October 2017

NEWS 4 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS October 2017 www.hpmag.co.uk The UK’s manufacturing sector has shown signs of recovery in Q3 2017, with a 4.2% growth in sales, 2.9% increase in total employment and a further 2.5% rise in new companies. The figures, released in the Creditsafe Watchdog Report, follow a slump for the sector in Q2 when sales and employment fell, and there was a 14% drop in new companies. Sales in the manufacturing sector reached £677 billion in Q3, following a significant drop to £649 billion in Q2. In the food manufacturing sector specifically, sales reached £118 billion, with growth (new companies) increasing by 11.3% compared with the previous quarter. The volume of debt owed to the sector decreased by a third over the last quarter, from £15 million to £10 million, the lowest it has been in 2017. Bad debt owed by the sector, however, more than doubled, increasing from £28 million in Q2 to £78 million at the end of Q3. The volume of bad debt places manufacturing in the top four sectors for the quarter, behind Professional Services (£562 million), Retail (£99 million) and the Banking and Financial sector (£91 million). The food manufacturing industry saw mixed fortunes in bad debt overall between Q2 and Q3, with debt owed to the sector decreasing by 80.95% to £395,772 but debt owed by the sector rising from £4.77 million in Q2 to £45.90 million, largely as a result of the failure of Whitworths Group Ltd. Rachel Mainwaring, operations director at Creditsafe, commented: “The figures signal that the manufacturing sector has been strengthened by strong domestic and international demand, offsetting the sluggish performance we had seen earlier in the year. “With the sector contributing approximately 10% to GDP, an acceleration in growth this quarter signals the potential for a positive second half to 2017. “While the signs are encouraging, the sharp increase in bad debt should also be a note for caution. Debt owed to the sector may have shrunk, but a 172.4% increase in debt owed by the sector as a whole is concerning and ultimately a barrier to future growth.” East Riding College has opened a new Mechatronics Centre in Bridlington, using funding provided by the York, North Yorkshire and East Riding Enterprise Partnership and equipment donated by various suppliers to the industry. The Centre will aid the delivery of specialised engineering courses that meet the demands of the modern engineering industry, where high-level skills are in demand. Mechatronics is the branch of engineering that focuses on designing and manufacturing products that have both mechanical and electronic components. It brings robotics into engineering, with a strong emphasis on an interdisciplinary approach and problem- solving skills. The Centre supports the innovative engineering pathway established through the HEAD into Engineering partnership – a collaborative agreement between Headlands School in Bridlington, East Riding College, A B Graphic International (a Bridlington-based multinational), and Derwent Training Association. A ground-breaking initiative, HEAD into Engineering is a programme for pupils in years 10 and 11 at school to have a clear engineering pathway as a GCSE option, which can lead them on to full-time courses at college or an apprenticeship and provide their first steps into a career in the industry. John Doris, vice-principal for finance and resources said: “The new Centre, along with the HEAD into Engineering programme really puts us in the best position to train highly- skilled engineers in our region. We collaborated with employers, suppliers and other education providers on this project to ensure that students will be able to train on industry-standard equipment and the industry has been very supportive advising on and in some cases, providing the latest state-of-the-art machinery for our students. It shows a real desire in the industry to invest in the next generation of engineers.” Dr Ruth Smith, chair of the LEP’s Skills and Employability Board said: “A huge number of engineering and manufacturing businesses are set to benefit from developments in mechatronics. The York, North Yorkshire and East Riding LEP is very pleased to see our £225,000 investment in this priority sector realised in such a high-quality environment. Producing a workforce that is skilled in mechatronics is key to supporting our local manufacturing and engineering companies with the emerging technical skills they need to grow their businesses and develop our local economy.” Mark Thomas, key account & national systems sales at Bosch Rexroth said: “As part of our ongoing commitment to support the next generation we are proud to support the Bridlington Mechatronics Centre with our latest training aids. The equipment, which is built from genuine industry-leading components, will enable students and lecturers to recreate real- world applications, while demonstrating the principles of modern machine control systems. We hope others will follow in the footsteps of the Centre and set the future cogs in motion for a thriving manufacturing industry.” High-tech engineering comes to Bridlington UK manufacturing sector back in growth, new research reveals