Yorkshire Startup Secures £510,000 Backing to Strengthen UK Manufacturing Networks

Digital Catapult invests in Productive Machines to expand milling software and reshore production

Digital Catapult has invested £510,000 in Productive Machines, a Yorkshire‑based company developing software to improve machining processes and bring more manufacturing work back to the UK.

The funding will help the startup scale its customer base for SenseNC, an autonomous milling optimisation platform that simulates and refines machine settings before production begins. By reducing trial‑and‑error methods, the software is designed to cut waste, lower costs and improve output for manufacturers.

Productive Machines has already worked with aerospace supplier AML, reshoring production of two components to the UK, and has partnered with FICEP UK and the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre in Belfast. The SenseNC Feeds product is listed on the Siemens Xcelerator Marketplace at £1,250, making it accessible to manufacturers of varying sizes.

Erdem Ozturk, chief executive and co‑founder of Productive Machines, said the investment would allow the company to expand further in the UK and Europe while pursuing new opportunities in the US.

Susan Bowen, chief executive of Digital Catapult, said the organisation looked forward to working with Productive Machines to help strengthen UK supply chains and increase competitiveness in manufacturing.

The investment has been made as a convertible loan note, through a programme allowing Catapults to directly support companies they work with.