Engineering news
UK manufacturing executives say that their strategic focus going forward is one that is innovation led, supported by attractive UK corporation taxes like the Patent Box, according to new research.
The KPMG Global Manufacturing Outlook found that 48% of UK manufacturers said that their company’s strategic focus is on innovation and that only 2% felt that UK taxes are a challenge to their business in the next 12-24 months.
The survey found that half of the UK respondents said that they plan to spend more than 6% of revenue on research and development and innovation over the next two years, an increase of 21% on what they spent in the past two years.
The time line for innovation is 1-5 years for 64% of UK manufacturers, according to the survey.
Stephen Cooper, head of manufacturing sector at KPMG UK said: “UK manufacturers are keenly aware that innovation will be the key to future growth. They also know that timelines are shrinking – the lead time from concept to commercialisation is dropping dramatically for those manufacturers hoping to remain competitive in today’s technology-driven business environment.
“The UK has always been viewed as a leader in manufacturing innovation and there are clear signs that this will continue to be the case. Encouraging tax rates, stable markets and growing investment in new technologies and advanced materials – such as graphene – continue to provide competitive advantages for UK manufacturers.”
The skills shortage remains an issue for respondents of the survey, but 55% said they are addressing this by partnering with academic institutions, while 52% said they are investing in internal training and apprenticeship programmes.
Cooper said: “The tightening access to talent could limit UK manufacturer’s ability to evolve, grow and adopt new technologies. Whilst there is additional effort being made to increase the number of apprenticeships, which can only be good, more must be done to attract young people to become engineers. Ongoing retention within the manufacturing sector is ever more challenging while recruitment of other smart and innovative people, is necessary to drive forward the manufacturing models of tomorrow.
“These are exciting times for the UK, and manufacturing is evolving rapidly. In the automotive industry for example, ‘connected cars’ offers the UK huge opportunity to develop and commercialise new technologies. This type of activity, in turn, will attract new talent, new investment and new technologies to the wider UK manufacturing sector,” Cooper added.
The Global Manufacturing Outlook 2015 is based on a survey of 386 senior executives – 42 respondents from the UK – conducted by Forbes on behalf of KPMG International, and was completed in early 2015.