Top 20 revealed as manufacturing myths explode

The report, published today by the manufacturers’ organisation EEF and business advisers BDO Stoy Hayward reveals the top 20 highest performing sectors within UK manufacturing and concludes that there is no winning formula for high performing manufacturing. “While the top 20 share a strong record on output growth in the past five years, success in other areas is extremely varied,” the report, called ‘Modern Manufacturing – The High Performers’ says. “Their performance on employment growth, trade, productivity, R&D expenditure and capital intensity differ significantly. We can conclude therefore, that growth is not necessarily driven by high performance in these other areas.” The top 20 sectors tabulated by the report are: · Processing fish products · Processing fruit and vegetables · Beverages · Basic chemicals · Paints, varnishes,etc · Pharmaceuticals · Articles of concrete, plaster and cement · Cutting, shaping and finishing of ornamental and building stone · Basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys · Tubes · Basic precious and non-ferrous metals · Other general purpose machinery · Weapons and ammunition · Domestic appliances not elsewhere classified · Instruments · Industrial process control equipment · Motor vehicles · Bodies for motor vehicles and trailers · Aircraft and spacecraft · Motorcycles and bicycles The top 20 manufacturing sectors cannot all be described as high technology, the report said, nor were they all capital or R&D intensive sectors. But there were a number of reasons why these sectors had pulled ahead of the pack. “Success lies not just in making good quality products, it also comes from UK sectors differentiating themselves from their competitors. High performing sectors are investing in design and development and this has led to unique products and solutions, which set them apart from the competition,” it went on. “Indeed, they are also complementing these with services – offering customers a complete package from design and development through to after sales care and maintenance. Asking the rhetorical question: Can this continue? The report concludes that there are reasons to be confident about manufacturing in the UK. “A number of sectors have demonstrated that it is possible to thrive in a high-cost location and have been doing so in recent years – and many have taken the lead over French and German counterparts. Overall, they are well placed to maintain the momentum. And indeed there are potentially some lessons for those sectors that did not make our top 20.” EEF chairman Martin Temple said the report was the final nail in the coffin of the myth that manufacturing was in decline. “The reality is a dynamic, innovative and increasingly high value sector that is competing successfully across the globe,” he went on. “What is especially notable is the diversity of activities that are thriving. Alongside the well-known success stories of aerospace and pharmaceuticals, are sectors producing scientific instruments, mechanical appliances and basic metals – which also have shown strong growth and have a solid international reputation.” Tom Lawton, head of manufacturing at BDO Stoy Hayward believed the sectors that had succeeded adopted a range of strategies that made them stand out internationally. What the majority of the thriving sectors did share was a focus on exports, which showed how manufacturers had turned globalisation to their advantage.