Hale Engineering and Arlio are joining forces to help UK manufacturers build safer, more secure and resilient industrial operations.
This article is for operations directors, engineering managers and plant managers at UK manufacturing and industrial sites, and for the IT managers who work alongside them.
Cyber security for operational technology (OT), the control systems that run the plant, is now a production issue as much as an IT one. Make UK’s Cyber Security in Manufacturing report (August 2026) found that 30% of UK manufacturers had a cyber incident in the past 12 months, directly or through their supply chain, and that only 51% have a formal incident response plan. IBM’s X-Force Threat Intelligence Index (February 2026) named manufacturing the most targeted industry for the fifth year running. Regulation is moving the same way: the EU Machinery Regulation applies from 20 January 2027 and, for the first time, links machine safety to cyber security.
Hale Engineering and Arlio are formalising a working relationship that already serves manufacturing clients. This article explains what the partnership covers, why it matters for sites where the office network and the plant have grown together, and how a first engagement starts.
Andy Hale
Managing Director, Hale Engineering
This article covers:
- the gap between office IT and plant OT
- why Hale Engineering and Arlio are formalising their partnership
- what each company brings
- how the joint process works, starting with Discover
- what changes for clients
The gap between office IT and plant OT
Most manufacturing sites run two networks that were never designed together: the office network, looked after by an IT provider, and the OT on the plant, meaning the programmable logic controllers (PLCs), SCADA systems and machine safety equipment that run production. The two have been connected over the years for good reasons, such as production reporting and remote support, but those connections are rarely documented in one place or written into either supplier’s contract.
Dragos’s 2026 OT Cybersecurity Year in Review reported poor segmentation between IT and OT networks in 81% of its assessments. We see the same on site: engineering laptops moving between office and plant, machine builders’ remote access that nobody reviews, and drawings that show the plant as installed rather than as it is today. When a fault sits at that boundary, each supplier checks its own side, and production waits.
Why Hale Engineering and Arlio are formalising the partnership
Hale Engineering and Arlio already work together. Arlio has supported Hale Engineering’s own cyber security work and has worked alongside us on projects for our clients. Those projects showed that clients get a better result when the plant and the office are treated as one system, with one team accountable for the link between them. The partnership makes that way of working available to manufacturers across the UK.
What each company brings
Industrial automation, control systems and machine safety engineering, with experience across Siemens, Allen-Bradley, Mitsubishi and Omron platforms. Our engineers know how a plant behaves, commission on live plants, and own site safety and change control on every job.
Managed IT and security-first cyber security for the office estate.
Scott Gorman, at Arlio, sets out the IT side in Arlio’s own announcement, which is worth reading for how Arlio approaches security across the office estate.
“Over the years, we have often been called in when a fault sits between the office network and the plant, and neither supplier is sure it is theirs. Working with Arlio means our clients have one team that understands both sides and takes responsibility for the link between them.”
“Our projects with Hale Engineering have shown that decisions on the office network affect the plant, and that the plant’s needs should shape IT decisions. Formalising the partnership lets us plan that together from the start.”
How the joint process works, starting with Discover
Hale Engineering and Arlio deliver work through four stages: Discover, Assess, Design & Remediate, Assure. Discover is a standalone starting point that establishes what is connected across the plant and the office, and who can reach it. Hale Engineering walks the plant and captures control system configurations read-only, Arlio captures the office side, and passive discovery runs over a full shift pattern without sending any traffic onto the network. The client receives a single asset register, as-found network drawings, a summary of every remote access route and a recommended next step. The later stages build on those findings and are scoped with each client.
What changes for clients
One accountable team for the plant, the office network and the link between them.
Joint planning, so patches, new connections and site changes are planned with production in mind.
Evidence for customers and insurers, from supplier security questionnaires to Cyber Essentials and IEC 62443 requirements.
Work sized for small and medium manufacturers, without enterprise consultancy overheads.
The boundary between office IT and plant OT is where many incidents start and where responsibility is least clear. Hale Engineering and Arlio now give UK manufacturers one team for both sides of it, starting with a clear picture of what is connected. Manufacturers that establish that picture now will be better placed to answer customer and insurer questions, plan upgrades safely and prepare for the machinery safety requirements that apply from January 2027.
Introducing Discover: Our new IT and OT security service
To celebrate the partnership between Hale Engineering and Arlio, we’re introducing Discover, a service designed to help UK manufacturers understand exactly what’s connected across their plant and office networks, identify remote access routes and uncover potential security gaps.
Using a passive, read-only approach, Discover provides a clear picture of your existing infrastructure without disrupting production.
Ready to find out what’s connected to your plant?
Contact us:
+44 20 8154 6102
info@hale-eng.co.uk
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Contact us:
Proudly partnered with:
+44 20 8154 6102
info@hale-eng.co.uk
Member of: