The article examines five ways UK manufacturers are seeking to expand, despite the difficulties caused by the country’s European Union exit. The five strategies are: capitalising on UK engineering, reshoring, boosting trans-Atlantic trade, improving local supply chains and focusing on product strengths. A version of this article appeared in Made Here Now in 2019. It […]
Nile Henry is enthusiastic about what the Create Education training group has done for his organisation. “It’s had a transformational impact,” says Henry, chief executive of the Blair Project, which aims to inspire the next generation of engineers through making and racing electric go-karts. Henry is pictured (right) in the photo, next to the Blair […]
BAE Systems, the defence company which is among the UK’s biggest manufacturers, has appointed a 23-year-old engineer as “entrepreneur in residence” to help promote a drive to boost collaboration and innovation. George Edwards is charged with encouraging other engineers in the business – which makes military hardware from submarines and missiles to warships and jet […]
The 3Cs – code, collaboration and capability – are the keys to separating the winners and losers in global manufacturing. Code describes the software important in linking networks of products. Collaboration covers the relationships connecting companies with suppliers, developers and users. Capability encompasses employee skills. The 3Cs grabbed attention at the latest in a series […]
Eddie Davies, who has died at the age of 72, was a resolute and imaginative businessman who made his mark in three seemingly separate areas: electronics, football and cultural institutions linked to science and technology. In electronics Davies will be remembered for his key role in building up the Isle of Man-based Strix from […]
A Made Here Now analysis of university data shows how engineering has fallen back in the pecking order of top subjects, amid fresh worries on skills shortages. We also shed light on the relative attractiveness of individual engineering disciplines. Fall in engineering attractiveness triggers concern The number of students choosing engineering at university has started […]
Innovation in manufacturing is greatly prized. It can occur in a range of ways. The article focuses on the different strategies – EVOLUTION, INVENTION, COLLABORATION, CUSTOMISATION and CONSOLIDATION – employed by five British manufacturers in varied industries to produce spectacular improvements in products or processes. The picture alongside this article provides an example of innovation […]
If you ask Prof Janusz Kozinski to name the people who have most impressed him since he moved to the UK, he has no hesitation: “When I’ve given talks at schools I’ve been immensely encouraged by the young people who want to talk to me afterwards about what I’ve been saying. On each occasion I’ve had […]
The head office of Blaze in an old industrial building in London may look unimpressive – but it’s at the centre of a web of relationships that connect the small bicycle accessories maker with collaborators spread globally. Blaze is among the exponents of the manufacturing network, an idea growing in importance as production companies particularly […]
Some of Britain’s biggest engineering companies are backing what they believe is a ground-breaking project to promote technical disciplines to young people, amid signs of growing government encouragement for their efforts. The Engineering Talent Project being organised by the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) will focus on use of social media and advertising to convey “dynamic and […]
Poetry and English literature, not too much maths, a focus on problem solving and constant contact with industry. All will be on the curriculum of a new university for engineering set to open in 2019 with the aim of awarding half its places to women. (The article was published in 2017 and has not been […]
Over the past 30 years the whole of UK manufacturing has become increasingly a collection of small to mid-sized companies making specialist goods in low volumes. Yet few sectors illustrate this trend more vividly than the business of producing electronics and electrical goods. The photo above shows a product of one of the many small […]
