Editor’s Comment
Chairman Andrew Schofield Group Managing Director Mike Tulloch Sales Director David Garner Editor Libbie Hammond Design/Art Editor David Howard Staff Writers Matthew High Jo Cooper Andrew Dann Steve Nash Editorial Administrator Emma Crane Production Manager Fleur Daniels Production studio@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Adverising Administrator Tracy Chynoweth studio@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Head of Research Philip Monument Business Development Manager Mark Cawston
Celebrating
achievements
T
he manufacturing sector across Europe has had a very tough few years. UK manufacturers can now at least look at the latest figures with a degree of hope for a stronger market going forward – in his article on page eight Mark Swift notes that there is a strong growth forecast for over three per cent this year and over two per cent in 2015. But as he also highlights, in the second quarter of 2014 the German and Italian economies contracted and France posted no growth. Business and consumer confidence remains fragile and the full impact of EU sanctions on Russia has yet to be seen in the data. Given the hard times manufacturing has been through, I am pleased we can again celebrate the achievements of successful companies in the pages of Manufacturing Today Europe. I hope George Utz and Teagle Machinery are the first of many to share their success stories with our readers – if you’d like to tell yours, please let me know!
Editorial Researchers Laura Thompson Gavin Watson Mark Cowles Tarj D’Silva
libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk BEST PRACTICES FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS
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today
EUROPE
MANUFACTURING
ISSUE 114 Early
Advertising Sales Joe Woolsgrove - Sales Manager Tim Eakins Dave King Darren Jolliffe Graham Allinson
Ready for a
changing world The EU has set a target for manufacturing to account for 20 per cent of European GDP by 2020
Also in this issue:
Revolutionary times for manufacturing
Are we nearly there yet?
Three industrial revolutions have been driven by steam, electricity and electronics, now the ‘Internet of Things’ is powering Industry 4.0.
The evolution of social media in the business world, and how for manufacturers, it can play a pivotal role in boosting productivity
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