It can’t have escaped anybody’s notice that the autumn has
been dominated by grim economic tidings, especially from
the Eurozone.Against that background it is easy to forget
that parts of the real economy are doing reasonably well.

Paul O’Donnell, head of external affairs at the MTA
(Manufacturing Technologies Association) comments

Despite the weakening performance
of the economy as a whole, 2011 has
been a good year for engineeringbased
manufacturing with orders across the
sector running around 66% higher than
during 2010 for the first nine months of the
year, according to survey data released by the
Manufacturing Technologies Association.

For the UK market, machine tool sales are
35% up on the 2010 levels for the same
comparison, while the tooling sector saw
growth of 21% in these months.

Although the outlook for the UK and
global economy is uncertain, there are good
reasons to believe that demand for
manufacturing technology equipment in the
UK will continue to be strong in 2012.

Many of the end user markets for
manufacturing technologies are strong. The
aerospace sector has remained buoyant over
the last few years as globalisation has meant
that demand has been strong. There has been
plenty of good news too in the automotive
sector with big investments announced
recently by Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan.

There are also big projects in the pipeline in
the energy generation and rail sectors.

Show success
The EMO Trade Show, held in Hannover
Germany in September, while not hitting
pre-recessionary heights, proved successful
with lots of businesses reporting new orders
and lots of interest in new technology.

Almost 140,000 attendees had the chance to
visit more than 2000 stands across six days.

With the NEC Hall 5 almost sold out and
stand bookings for Hall 4 coming in thick
and fast, the steady recovery of the
engineering based manufacturing sector is
also reflected in MACH 2012 scheduled for
April 16-20. MACH, the UK manufacturing
technologies show, organised by the MTA,
continues to attract major players from the
industry; from tooling and robotics to
supply chain and software firms.

So, given that manufacturing is doing
better than the rest of the economy, it is no
surprise that the Government would like to
put it at the heart of its plan for growth.

Manufacturing is special for several reasons.

Manufacturing as a sector can address many
of the social and economic problems we face
as a country.

Rebalancing the economy is often
expressed in terms of industrial sectors but
there is a geographical element to is as well.

Manufacturing provides employment across
the country – good jobs across a range of
skills and professions.

Another key reason as to why
manufacturing is so important is its crucial
role in boosting our exports. Over half of
the UK’s export earnings derive from
manufacturing.

At the MTA we have been working with
the Export Credit Guarantee Department to
refine its offering to manufacturing SMEs.

For too long the ECGD has been only
focussed on large contracts, mainly in the
aerospace sector. Now it is seeking to offer
export finance for smaller deals – but this is
being delivered through the banks. It is
important to ensure that it puts those offers
in front of the companies that need access to
them. You can find out more about ECGD
at www.ecgd.gov.uk and about the new
products for SMEs in particular at
www.ecgd.gov.uk/assets/bispartners/ecgd/file
s/prods-servs/quickguides/ecgd-newproducts-
information-july2011.pdf
Manufacturing is never boring and at the
moment economics place it very much at
the centre of politics. It’s very much a space
to watch over the months and years to
come.