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News Industry Comment Demand strengthens while output is set to grow


The start of the year is showing signs that manufacturing is well on the road to recovery. This year's Southern Manufacturing and Electronics Exhibition was visited by 7,200 people, and with over 600 exhibitors it was hailed as a massive success by the organisers. Add to this the NEC in Birmingham is set to be the focus of one of the largest manufacturing and engineering events of the year in April. MACH 2012, celebrating its 100th anniversary, and the DFA Media shows, are all poised to exceed exhibitor and visitor numbers of previous events. We are previewing the shows in this issue. Manufacturing Technologies Association President Simon Pollard told guests at the MTA Awards last month that UK manufacturing was well placed to take off with advantages in; technology, science and research, skills as well as progress in sight on issues like export finance and the


Government’s attitude to the sector. It’s good to see that the manufacturing industry appears to be fighting against the tide and companies are showing a willingness to go out and do business. This general positive sentiment can only be an indication of good things to come for the sector.


Heather Ramsden - Editor


UK manufacturers have reported an encouraging improvement in total and export order books in February, following a weaker period over late 2011, the CBI says. As a result, firms expect solid output growth over the coming three months, according to the CBI’s most recent monthly Industrial Trends Survey. Of the 471 manufacturers responding to the survey, 21 per cent reported total order books to be above normal, while 23 per cent said they were below. The resulting rounded balance of -3 per cent is well above the long- run average (-18 per cent) and a significant improvement in the levels of recent months.


Export orders also saw a similar upturn, with 22 per cent of respondents stating that levels were above normal and 24 per cent saying they were below, giving a balance of -2 per cent, compared to the long-run average of -21 per cent.


As a result of the improvement in orders, for the second month running UK manufacturers expect production to rise over the next three months, with a balance of +15 per cent expecting an increase in their volume of output. Ian McCafferty, CBI chief eco- nomic adviser, said: “The improvement in manufacturing conditions seen in January has been sustained this month. Both


Demand up for temporary storage


Growing confidence among UK manufacturers is fuelling a 25 per cent rise in demand for extra storage space, according to a UK supplier of temporary buildings. Spaciotempo has invested £500,000 in new stock and taken on new staff after experiencing a sharp increase in demand for its products. Demand for temporary buildings is said to act as an effective barometer of business confidence because they repre- sent a low-risk solution for com- panies looking to expand.


Instead of having to relocate, lease new premises or invest in costly bricks and mortar, busi- nesses can erect temporary build- ings within a matter of days. They also have the flexibility to add further buildings or remove them. Scott Jameson, director of sales for Spaciotempo, said companies currently showing most interest in hiring or buying temporary buildings are manufacturers who are increasing production and need somewhere to store extra stock or accommodate increased business activity.


In the past 12 months orders have been received from compa- nies, including JCB and Caterpillar and car-makers Peugeot, Nissan and Aston Martin.


www.spaciotempo.co.uk


Better lighting could save £1.4 billion Industry and manufacturing operations in the UK can save £1.4 billion


Events


Drives & Controls 17-19 April, NEC, Birmingham www.drives-expo.com


MACH


16-20 April, NEC, Birmingham www.machexhibition.com


Sustainability Live 22-24 May, NEC, Birmingham www.sustainabilitylive.com


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a year on their energy spend and 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually according to a paper released by Vita Energia. This saving is enabled by the replacement or refurbishment of legacy lighting sys- tems with more energy efficient alternatives, which can be funded by the Carbon Trust Implementation Services and Siemens Financial Services. Many old lighting systems have not been upgraded since the 1950s and are not nearly as efficient as modern T5 fluorescent solu- tions. Even recently-installed lighting systems, just a few years old, can reap similar benefits. Vita Energia conducted in-depth, on-site surveys to study the indus- trial lighting at over 500 companies employing over 100 people in the UK’s manufacturing and warehousing sector. The results showed that industrial lighting energy usage can be cut by an average of 58.6 per cent. Duncan Stevens, director at Vita Energia says keeping lighting up to date “is a proven saving for our pressurised manufacturing industry, with an average return on investment time of under 15 months”. www.vitaenergiasolutions.co.uk


domestic and overseas demand have strengthened, underpinning solid expectations for output growth, which is encouraging news, given the particularly difficult period for business in the final quarter of 2011.”


Expectations for output price inflation (+10 per cent) were simi- lar to those in the January survey (+13 per cent). While they remained above the long-run aver- age (+1 per cent), expectations are still well below those over the same period a year ago.


Stock adequacy (+15 per cent) was broadly in line with its long- run average, having seen little change since November 2011. www.cbi.org.uk


Flir upgrades user training


Flir Systems is applying the same upgrade path to its training as it does to its camera models in order to ensure users are prop- erly trained.


Flir says thermal imaging cam- eras are getting smarter and easier to use, even at entry-level, while the software that drives this functionality is becoming increasing more powerful. Both are now easily affordable result- ing in the technology being applied more widely than ever before. But this presents an important consideration. This flexible, inexpensive and accessible technology is only fully effective in the hands of a properly trained user. So, it is especially important that training should be planned with the pur- chase of every camera.


For this purpose Flir Systems, has introduced a range of short courses, dedicated application courses as well as certification courses for Level 1 and Level 2 thermography for 2012


All are managed and conducted via Flir’s EMEA training arm, the Infrared Training Centre (ITC). Details and dates or courses can be found at www.irtraining.eu


MARCH 2012 Factory Equipment


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