A government-commissioned review on industrial digitalisation in the UK, has pinpointed additive manufacturing (AM) as one of the major innovations that could catapult the UK manufacturing economy to £455 billion over the next decade.
The ‘Made Smarter’ report, led by Juergen Maier, CEO of Siemens UK, identifies a number of Industrial Digital Technologies (IDTs) including robotics, virtual reality and Internet of Things, as key areas of opportunity for the UK to increase growth in the manufacturing sector.
Bringing together expertise from over 200 small businesses, universities and organisations including Additive Manufacturing UK, the 246-page review suggests that the UK stands to benefit from an additional 175,000 jobs and between 1.5 and 3% growth per year by adopting these technologies.
Introducing the review, Maier commented: “We have answered the call of government to set out a vision for growth and increased productivity. Industry is committed to working in partnership with government through a sector deal to revive UK manufacturing, and firmly believes that only this combined package of measures, which go beyond business as usual and historical offerings, will achieve the level of ambition needed for the UK to be a world leader of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
The current value of AM in the UK is around £300 million, employing approximately 35,000 people but a recent survey found that only 17% of UK companies have any experience with AM compared to 37% in Germany. The review describes AM as “one of the key enablers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution” and suggests it can provide a value at stake of £72.1 billion in the UK economy.
The review states: “What is required is a more co-ordinated approach to pull through the UK’s world-leading research and innovation to improve process efficiency and material choice, to consolidate critical know-how in design, production and testing, and to de-risk private investment in the supply chain (materials, machinery, software, and skills).”
The full report can be downloaded here.
