The team behind the deployment of the first 5G network in a UK factory has launched a new company providing Testbed as a Service (TaaS) opportunities to manufacturers, called nexGworx, accelerating its vision of smart manufacturing and digital innovation across Industry 4.0.

“I’m delighted to announce the launch of nexGworx, the expertise and on site 5G testbed as a service has already benefitted some of our existing Science Park tenants. As the Science Park continues to grow, having nexGworx on site has the ability to attract new companies to the area and support local start-ups and SMEs to grow,” said Alan White, nexGworx Chairman and CEO of Malvern Hills Science Park.

nexGworx has evolved from the Worcestershire 5G Testbed (W5G) and will operate as a subsidiary of Malvern Hills Science Park, with BT committing its expertise as strategic technology partner across 5G Private Networks, Internet of things, data analytics, cyber security and mobile edge computing.

Supported by its technology partners, it will run and manage the live 5G Private Network at Malvern Hills Science Park, as well as supporting multiple on site customer networks.

Building on past successes with local engineering companies Worcester Bosch and Yamakazi Mazak, as well as the county’s technology accelerator BetaDen, nexGworx has developed a unique combination of technologies that will make intelligent, dynamic and fully-automated manufacturing processes a reality, keeping Worcestershire at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution by enabling Smart Connected Manufacturing.

“It’s fantastic to see the vision we set out for 5G in 2017 and the hard work undertaken by many partners within the Worcestershire 5G project being realised and sustained to leave a lasting legacy in Worcestershire. I hope that other Worcestershire companies and those from across the UK engage with nexGworx to understand the productivity gains that can be found from new technologies such as 5G and are able to grow as a result,” added Mark Stansfeld, Chair of the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership.

nexGworx’s services will range from bring your own device services and professional reviews of manufacturing facilities to fully-supported trials and building testbeds on site and manufacturers’ premiss to empower manufacturers to export how 5G private networks can be used to transform their operations.