Event News
March 2014
www.ppmashow.co.uk
Automate or Die! Now is a good time to be involved in manufacturing in the UK. Not only are we seeing growth but confidence throughout industry. Yet in the battle to constantly compete in globalised markets, it is essential that we address weaknesses in our industrial base as well as celebrating strengths. Growth has been partly internally driven and assisted by positive rhetoric, and increasing action, from HM government. UK manufacturers have a track record of competitively innovating for both product and process development and that they have made strides in the application of lean engineering for efficiency. However, in the battle to compete in globalised markets, it is essential that we recognise the weaknesses in our industrial base as well as the strengths. When it comes to the flaws in UK manufacturing, its poor investment in capital equipment, especially 20|
industrial automation technologies, is prominent. The UK is well behind other competing manufacturing nations in Europe and alarmingly far slower to adopt automation than developing economies such as China that has embraced it with alacrity.
Food and Pharmaceuticals. There is tremendous interest from the UK food industry in Automation – but often constrained by the multiple retailers’ non-existent or short contracts creating uncertainty and reticence to automate.
Grant Collier from the Robots are only one form British Automation and of automation – there are Robot Association urged many more – but they offer companies to visit the PPMA one of the most obvious Show, September 30th – examples of the way in which October 2nd at the NEC to automation can be highly see automation in action and flexible and relevant to all listen to the Groceries Code even companies with relatively Adjudicator explain how she small production runs and will effectively help unblock the need for frequent, quick the food supply chain with product changes. regard to automation with new legislation “the message Increasing numbers of is simple, if UK companies wish manufacturers are opening to remain competitive they their eyes to the versatility need to automate. It is similar of robot technology. It is to the advent of computing encouraging that robot in the early 1970’s. Where we installations in the UK in 2012 would be now if the UK had achieved a record of 2477 not adopted this technology units, up 98% on 2011, with a and everyone else had – it is similar volume of 2305 units the same with robotics and sold in 2013. automation. If you wish to survive in a global market The bulk of sales have been place then automate, the to the Automotive industry payback period and cost is far with only modest growth less than people imagine”. in other sectors such as