Manufacturing Biz #2 - Magazine - Page 40
Manufacturers view UK as
the place to relocate
T
he majority of Britain’s
manufacturers (52.7%) are
now viewing the UK as a more
competitive place to locate their activities,
compared to just 31% one year ago. While
less than one-fifth (16.6%) believe the
UK is not a competitive place in which to
manufacture. These findings come from
Make UK and PwC’s Executive Survey 2024,
which polled more than two hundred
senior manufacturing executives. It
shows that after a very difficult few years
through the pandemic and the shock to
energy prices, there are optimistic signs
with companies more bullish about the
prospects for manufacturing in 2024.
More than four-fifths (44.4%) believe that
conditions in the sector will improve, with
only one in five believing the contrary.
While an increasing number also believe
the UK is becoming more competitive than
its European rivals.
As a result, manufacturers – who are now
seeing opportunities outweigh the risks
to their firms - are backing this belief with
investment in new products, expansion
into new markets and acceleration of the
use of new digital technologies to improve
their business. The adoption of the latter
in particular is seen by 71.2% of firms as a
way to boost operational efficiency, while
more than half (52.2%) see generative AI
increasing their workforces’ productivity.
“The last few years have been a rollercoster
of emotions for manufactures yet they
have more than demonstrated their
resilience time after time. We are now
seeing some hope that conditions may be
improving, amid a more supportive and
stable policy environment, but this must
be cemented within a long-term industrial
40
strategy.
“ While undoubted challenges remain, the
accelerating use of digital technologies,
our strength in innovation and expansion
into new markets sets the scene for
manufacturing to be at the heart of efforts
to boost growth.
“After what has been
a rocky few years for
manufacturers, it seems
there is a cautious
optimism in the air.
In fact, our research
showed that in the year
ahead, more than half
of them are planning
to seize opportunities
in new products, with
more than a quarter
(27.3%) hoping to
explore uncharted
territory, and expand
into new markets."
For many, despite January's to-do list
likely looming large, as the headwinds
of sustained economic challenges,
geopolitical instability, and steep
employment and energy costs continue,
the horizon seems brighter.”
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