New breed of firms ‘push boundaries’
FROM Brompton bikes to Barbour jackets, McLaren supercars to Marshall speakers, Britain is a manufacturing powerhouse. And the latest stats prove it.
The Manufacturing Technology Association has crunched the numbers, and their data shows that the “made in UK” sector is booming, supporting millions of jobs across the country.
There are people who claim we don’t make anything any more – but, as these figures show, they are wrong.
Since 2016, our manufacturing sector has grown faster than every G7 nation including industrial giants like the US, Japan, and France.
That’s because this Conservative Government has made it a top priority to ensure the UK is the best place in the world to start and grow a manufacturing business.
We have made full expensing for businesses permanent – a massive incentive for firms to invest in new plants and new machinery.
The Advanced Manufacturing Plan I, launched last year, is supporting the best of British industry, with £4.5billion to open new markets, build
Crosshead
new factories, and invest in cuttingedge research.
It’s a plan that will see every penny the Government spends on manufacturing matched five-fold by the wealth-creators of the private sector.
In our car industry alone, we have seen big global players like BMW investing £600million in their plant in Oxfordshire, and
Nissan are building two new electric models in their Sunderland factory this year.
And Ellesmere Port in Cheshire is set to be our first EV-only production plant, so the next generation of electric Jaguars can go head-tohead with the best of Detroit, Beijing, or Stuttgart.
We have been just as ambitious in our aviation sector, working with Air India to secure one of the biggest deals in the industry’s history – an order for 250 new Airbus planes.
Their wings will be designed near Bristol and assembled in Broughton, Wales.
A similar deal between Airbus and Turkish Airlines will see 140 RollsRoyce engines – proudly assembled and tested in Derby – fitted to the A350.
These two deals alone are worth billions to the UK economy.
We could only have delivered these game-changing investments after Brexit, free from the EU’s internal wrangling over which countries are benefiting from which subsidies and for which industries.
But Brexit was a strategy, not a one-time thing.
Listen closely to Labour politicians and you’ll hear subtle hints that they don’t feel comfortable being outside the European Union.
We know Sir Keir Starmer campaigned for a second referendum, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy thinks we would be better off in the single market.
They don’t have a plan for manufacturing that isn’t ever-closer alignment with Brussels. That’s not our plan. We’re using our freedoms to back brilliant British industry.
If Labour get in we risk losing the benefits. We must stay the course. And if we do, it’ll be thanks to this Government’s proinnovation,pro-investment, pro-industry approach that Britain will remain a manufacturing juggernaut now and for decades to
come.
ROWAN Crozier leads one of Europe’s leading independent pressings and tooling specialists, supplying millions of precision components to international customers every week.
As boss of Birmingham-based Brandauer he is passionate about UK manufacturing and is delighted the sector is starting to find its voice.
He said: “We’ve been too quiet for too long, preferring to keep our amazing innovation and ingenuity under wraps but that had to change, and this report by the Manufacturing Technologies Association and Oxford Economics is a very good starting point. “There is now a growing acceptance among policymakers of how important we are to the overall economy.
“The sector employs a lot of people and has higher than average wages, which makes it a great career.”
Mr Crozier was awarded an MBE this year for services to manufacturing and enterprise.
Under his leadership, Brandauer is on course for another record year and has recently secured a £2million tooling contract in Egypt.
This has been followed by a £1million motor production order. The firm was involved in a tender with global competitors but sealed it, meaning work stays in the UK.
Mr Crozier said: “Britain really can be the best and there is a whole new breed of company emerging that is pushing the boundaries of innovation and investing in the very best manufacturing technologies and processes.
“We are an SME, punching above our weight. However, in the last 12 months alone we have spent over £1million in a new factory layout and developing the UK’s first-ever Precision Tooling Academy – all geared towards upskilling future toolmakers.”