2nd October 2012
There’s not a manufacturer out there who will deny there is a genuine need for a more coherent industrial strategy that cultivate ours strengths and enables us to compete globally.
The question is did we get one yesterday? I suppose time will tell, but there was certainly some elements of the plans that will be welcomed by our sector.
Increased funding to address actual skills needs of employers is certainly a positive and, as a collective that thrives on innovation, we would be big supporters of any scheme that unlocks academic excellence that industry can exploit.
Recognising the importance of removing barriers to finance, especially when it comes to capital equipment, could be a major step forward if delivered correctly.
Like most announcements there’s also a lot of unanswered questions. Will this be a long-term strategy that has cross party support, or will it simply be churlishly discarded when the next Government is sworn in?
Doing something to control escalating energy prices was noticeable by its absence and, again, Mr Cable seems to have missed the importance of specialist funding streams for SMEs to take advantage of.
The Regional Growth Fund is all well and good, but once again it’s about feeding the whims of the big boys. Surely it’s about time the supply chain has a fair chance to tap into targeted financial assistance to grow and create jobs?
One of the UK’s leading strategic manufacturing specialists is tapping into the UK’s unprecedented investment in upgrading the electricity grid.
As Britain accelerates investment in grid infrastructure, protection and control capacity could become a critical delivery constraint.
The appointment of a new Prime Minister inevitably brings renewed debate about the direction of the UK economy and what it could mean for business.
Ian Knight, Chief Information Officer at PP Control & Automation (PP C&A) challenges the prevailing, often vague narrative around AI adoption and reframes the conversation around a more practical starting point: operational constraints.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept for manufacturers. It is already being explored across quotation, production planning, engineering, quality, supply chain and customer service functions. Yet, for many organisations, the gap between experimentation and meaningful operational impact remains difficult to close.
A leading aquaculture specialist – that is changing the way fish are vaccinated safely – has signed a major manufacturing deal.
On paper, defined discipline-specific suppliers can look organised. However, every additional supplier introduces another handoff, and every handoff creates another point where time, quality, communication and accountability can be lost.
Very rarely does growth not surface because an OEM lacks ambition. Shortcomings arise because operating models built to support such ambition don’t evolve quickly enough.
