UK MARKET
UK manufacturing not investing in automation, says BARA chairman
Greg Blackman reports from UK Industrial Vision Association’s machine vision conference
T
he UK is up to 20 per cent less productive than its major competitor countries
because it is not investing in automation, according to Mike Wilson, chairman of the British Automation and Robot Association. Speaking at UKIVA’s machine
vision conference in Milton Keynes in June, he drew attention to the investment in advanced manufacturing made by car plants as an example of an industry sector willing to spend on robotics and vision technology – with a positive outcome in terms of productivity. But he said that, in general, UK manufacturing doesn’t invest in capital automation equipment because it is perceived as expensive and risky. According to the International
Federation of Robotics, installations of industrial robots in the United Kingdom fell by 3 per cent to 2,306 units in 2018 compared to 2017 – industrial robot sales in Europe as a whole rose by 12 per cent. Robot sales into the UK did
increase by 31 per cent in 2017, but the UK still ranks only 22nd in the world in 2018 in terms of robot density, with 85 robots per
10,000 manufacturing employees. Tis is equivalent to the global average. Compare this to Germany,
ranked third in the world, with a robot density of 322 units per 10,000 manufacturing employees. Sweden (fiſth), Denmark (sixth), Belgium (ninth) and Italy (tenth) are all in the top 10 regions in terms of robot density. South Korea has the highest
proportion of robots to manufacturing employees (710 units), followed by Singapore (658 units). Te USA is ranked seventh (200 units), and China (97 units) has just climbed above the UK into 21st position.
12 Imaging and Machine Vision Europe • August/September 2019
The UK is not using the same level of automation as our major competitors. We need to do something about this
‘We’re [the UK] not using the
same level of automation as all of our major competitor [countries],’ Wilson said at the event. ‘We need to do something about this if we’re going to improve our competitive position.’ Te British Automation and
Robot Association’s (BARA) data on robot sales into the UK market over the last 10 years is largely driven by what’s happening in the automotive sector – if Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) installs a car line, it buys lots of robots, Wilson noted. Te automotive sector has
invested a lot in advanced manufacturing; Wilson said car manufacturers are now producing 50 per cent per hour more vehicles than they were 10 years ago, all thanks to investing in robotics equipment. Tat investment has generated
thousands of jobs, Wilson added, despite the announcement in June that Ford is to close its
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