According to research signed by Make UK and reported by the Times, British manufacturers can look forward to an era of growth with confidence. The manufacturing sector is ready to reap the fruits of the boom, such that it can represent 15 percent of the UK’s domestic product. A significant reversal of the trend, considering the progressive decline from 25 percent in the Seventies to 9.4 percent recorded twelve months ago.
The survey was conducted on over two hundred manufacturing executives: a third of them believe that the UK is increasing competitiveness compared to Germany and France and a fairly similar percentage believe that the country is overtaking Spain and Italy. After very difficult years due to the pandemic and the increase in energy prices, positive signals are multiplying: almost half of producers, 44.4 percent, believe that the situation in manufacturing will improve.
The horizon is bright, with all due respect to the professionals of the Brexit controversy. Despite headwinds from prolonged economic challenges, geopolitical instability and energy costs, the manufacturing sector is on track for unprecedented growth through investments, expansions into new markets and the acceleration of the use of new technologies. 71.2% of companies see the adoption of new digital technologies as a way to increase operational efficiency, while over half (52.2%) see generative AI increasing the productivity of their workforce. “We now see some hope that conditions may improve, in a more favorable and stable political environment, but this needs to be cemented within a long-term industrial strategy,” said Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK.