Feature: Made in South Yorkshire
development based around the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), it is wise to remind UK businesses that we still make things, often unknown, unseen and often mundane (to some) but vital to UK PLC. Shocking as this may be to some, it is an irrefutable fact but one which is in danger of being forgotten in the mist of time. South Yorkshire was built on traditional
manufacturing industry and we often seem to forget that. While technology moves forwards and Sheffield, quite rightly, continues to maintain its name at the forefront of change, there are still more traditional and less ‘sexy’ industries, which are crucial to that development but seem to miss the accolades and plough on regardless. This was never truer than in the steel industry. Yes, there is still a steel industry in Sheffield. In January 2018, in response to the steel
Forging a future for the region’s steel industry A
s the advancement of new technology and scientific development continues to come to the fore in South Yorkshire, with the prestigious
the companies and employees who work in the wider steel industry. These industries are the backbone of the UK development and should be championed and supported in the same way. Driving round Sheffield and the wider regionals of
‘Yes, there is still a steel
industry in Sheffield’
making crisis in August 2015, a Government briefing document UK Steel Industry: statistics and policy (Number 07317) was published which stated that 600 companies and 32,000 employees were involved in the industry. After over 27 years in the ‘steel industry’, I can confirm that this may be true of steel production, but the numbers published fall significantly short of the mark. They fail to account for
Yorkshire, you will find countless iron and steel related businesses – fabricators, press shops, profile/laser/water cutting services, sheet metal workers... the list continues. Among many things, they produce steel frames, staircases, mezzanines, connections, plates, brackets that form the structure around UK development and support its infrastructure. There are machine shops that turn, bore
and hone the pipework, shafts and components that make up the machinery and provide the energy that drives its operation. To many this is not modern and ground breaking and does not attract the level of funding housed in resource
and development grants or tax breaks. Also, significantly, it also often fails to capture the imagination of the younger generation that we need to inspire to maintain this crucial industry. I am as guilty as anyone. Several years ago, I visited the
AMRC Factory 2050 and was blown away by the level of technology available and the uses it was being put to. I had the experience of virtual reality opportunities in manufacturing and saw fantastic opportunities in product design and rapid prototyping.
Summer 2019 CHAMBERconnect 65
By Mel Bray (pictured), Director at MLP Management Systems Ltd.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96
