Machinery & Manufacturing | Issue 15 | May-June 2024

Manufacturing matters

At this year’s MACH 2024 exhibition in Birmingham, the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) launched a new report that is highly pertinent to our industry: ‘The true impact of British Manufacturing’. Compiled in conjunction with Oxford Economics, this insightful report reveals the direct, indirect and induced impacts that manufacturing has on the UK economy, which in total are far greater than many thought. You can download it within this issue of Machinery & Manufacturing. Inside its pages you’ll find many key findings, but among the most notable is the fact that manufacturing accounts for a staggering £518 billion of UK GDP and supports 7.3 million jobs. Furthermore, ‘making things’ represents 34.5% of all UK goods and services exports, while manufacturing’s median wage is 11% above the national average. Innovation in manufacturing also continues to help overcome global challenges, reveals the report. The drive to reduce carbon emissions, for example, is demanding new technologies and solutions in areas such as renewable energy, which offers huge potential for our national prosperity. We’ll also see great opportunities in areas such as lightweighting. In reference to these trends, the report makes an important statement: As technologies evolve, the scale of change can be daunting for SME manufacturers, so access to practical and financial support must continue to be a priority. Of further interest, the report assesses the economic impacts on manufacturing from several extraordinary factors of recent years that include the pandemic, Brexit, soaring energy prices, global supply chain fragility, labour shortages and international conflicts. Although manufacturers have clearly been pushed to the limits of their ingenuity, they have overcome every hurdle. Moving forward, encouraging domestic production and supporting exports will create vital opportunities to generate wealth and improve living standards across the UK. This report therefore is a reminder, should it be needed, that manufacturing matters. This leads me on to a poignant plea surrounding a petition that was set up by some of our best industry champions - Advocating for the recruitment of a highly experienced, respected and trusted professional to represent the engineering & manufacturing industries to Government. It is time for manufacturing and engineering to have a trusted voice in parliament. Please spare 30 seconds and join me in signing the petition by scanning the QR code or clicking on the button. Thank you. Laura Crawford Publisher Sign the petition

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