Message from the Chairman

In May 2006 it was my pleasure and privilege to take over as Chairman of the Manufacturing Industries Board from my predecessor, Dr Kerry Mashford. Thanks to the work and planning that has gone before the Division is in excellent shape to support IMechE members and others who have an interest in Manufacturing. For a summary of the aims of the division please click here.

In the UK we see almost daily reports about the difficulties facing companies engaged in manufacture. In a competitive world there are certainly plenty of challenges but it is quite wrong to present UK manufacturing as a spent force.

The facts are that Manufacturing in the UK:

Employs some 3million people 
Is a strong wealth creator, accounting for about 60% of the nations export value 
Contributes some £150Bn to our GDP

The best UK companies engaged in manufacture are world-beaters. This is apparent from the winners of the IMechE MX Awards (a competition that was created by the Manufacturing Industries Division). This link will take you to a summary of the MX2006 winners http://www.imeche.org.uk/media/pdf/MX 06 Embargo FINAL.pdf

The Manufacturing Industries Division’s enrolled membership currently stands at 13,092 (April 2006) and remains the largest of all the Divisions within the Institution. The Division will continue to produce a technical programme of events that address topics and areas of interest to manufacturing professionals. In addition to its regular technical programme and Manufacturing Forums, we plan to continue with the series of interactive debates, focussing on hot topics in manufacturing industry.

The Division has also introduced a programme of workshops that complement the existing TRIZ courses. These new workshops focus on Product Development and Lean Design.

To see the list of current events supported by the Manufacturing Industries Division please click here.

If you have an interest in Manufacturing and are a member of IMechE please make sure that you register this interest. You can do this on line http://www.imeche.org.uk/membership/ or by writing to Memberships and Professional Development, 1 Birdcage Walk, London, SW1H 9JJ.

Supported Projects

The Division continues to raise the profile of the Institution and professional engineers. We continue to support the Manufacturing Excellence Awards. We provide assessors and judges to help with the work of running the competition. Many of the companies who have been successful in the competition allow us to share their experience at forums run on their premises so that IMechE Division members and others can see first hand the secret of their success.

The Division is home to the Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing Association and to the Microsystems Manufacturing Association, these being relatively new aspects of manufacturing industry that offer the promise of future economic benefit.

Our members place a great deal of importance on the encouragement of young people to follow a career in engineering or other science-based subjects. The Division has therefore continued to provide as much support as it is able to the Imagineering charity. Several Manufacturing Divisional Board members have been instrumental in growing the charity’s Imagineering clubs and the highly successful Imagineering Fairs. Click here to go to the Imagineering web site Imagineering Foundation, Fairs, Clubs, Imagineeringweb, Junior Engineering After School Club, Quest

Interaction with other Professional Bodies or Organisations
The Division has continued its association with manufacturing colleagues at the newly formed IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology), with reciprocal representation on manufacturing committees and joint representation of both Institutions on some Government committees.

In order to increase our profile and to encourage the wider acceptance of the vital importance of manufacturing to the UK economy, the Division has furthered its collaboration with other bodies, working closely with the MAS and the EEF. These two organisations, together with the IET, have representation on the Manufacturing Division Board.

Dr Richard Woods
Chairman, Manufacturing Division
July 2006