Author: European Springs Web Team

The manufacturing industry accounts for a large proportion of the economy in the UK, so it’s fair to argue that it could well hold the key to the economic recovery of our country in the coming years. We take a look at some of the most compelling reasons behind the argument that the manufacturing industry could well hold the key to the UK’s economic recovery. We will look at data which highlights just how important the manufacturing industry is to the UK’s overall recovery, whilst also addressing some of the key things manufacturers in the UK can do to make a genuine impact.

The Facts and Surveys

With any popular argument, there are sure to be an array of stats and surveys trying to prove different sides. On the other hand, it appears that most of the information available in this case does indeed point towards the manufacturing sector as the key to the UKs recovery. Let us observe some of the data we have publicly available:

• Manufacturing accounts for two thirds of R&D
• Manufacturing accounts for 45% of exports
• Manufacturing accounts for 15% of business investment
• Manufacturing holds 2.7m high-value jobs, better paid than the economic average
• The UK remains the ninth largest manufacturing nation, globally

(From Make UK and Santander)

To boot, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests that the 1.4% sustained yearly growth since 1948 in the sector can be attributed to a workforce that has more skill than it used to, a shift in production to focus on more high productivity goods, and a better integrated global economy.

The Annual Manufacturing Report from 2019 has further findings to indicate the relevance of the manufacturing sector in our current ecological climate:

• 81% of manufacturing companies want to invest in new technology to boost productivity.
• 71% find that Brexit is damaging planning and business prospects
• 55% believe the government could do more to promote exports.
• 66% believe the British people at large do not understand the importance of manufacturing to the global economy.

(The Annual Manufacturing Report 2019)

Results

One thing is clear, from spring manufacturers to car creators, the manufacturing industry is, undoubtedly, key to the recovery of the UK. Making this dream become reality, however, requires a united front, innovative practice, and national support.

The question, then, is how to implement this. Most of the aims and struggles faced by the industry at large can be traced back to one key problem; that most companies believe that manufacturing is under appreciated by the British people. You might ask yourself what understanding this possibly changes, but we think that it could be integral to the improvement of the sector and the UK’s recovery.

The national lack of respect for manufacturing’s place in the global economy has repercussions. 57% of manufacturing companies believe that the education system is a disappointment for the sector. With the onset of the fourth industrial revolution, it is paramount that the industry secures passionate, talented new workers with cutting-edge ideas.

As automation becomes more and more prominent, the skills gap grows ever wider and ever ominous. Young people simply aren’t aspiring to manufacturing anymore, but this doesn’t mean that the sector can survive without the workers. No, instead of the national education system directing a healthy percentage of our youth towards the industry responsible for two thirds of R&D, the businesses themselves are having to suffer the strain of creating their own training schemes and academies to attract new workers.

European Springs

Like many other businesses in manufacturing, we also believe that the future rests on the shoulders of the younger generations. To give them the best chance to succeed, it is vital that they are trained with the skills this country needs to excel.

Apprenticeships can bring great benefits to the companies who employ them, too. Skills Training UK stated that each apprentice has the potential of bringing gains to productivity of more than £10k per year for their employer.

Not only do apprentices bring immediate gains for their employers if properly trained and taken care of, another finding of the same study revealed that 80% of customers preferred to buy from companies that support apprenticeships.

Over the years apprenticeships have been extremely important to us. We’ve been proud to support a number of upcoming engineers in the past and look forward to the days when we can return to college careers fairs to extend our visibility to the people of the future.

If you’re looking for enthusiastic, talented, and precise spring and wire form manufacturers, you should contact us of look through our stock catalogue. We also offer bespoke solutions if you have specific needs that require expert attention.

The UK manufacturing industry is continuously churning out fantastic innovations. Despite all the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, this industry has stepped up and continues to make great strides in innovation.

While there have been decreases in the manufacturing of the likes of vehicles throughout lockdown, the manufacturing industry has found new outlets in the form of manufacturing PPE and medical equipment to help the nation fight the virus. Here’s a look at what’s been going on in the manufacturing industry from June to August.

Packaging Giant Confirms UK Investment

The European market leader in the production of recyclable, reusable and returnable plastic packaging, Schoeller Allibert, recently confirmed a multi-million investment programme at its site in Winsford, Cheshire.

According to the Senior Regional Director, the increased adoption of e-commerce and the complex retail supply chains in the UK has shown that customers are seeking new, innovative and sustainable packaging solutions in their warehousing and logistics operations. The investment is fully automated injection moulding technology, which frees up employees from manual roles and allows them to upskill and develop within their businesses.

Automation puts the focus on quality consistency, which drives innovation and improves health and safety, all while offering new opportunities for both employees and customers. The investment is part of a five-year plan at the site to develop the technical flexibility and capability of the factory.

Antimicrobial Technology to Make Air Travel Safer

The aviation industry has been in turmoil in recent months thanks to COVID-19, but now Addmaster has developed an antimicrobial technology to make air travel safer.

In a succession of discussions with the aviation sector, Addmaster is working with the world leader in advanced passenger upholstery systems (MGR Foamtex) to develop MGRSafeWall. This will utilise the proven properties of Biomaster to provide long-term protection against viral and microbial threats on soft furnishings.

Surfaces treated with this technology have shown to reduce the microbial load and reduces the chance of cross-contamination to provide a second line of defence in addition to current cleaning protocols. The technology will address the current COVID-19 threat and deliver long-term value through enhanced hygiene in aviation cabins.

OWR Opens Europe’s First Robotics Demonstration Centre

OW Robotics has launched the first Robotics Demonstration Centre of its kind in Europe for customers and businesses to observe logistics and manufacturing operations through automation.

Based in their Lincoln HQ, the centre will allow UK businesses to replicate their processes in a sandbox environment to get a first-hand experience into how tailored automated robotics solutions could impact their business. Business owners will be able to get a clear understanding of how robotics could meet their requirements, the scalability and how it can reduce training, safety, recruitment and absence costs, and improve accuracy rates. All this can be done before they invest.

The centre is a fully functioning robotics centre with pick stations, multiple rack combinations and an A-to-B robotics grid. Hence, customers can see an estimation of what their solution will look like as the robots mimic their own processes in a simulated environment. OWR owner Greg Downey has already had positive feedback about the centres, with visitors finding the experience “impressive” and “incredible”.

BAE Awards £1 Billion in UK Supply Chain Contracts

BAE Systems has awarded another five contracts worth more than £100 million to suppliers, supporting 250 jobs and helping the nation’s economic recovery by maintaining much-needed skills and capabilities. More than £1 billion has been invested across its Type 26 frigate programme’s supply chain, with more than 100 suppliers globally.

The suppliers awarded contracts will contribute essential work to the programme as the HMS Glasgow enters the water for the first time. The contracts involve companies that provide surface preparation and painting, vessel load out and float off, cable and association work, insulation products and access and containment.

The Type 26 programme has made significant contributions to the UK economy by providing a stable platform for the UK’s industrial skills base. Each Type 26 will be equipped with a range of world-class capabilities, and its close ties with the Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Australian Navy support greater operational, training and intelligence ties between the three nations.

COVID-19 Rapid Antibody Tests Approved for Production

The rapid COVID-19 antibody test developed by Abingdon Health has been approved for professional use in the UK and the EU. This means that the test is now available for distribution for professional use; it will be mass-produced and rolled out from the end of August. Healthcare professionals can administer these tests.

The tests were performed at Ulster University and in Abington Health laboratories, and have shown to be 99.40% accurate. Named the AbC-19TM Rapid Test, it uses a small drop of blood from a finger prick and displays results in just 20 minutes without the need to send the sample to a lab.

The test can help build a picture of how the virus has spread throughout populations, and could also help establish the effectiveness of vaccines, which is critical information to managing the current and future outbreaks of COVID-19.

The process of the development was fast-tracked in just 14 weeks, a process that would typically take ten months or more. Abington Health will produce 500,000 tests a month from October and a million a month from January 2021.

As leading spring manufacturers, we like to keep up to date with everything going on in the manufacturing and engineering industry. We frequently update our news page with industry roundups, so check in regularly to find out what’s been going on in the UK manufacturing industry, and contact us today for information about how we can provide you with springs and pressings.

There’s no doubt that the manufacturing industry has been hit hard by the Coronavirus pandemic, but there is cause for optimism, with many firms beginning to bounce back. Now is the ideal time to look at some of the things that can help kickstart the entire manufacturing industry once again. 

In this article, we’ll be sharing some of our tips to help manufacturing to spring back after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Threats to the Manufacturing Sector

To appropriately plan for a post-COVID-19 world, it is vital that we understand the threats our sector faces so that we can address them, and then surpass them. One of the greatest troubles is the cumulative cost of the Coronavirus crisis. In July 2020, it was anticipated that the virus and its effects on the economy may yet cost British manufacturers £35.7bn by 2020, and growth will continue to be stunted until 2022 (themanufacturer.com).

Despite these losses, there are plans to revolutionise the face of British manufacturing. In March 2020, the chancellor announced that around £600bn will be spent on major infrastructure changes, a large portion of which will undoubtedly be spent in the manufacturing sector.

As manufacturers, Britain accounts for around 50% of the country’s exports while using only 10% of the workforce (themanufacturer.com). We are vital to the UK economy, and as such, we can be sure that attempts to improve the UK economy in the coming months will affect us. The question is, what will these changes look like, and how can individual businesses plan around their implementation?

Open to Change

Manufacturing as a whole has had to face some difficult truths in the face of a new industrial revolution; many workers have faced redundancy from rising automation and climate change has demanded that businesses alter their output to stay in line.

And yet, the manufacturing sector has only been made stronger by dealing with these new challenges. With the added threat of climate change demands, businesses have been forced to reconsider their waste and work towards maximising their efficiency – this has led to many improving their annual revenue. Finding alternative energy sources to power their factories encourages those workers that they are not only the backbone of the nation’s economy, these businesses are also working alongside the moral greater good under an umbrella of sustainability. Here, manufacturing has changed for the better, and we cannot imagine going back.

Those factories that had successfully integrated automation into their workshops were more adequately prepared for social distancing measures. The future will undoubtedly bring a more hygienic front in manufacturing as the value of automated processes rises. Now, more than ever, it is important to start training up your bottom line to take hold of new positions working alongside automation.

Changes to Anticipate

The Annual Manufacturing Report of 2020 declared that 94% of UK manufacturers were ready to act towards achieving greater growth in their industry, but what sort of change should we be anticipating?

• Industry 4.0

If your factory is yet to make the switch to automation, then you need to stay abreast of changes in Industry 4.0. The ability to keep up with the fourth industrial revolution will decide which companies come out top in the coming years, so it is vital that managers consider the importance of integrating smart technology in their factories and warehouses.

• Smart Technology

Smart technology can be as complicated as introducing and combining intelligent robots with other machines, or it can be as little as adding slight changes to the way your production lines run to speed up processes and cut down the slack.

• Internet of Things

In supply chain management, for example, the Internet of Things is set to become an indispensable tool of the future. If you want to stay ahead in the coming months, you should be aware of how implementing this new tech might affect your output.

The future might be uncertain, especially now, but it is clear that the manufacturing sector has the tools and the willingness to make the changes necessary to come out on top. We’re one of the leading spring manufacturers in the UK, and as such, we are dedicated to finding and understanding the latest changes in our industry. We wish you success during these trying times, and if you’re in the market for springs we recommend that you contact a member of our team.

STEM education has been vital throughout the last few years, as manufacturers look to address the skills gap in the coming years. However, it could be argued that this type of education could well be more important than ever before as educating up and coming STEM employees may hold the key to the manufacturing industry’s full recovery.

Here, we take a look at what should be done to ensure STEM education doesn’t get forgotten about during these trying times.

Focus On Online Workshops

With the world switching to online overnight back in March, there’s been a real emphasis on providing online workshops and conferences for all sorts of topics. One such topic that should be high on the agenda for any manufacturing firms is providing STEM related seminars for students who are interested in working within the sector.

It’s important to keep young people engaged with STEM subjects as much as possible, and with everyone having more spare time on their hands in the current circumstances, holding online seminars are a great way to increase exposure for your company, whilst also educating the manufacturers of tomorrow.

By simply holding an hour long, half day, or even full day course discussing some of the more practical aspects of utilising STEM skills within the workplace, you could be engaging some of the brightest upcoming minds within the industry. It’s essential that manufacturers don’t overlook the importance of holding small events like these.

With GCSE, AS and A2-Level exams all cancelled this year, there should be real emphasis on ensuring that we are equipping our country’s students with the right skills to thrive within workplaces. STEM subjects are absolutely essential for modern day working life, and if there are any ways in which we can introduce more STEM learning during these testing times, it must be done.

Focus On Creativity & Engagement

Inevitably there will be real emphasis placed on ‘catching up’ when students do return to school in September. With several months of the academic year missed in 2020, many within education will be keen to press on with textbook learning to ensure students are ready for exams. Whilst this is obviously extremely important, it’s vital that educators don’t forget the importance of STEM subjects and learning practical skills.

It’s no secret that STEM solutions are currently playing a role in ensuring a return to normality for people across the country, as manufacturers, like ourselves, have been active during the pandemic providing parts for vital healthcare equipment. Schools must dedicate time to teaching key principles when it comes to STEM subjects, allowing students to express creative freedom within their classrooms. Weekly workshops on problem solving are a great place to start, and these types of sessions can encourage collaboration between students, whilst also giving the opportunity for creativity to shine through.

Take the Coronavirus pandemic for example; across manufacturing we have seen a whole host of practical and creative ideas implemented in order to most effectively tackle the challenges of the situation. Without these ideas and solutions, who knows where we would be right now.

Skills Shortage Still Worryingly Apparent

Whilst the Coronavirus pandemic has stolen headlines for obvious reasons in recent months, it’s important to remember that there is still an alarming skills shortage within the manufacturing industry. In the UK alone, STEM roles are expected to double in the next decade, so it’s essential that there are fully capable young people coming through education who can competently fill these roles.

It is believed that at present, there is a shortfall of around 200,000 workers within the industry, and this is inevitably costing businesses up and down the country millions of pounds each year.

Whilst it would be unfair to expect the next generation of manufacturers to come in and plug the gap fully, there’s an opportunity for the industry to prepare young people for the jobs they are looking to occupy in the future. Offering work placements to university students, and giving them a real taste of what it is like to work within a manufacturing setting is a great place to start.

Offering apprenticeships is also a fantastic way to engage young people and give them exposure to manufacturing best practices from a young age, giving them the very best chance of succeeding within the industry in the future.

It’s no secret that giving young people genuine hands-on experience within the manufacturing industry is the only way that we will properly address the skills gap we find ourselves with. There’s a real opportunity for businesses to make an impact with the current situation, so it’s essential that all businesses within the sector do what they can. Whilst plenty can be learned from a textbook, there’s no denying that most people thrive within a working environment and gaining real life experience on the job – so making the most of placements and apprenticeships is essential to the recovery of manufacturing in the coming years.

At European Springs, we understand just how important it is to ensure the manufacturers of tomorrow are nurtured, and that’s why we have run several apprenticeship schemes for the next generation of engineers in the past. We’re confident that we have helped to develop the next batch of highly successful spring manufacturers, and we take great pride in ensuring that we’re doing our bit for the industry as a whole.