EY, the $45 billion professional services network, is establishing a new manufacturing technology hub in Chicago.

EY is one of the world’s four largest providers of accounting services and, like the three other firms on the list, is headquartered in London. It has more than a quarter million employees in 150-plus countries.

Besides its flagship accounting services, EY also provides a variety of other consulting offerings. 

Some of those offerings are geared towards manufacturers. Through a program called Smart Factory, EY provides manufacturing clients with access to a library of best practices for increasing production line efficiency.

On the technology side, EY uses software tools to analyze a manufacturer’s business operations and find opportunities for improvement. The firm is also active in more niche areas: EY has a consulting practice focused on assisting manufacturers with the rollout of industrial 3D printers.

The new manufacturing technology hub that EY has opened in Chicago will support this part of its business.

The hub is located in the downtime office building that houses MxD, a nonprofit research institute. MxD focuses on developing technologies and best practices that can support manufacturers in their efforts make their production line operations more efficient.

The MxD building includes a 22,000-square-foot factory floor where companies can demonstrate new manufacturing equipment and production methods. EY’s hub will take up more than a quarter of the factory floor.

According to EY, its hub will house a team specializing in helping manufacturers improve the quality, price and sustainability of their products.  The team will operate as part of a business unit called the Long-Term Value Engineering Lab.

EY also plans to use its factory floor space at the MxD building for “digital manufacturing experiences.”

In its announcement, the firm didn’t specify the exact purpose of those digital manufacturing experiences. One possibility is that they will be used for sales purposes, such as showcasing EY’s consulting offerings to potential clients in the Chicago area.

EY could also use the MxD building to provide employee training services for clients.

When a consultancy works with a manufacturer to implement a new technology such as 3D printing, the manufacturer’s employees have to be trained in using that technology. EY’s hub in the MxD building could be a suitable environment for training sessions given that it includes several thousand square feet of factory floor space.

“EY and MxD have partnered to support manufacturers in their journey to supply chain innovation, and the opening of the Digital Operations Hub will further provide companies the hands-on simulations and data analytics to make better business decisions,” said MxD chief executive Berardino Baratta. 

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