Innovation key to ensuring growth

Simon Pollard, managing director of Kyal Machine Tools, is the recently appointed President of the Manufacturing Technologies Association. Here, he gives Industrial Plant & Equipment his views on the sector and outlines a few of the MTA's recent initiatives

The MTA is an association run by its membership of UK manufacturers, and it's a real honour to have been elected as President. Presidency represents a chance to give something back to the industry and to help develop the external perception of UK manufacturing as a worldleading, cutting edge sector.

Under my leadership, the MTA will continue to support UK manufacturing though developing our services and through the representation that we undertake in Westminster and the wider political world.

Until recently Britain's manufacturing sector was an unacknowledged strength. It is now merely an insufficiently acknowledged strength. That is progress of a sort but it still leaves us with much to do. After years of being told that either we didn't make anything anymore, or that even if we did it didn't matter that much, we have finally realised that as a nation, our prosperity rests in a large part on what we can make and the value that we can add.

Trade missions There has been a lot said over the last few years about the prospects for an export led recovery. The MTA has taken a leading role in promoting its members' businesses around the world, and in 2011 this will continue with trade missions to China and the participation in shows in India and Germany. There are exciting developments in Russia too with an MTA led scheme to establish a joint venture company that will see members setting up a machine tool refurbishment and reconditioning factory in the area of Yekaterinburg. MACH 2012 I'm very much looking to forward to MACH 2012, the highlight of any President's two year term.MACH is the lynchpin of the Association and we will continue to develop and grow the exhibition, to protect its position as the UK's premier manufacturing technologies show.

The MTA will be working hard over the next 18 months to ensure that MACH 2012 is a great success, and popular initiatives from 2010, such as the Education & Training Zone and the inclusion of subcontractors, will be developed.

Training I believe that it is imperative that Associations such as the MTA back up what they say with what they do. To that end I am particularly enthused with the Education and Training offering of the Association. Specifically, through the work that we do in schools to inspire young people to enter a career in engineering; and in funding apprenticeships within the industry, we are addressing some of the barriers to skills progression that exist.

Awards We have also recently launched the Manufacturing Industry Awards, a scheme which looks to celebrate, in particular, promising young engineers in our industry, and to reward excellence in training. Our £10,000 AMTRI scholarship also shows real commitment to encouraging cooperation between industry and the higher education sector.

We've travelled down a rocky road, but we are approaching smoother times. Looking forward, we must understand that it will not be enough to simply continue doing what we have always done. In order to grow, we must innovate - and importantly - we must help customers innovate too. As President of the MTA my principal aim will be to help encourage, promote and share innovation within, and outside of, our sector.