Is the tide turning?
Whisper it quietly, but is the UK manufacturing fraternity started to see confidence - and indeed orders - ebb back? Here at Machinery & Manufacturing we keep our ear pretty close to the ground, with several recent discussions making us think the sector’s general trajectory could well be turning upward. This is certainly corroborated by a notable UK industry barometer - the Qimtek Contract Manufacturing Index (CMI) - which showed a significant bounce in Q1 2025 (up almost 50% on the corresponding quarter in 2024). January was particularly strong, some 200% higher than what had been a quiet December, while the market at the end of March was higher than the average for the final quarter of last year. You’ll find further evidence of a potential upturn in this issue of Machinery & Manufacturing. Our exclusive interview with Wealdpark, a St Helens based subcontract precision engineering company celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2025, sees company Director Phil Smith admit his surprise at recording the company’s best-ever February, while March was the best month in Wealdpark’s history!! A regular attendee at meetings of the BTMA (British Turned Parts Manufacturers Association), Phil says many others are reporting similar. Our new issue also carries an exclusive interview with Martin Burton, who took over as Managing Director at XYZ Machine Tools around 12 months ago. As a major supplier of machine tools to the UK manufacturing industry, he reports XYZ’s sales are on track to exceed that of last year, again indicating gains in market confidence and investment. All this comes as the UK economy registers higher- than-expected growth of 0.7% in the first three months of 2025. Chancellor Rachel Reeves suggested the UK economy is “beginning to turn a corner”. All coincidence, or genuine green shoots? I’m sure UK manufacturers will have their fingers crossed for the latter. Laura Crawford Publisher
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