XMEC is a multi-disciplinary research centre carrying out advanced research in manufacturing technology, systems, and management. It also provides vital support to local industry by identifying and transferring best practices/techniques in Agile, Lean and e-business/e-Manufacturing to companies in the Southwest, particularly SMEs.

Current research themes and business support activities focus on Agile/lean Enterprise, Dynamically Integrated Manufacturing Systems, e-Business and e-Manufacturing, Virtual and Distributed Enterprise, Supply Chain Modelling and Integration, Multi-agent Systems, Business Systems Modelling and Simulation, Rapid Manufacturing, and Agile Quality and Process Control Systems.