15
“In 2015, the UK Precision Engineering market rose by 1.1% year on year to £5.83 billion”
The link to manufacturing is clear when the sales growth graph is viewed in the context of the graph of UK Manufacturing
investment from 1998 to 2014.
1
LAST 10 YEARS OF PRECISION ENGINEERING COMPANIES SALES GROWTH
1
Oldest
-50
0
50
Yr 9
Yr 8
Yr 7
Yr 6
Yr 5
Yr 4
Yr 3
Yr 2
Latest
In spite of the difficult times in recent
years, the Manufacturer states in its
Annual Manufacturing Report 2015
that, “Confidence is higher than we have
seen for a number of years. Levels of
investment are up, as are vacancies.
Companies are looking to the future with
commitment to more plant, machinery
and equipment, and are actively seeking
the skills they need to take them
forward.”
21
This is good news for Precision
Engineers, as is the growth of reshoring
which has added £600 million to the UK
economy and created approximately
10, 000 new jobs in the last two years.
2
Engineering UK also points to another
development, the progression of which
is highly likely to positively impact the
Precision Engineering market; “the
growing trend for remanufacturing (a
series of manufacturing steps acting on
an end-of-life part or product to return
it to like-new or better performance,
with a warranty to match) is also adding
to the future resurgence of the sector.
Estimates suggest that the value of
remanufacturing in the UK is £2.4
billion. However, it has the potential to
increase to £5.6 billion, as well as create
thousands of skilled jobs.”
2
This and the improving market
conditions are reflected in figures
published by the Royal Academy of
Engineering which has forecast output
growth between 2010–2020 at 2.5%
per annum for electronic and Precision
Engineering – slightly higher than the
2.4% average across all industry sectors
and very close to the 2.6% forecast for
manufacturing.
22
Provided employment shortages
are met, the story across the entire
engineering market is very optimistic
with significant growth in revenues
projected.
8
UK MANUFACTURING INVESTMENT
20
(£ BILLIONS)
(1998-2014)
30
29
27.7
25.5
22.5
22.1
21.8
22.8
22
1998
2007
1999
2008
2000
2009
2001
2010
2002
2011
2003
2012
2004
2013
2006
2005
2014
2015
23.3
23.1
18.1
18.8
21.2
23.3
25.3
26.9
All companies
Small companies
Large companies
