrated.
  • Cyber security that covers office, shop floor and supply chain, with Cyber Essentials support.
  • Backup, disaster recovery and continuity plans, tested against real production scenarios.
  • Device and endpoint management for office PCs, rugged tablets and shared terminals.
  • A responsive helpdesk with out-of-hours cover for multi-shift operations.

Case study

Hartwell

Hartwell Precision Engineering (fictitious example)

Zero unplanned downtime across two production sites in 12 months

Our machines run in shifts around the clock, so IT can't be something that only works nine to five. ITbuilder separated our shop floor from the office network, tested our recovery plan with us, and we've not lost a production hour to IT since. Sarah Whitfield, Operations Director, Hartwell Precision Engineering
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SP
They speak our language, they understand that a stopped line costs us money by the minute, and they pick up the phone.

Sarah Whitfield, Operations Director — Manufacturing

SP
They speak our language, they understand that a stopped line costs us money by the minute, and they pick up the phone.

Sarah Whitfield, Operations Director

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What good looks like

  • Production keeps running when something fails, because the risks were planned for.
  • The shop floor and the office are connected, yet are segmented with rules governing access
  • You can answer a customer or supplier security questionnaire with confidence.
  • Ageing equipment and legacy software have a managed plan, not a growing risk.
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