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POWER
GENERATION
In the countdown to the exhaustion of
fossil fuel supplies and in view of the
serious ecological concerns connected
to power generation methods, as well as
the increasing demands for power from
emerging nations and technological
developments, increasing investment
and expansion is expected in non-
traditional ways to create energy.
These include nuclear, gas, and green
systems such as tidal, wind and hydro.
Other significant sectors creating
business and opportunities for
Precision Engineering include
utilities – water and water treatment
(sewage), transportation industries
such as rail, bus and infrastructure,
construction, mining such as extraction
quarries and processing, the paper
and printing industry, chemical and
pharmaceutical, food and beverage
including breweries, packaging and
production processing, machinery
building such as machine tools and
special purpose equipment and
electronics. In all of these industries,
strong drivers for innovative, money
saving, fuel efficient, low emission,
safety compliant products, not to
mention their on-going maintenance,
give opportunities and market share
to UK Precision Engineering.
EXPORTS, THE EU AND
FOREIGN COMPETITORS
Constantine Biller of Clearwater Finance
is unequivocal about the success of UK
Precision Engineers in foreign arenas:
“As a home to a wealth of advanced
technology expertise, it is unsurprising
that Precision Engineered products
constitute a significant proportion of
UK exports.”
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However, there is much
focus currently on the European Union,
which, in terms of manufacturing, is by
far the UK’s largest trading partner.
36
As a result, UK manufacturers and
their suppliers are nervous about
the upcoming referendum on the
UK’s membership of the EU and
the potentially huge impact to their
sector that an EU exit could have.
Any exit would certainly be difficult in
terms of Britain continuing to wield
influence in the European market
place through regulation and trade
agreements without access to the
EU’s bargaining power and without
the EU funding which currently
provides a means to access capital
requirements within a range of already
limited options. Nevertheless, the
UK government has a long record of
supporting engineering and there is
cross party agreement in relation to
this, making continued support in any
‘Brexit’ situation virtually guaranteed,
in both financial and promotional
activities. With that in mind, the
Department for Business, Innovation
and Skills reports that, “Within a
spectrum approach, the Government is
committed to building and maintaining
strategic partnerships with key
sectors”, one of which is advanced
manufacturing, particularly aerospace,
automotive and life sciences. “These
are all sectors where societal drivers
indicate there is likely to be significant
increasing domestic and global demand;
where UK business has the potential
knowledge and skills to exploit new
market opportunities.”
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In addition,
Britain’s position as a renowned
deliverer of high class engineering
prowess would still very much be
to the advantage of the industry.
Foreign competitors in the world
Precision Engineering industry
are fundamentally segregated
geographically into Europe, the
Americas and the Asia-Pacific region.
Global Competition is intensifying
thanks to the emergence of both
large and small players, primarily
from the Asia-Pacific region.
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Companies in China and India
have traditionally attracted batch
production at cheap prices rather
than the bespoke products offered
by Precision Engineers and they
do not enjoy the same reputation
for quality as does the UK sector.
Additionally, in terms of UK clients,
“As a home to a wealth of advanced technology expertise, it is unsurprising that Precision
Engineered products constitute a significant proportion of UK exports”
Constantine Biller, Partner, Industrials, Clearwater Corporate Finance LLP
“Business must be crystal clear
that membership is in our
national interest. The EU is
key to our national prosperity.
Letting us set the trade
agenda, be part of the biggest
free trade deal ever negotiated
– TTIP – and be able to
properly compete with global
giants like China and India”
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Mike Rake, President, CBI
