Engineering news
Investing an additional £1.2 billion to increase robotics and automation in manufacturing over the next decade could add as much as £60.5 billion to the UK economy over the next decade, according to new research.
The ‘Future-proofing UK manufacturing’ report by Barclays reveals as a result of additional investment, the manufacturing sector will be worth £191 billion in 2025, £8.6 billion more than currently projected, and a 19.6% increase on today.
Furthermore, increased investment in automation will help to soften the expected long-term decline in manufacturing sector jobs by safeguarding 73,500 additional workers in 2025. In addition, 32,300 more jobs will be supported the supply chain.
Mike Rigby, head of manufacturing at Barclays said: “This report highlights the importance of investing in robotics and automation for manufacturers as a potential solution to the on-going ‘productivity puzzle’. By investing an additional £1.2 billion in automation technologies over the next decade, the UK manufacturing sector is forecast to create an additional £60.5 billion of economic output and safeguard more than 105,800 jobs throughout the wider economy.
“However, to reap these rewards we need to address some of the barriers to investment including the need for more user-friendly and flexible technology, addressing skills barriers within the sector and supporting manufacturers to access the funding and information already available to them for robotics investment.”
The pharmaceutical and food manufacturing industries have the most to gain from further investments in automation, with the research showing a more than 10% increase in output between 2016-2020 and close to a 25% rise between 2020-2025 for both sectors.
The research found that 58% of British manufacturers surveyed have already invested in automation and, of these, 65% felt that they are more productive as a result. In addition, 76% report that they believe there are opportunities for further investment in their business with parts manufacturing (24%), assembly (15%), and packaging (12%) identified as areas of the business with the greatest potential for future investment in automation technology.
British manufacturers cited factors such as the availability of both internal and external funding (23% and 15%, respectively), competing demands for capital expenditure (26%), limitations with current technology (18%), return on investment (16%), concerns over workforce morale (11%) and relevant skills (10%) as barriers to greater automation investment in the past 12 months.
To help increase investment further, 28% of respondents highlighted the need for more flexible equipment, where one piece of equipment can accomplish multiple tasks, greater access to external funding (26%), support with technology implementation (18%), and more education and information on the benefits of automation adoption (17%).