News » UK News Rising demand boosts output and jobs in UK industry
Improving domestic demand and rising levels of new business from abroad are helping UK manufacturers to continue their recovery, according to the latest Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers Index (PMI). The January survey shows that companies have scaled up their output and taken on new staff to cope with the rising numbers of orders.
Drives and motors network will be UK’s largest
ABB has created a global network of third-party companies to sell, service and support its drives and motors products. In the UK, this network of Authorised Value Providers (AVPs) will supersede the 15-year-old Drives Alliance and Motor Service Partner schemes, although most of the companies involved in the earlier schemes will also be part of the new network.
More than 500 exhibitors line up for MACH show
The 2014 MACH manufacturing technologies exhibition will have at least 15% more exhibitors than were at its previous outing in 2012. The show’s organiser, the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA), says that one of the show’s two halls is already sold out, and that more space has been booked in the second (Hall 4) than in 2012.
Move to larger premises leads to faster motor deliveries
The motors and automation manufacturer, WEG, has moved to larger UK premises in Redditch, Worcestershire, allowing it to cut lead-times for motors, drive and control equipment and to process orders faster. It will also be able to help customers more quickly with technical problems or custom modifications.
Cameron visits reshored fan production plant
Prime Minister David Cameron has visited the West Sussex headquarters of the fan-maker Vent-Axia to see assembly lines that the company has bought back to the UK from China. The production lines have created 35 new jobs and boosted the number of assembly staff at the site by 50% compared to before the reshoring.
£10m sensor centre will help Scotland to tap $60bn market
A £10m centre dedicated to developing sensing systems and technologies has been inaugurated in Scotland. The Glasgow-based Centre for Sensor and Imaging Systems (Censis) will bring together 12 Scottish universities with industry partners to collaborate on the early stages of new product development.
Cyber-security research centre aims to thwart ICS attacks
A new Government-backed research institute is being set up with the aim of counteracting cyber-attacks and other threats to the vital systems that control the UK’s industry and infrastructure.
2014 Drives Show looks set to break records
With three months to go to the 2014 Drives & Controls exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, UK, the number of exhibitors who have signed up is already more than 20% higher than at the same stage before the previous event in 2012.
UK manufacturers create up to 15,000 jobs in Q4 2013
Output from UK manufacturers grew by more than 1% during the final quarter of 2013, with the sector creating around 10–15 thousand jobs, according to indications from the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). Rates of expansion in production and new orders during December were among the highest in the survey’s 22-year history, although the PMI of 57.3 was slightly down on November’s 33-month high of 58.1.
UK manufacturing output and orders hit 19-year highs
The recovery in the UK manufacturing sector gained further momentum in November, with the monthly Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reaching its highest level since February 2011, and marking eight months of continuous expansion.
UK manufacturing growth ‘strongest for 18 years’
Growth in the UK’s manufacturing sector during the past three months was the strongest for 18 years, according to the latest Industrial Trends Survey from the Confederation of British Industry. The survey of nearly 350 manufacturers found that both the size of order books and the pace of output growth were at their highest levels since 1995, indicating that the recovery in UK manufacturing is accelerating.
British engineering graduates earn almost as much as doctors
Among British graduates, only doctors earn more than engineers, new figures have revealed. Engineering graduates earn an annual average of £42,016 – slightly behind doctors on £45,604 but almost twice as much as arts graduates, who earn an average of £21,944 – according to the figures released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Many UK firms are unaware of Government support schemes
A survey to assess levels of awareness of Government schemes that support manufacturing in the UK has revealed that half of the 446 organisations surveyed were unaware of 13 of the 18 available schemes, and 78%n were unaware of nine or more of the schemes.
MAC Solutions buys ProcessVue developer, Asgard Technologies
Redditch-based MAC Solutions has acquired Asgard Technologies, the developer of the ProcessVue suite of alarm management and printer replacement software. As part of the agreement, MAC Solutions is investing in a new software development centre in Chesterfield that will develop ProcessVue and other KPI reporting products for the automation and process management markets.
£36m training centre aims to help plug the skills gap
Plans have been announced to build a £36m elite training centre at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, with the aim of tackling some of the skills shortages facing the UK manufacturing sector. The cost will be split between industry and the government.
