News Industry


Comment The manufacturing recovery is firmly on track and looks set to continue, with strong domestic and export orders boosting fac- tory output. But inflationary pressures continue to intensify as companies pass on the burgeon- ing cost of raw materials by rais- ing the price of goods at the factory gate, the CBI has said. Of the 451 manufacturers who responded to the April Quarterly Industrial Trends Survey, 36 per cent said they had seen an increase in output in the last three months, while 15 per cent said it had fallen. This was driven by strong growth in


I’m encouraged by the recent positive portrayal of manufacturing on television. The latest programme to cover the topic is ‘Britain’s next big thing’. Presented by Theo Paphitis, one of the well known ‘dragons’ from the BBC’s ‘Dragon’s den’ series, the programme aims to help Britain's entrepreneurs to find a market for products they have created usually in their spare time. It follows them as they experience the highs and lows of bringing a product to market. In the latest part of series the subject of manufacturing in the UK was raised. “Manufacturing in the UK isn’t an impossible dream”, the programme’s voiceover stated. Theo Paphitis was then shown saying he’s fed up with listening to people telling him how impossible it is to manufacture anything in the UK. He said that we have the same issue as any other developed country - labour costs. “If something has to be done manually then of course its cheaper to manufacture in the Far East where labour costs are lower,” he went on, “but if you can automate the process then we can be just as competitive and that’s what we should be doing.” Delivering this positive message via a popular television programme in layman’s terms is a great way of introducing the concept to the viewing public. Hopefully in this way we can improve the image of the industry and enlighten people to the fact that with the use of automation technology we can certainly compete better with the rest of the world. Neil Mead - Managing Editor


Events


The Energy Event 13-14 September, NEC, Birmingham www.theenergyevent.com


Sensing Technology 27-28 September, NEC, Birmingham www.sensingtechnology.co.uk


Factory Equipment MAY 2011 Manufacturing recovery on track but prices soar


domestic and export orders, with the rates of growth at their fastest since April 1995.


Demand and production are expected to continue rising over the next three months. At the same time, manufacturers expect domestic and export orders to continue to increase.


Output has been boosted by rapid restocking over the past quarter. Companies built up inventories of raw materials, work in progress and finished goods. Manufacturers took on more staff for the third quarter running and the outlook for employment is also positive with seven per


Early warning as motor legislation looms


Brammer, the supplier of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) products and services, has urged UK industry to take early advantage of the opportunities for greater energy efficiency that will result from the introduction of the European Union EcoDesign Requirements for Energy-Using Products Directive.


The EU MEPS Directive (2009) stipulates that all two, four and six- pole single speed three-phase AC motors from 0.75 – 375kW, manufac- tured from June 2011, must meet a minimum efficiency of IE2. Products below this standard cannot be manufactured for sale in the UK and Europe from 16th June 2011. The legislation aims to help reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions attributable to UK and European industry.


www.brammer.co.uk Campaign boosts workforce involvement


To support safety managers and leaders in their efforts to imple- ment effective good workforce involvement (WFI) programmes, the Energy Institute (EI) has developed a series of posters to encourage colleagues to con- tribute to safety in the workplace. The posters tackle a number of themes, such as: What stops you from communicating safety issues? What if you are the only person in your team who sees the risk? and What ideas do you have to improve safety? The posters


cent of firms expecting to recruit. But companies’ production costs have risen rapidly and as a result manufacturers have driven up domestic and export prices. Firms expect costs and prices to continue increasing.


John Cridland, CBI Director- General, said: “The manufactur- ing recovery remains firmly on track. Strong demand at home and abroad and rapid restocking have led to another solid rise in production. But production costs have jumped markedly. This is unsurprising given the surge in oil and other commodity prices.” www.cbi.org.uk


Looking to the future


Supervisors Kevin Parkes and Colin Allcut help apprentice Ali Ewida programme a machine tool


are designed to challenge general perceptions and provoke discus- sion amongst workers. To sup- port the sharing of ideas, the series also includes space to cap- ture comments to contribute to WFI schemes. www.energyinst.org/wfi


Worcester based Yamazaki Mazak has pledged its support to initia- tives that promote engineering as a career for young people by offering work placements to a number of local students. One initiative, The Young Apprenticeship Programme, is aimed at 14-16 year olds and offers an alternative route through GCSE level education. The first five students to com- plete the nine week placement gained important hands-on expe- rience in different departments. Dr Damien Cleugh, of Mazak, said: “Employing and training the engineers of the future is vital in maintaining the on-going growth of Mazak and encourag- ing young people to take a career in engineering.


www.mazak.eu Coding goes leaner and greener for eco-aware manufacturers


Eco-conscious manufacturers turned out in force to Markem- Imaje UK’s headquarters for an event focusing on how environ- mental initiatives can be embed- ded in the packaging operation. The Manufacturing Advisory Service sponsored the ‘How Lean is Your Production Scene?’ event, which was supported by indepen- dent resource efficiency organisa- tions NISP and Groundwork.


Delegates were taken through successful case histories from coding equipment users. Paul Burton demonstrated how customers have turned to Markem-Imaje to help them increase uptime while reducing carbon footprints.


Mark Dawson, of Markem- Imaje, outlined the commitments by the company not only to lower ownership costs and environ-


mental impact, but to allow cus- tomers to monitor savings through the coder user interfaces. The event, at the company’s visitor and conference centre, attracted production and packag- ing professionals. An interactive quiz was held which underlined the overall message that eco- responsible manufacturing can bring bottom-line benefits. www.markem-imaje.co.uk


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