Where there’s manufacturing, there’s a way

The current financial year has shown signs of economic recovery, partly due to the automotive sector where manufacturers increased production and exports by 8%. Another positive factor was the £6bn investment in UK facilities, new model programmes and R&D projects supported by the Government. Schemes including the Technology Strategy Board, R&D tax credits, the EU Framework Seven-funded programme and the Direct Lending Scheme have given mass manufacturing a much needed boost.

Vaclav Smil, a relatively unknown professor emeritus of environment and geography at the University of Manitoba, is one of the world’s most passionate supporters of mass manufacturing. He often argues that the demise of a country’s manufacturing dooms the state and population, not just intellectually but also creatively. According to Smil, the reason is that innovation is deeply linked to the process of making things. In his opinion, innovation usually comes not from research institutes but from companies that want to improve product quality, lower costs and offer new solutions for their customers. It is the kind of innovation that comes out of necessity and a desire to stay competitive in a crowded marketplace.

Other ways in which businesses innovate may be a little harder to spot by outsiders. For instance, businesses that aim for continual improvement by performing better with less waste and energy consumption can also be considered innovators. Finding ways of doing things better, faster and more efficiently, while having an environmentally responsible manufacturing strategy is the key to a country’s industrial development. National laboratories and research centres play an essential role in innovation, helping industry offer cutting-edge technology. Despite sometimes getting sidetracked, the private sector - and manufacturing in particular - has always made efforts to offer cutting edge solutions and products. Take, for example, LCD screens; most of the developments in this field come from industrial manufacturers in Korea. Similarly, Intel and IBM were the first to integrate circuit technology and have constantly been developing the capacities of personal computers for decades.

Manufacturing is sometimes perceived as one of the least glamorous sectors of an economy and its importance is often disregarded by governments and the general public in favour of more seductive sectors, like IT or energy. Despite this, manufacturing remains one of the most productive and innovative branches of a country’s economy. This - and the fact that many of our most loyal customers come from this sector - makes us particularly happy when we read news about manufacturing being on the rise.