Ebullient mood at Automated Britain

The announcement of Nissan’s investment of £125 million into Britain, for the unveiling of a new concept model to be manufactured at a state of the art factory in Sunderland, formed the backdrop of a Government address to elated delegates at the Automated Britain conference.

Intellect and GAMBICA held the joint event on March 6, 2012 at The Commonwealth Club in London to promote the concept of automation and its benefits to industry. Called Automated Britain – The Renaissance of UK Manufacturing the event explored whether there are any perceived obstacles that discourage industry from making more investments of this type.

Keynote speakers included Mark Prisk MP, the Minister of State for Business and Enterprise and Juergen Maier, managing director of Siemens UK Industry. Case studies were presented by major automation companies such as ABB, Emerson, Honeywell, Rockwell and Siemens in tandem with the manufactures that use their technology.

Mark Prisk told the conference, “Nissan estimates that the investment will create and safeguard 2,000 jobs. That news is, in my book, a real vote of confidence in the UK automotive sector. It vindicates the decision we took to put manufacturing back at the heart of our economic strategy.

“Modern manufacturing requires a continuing commitment, not only to technological investment, but to a culture of innovation. There are several examples here today, so we already have British firms leading the way. Despite difficult spending decisions elsewhere, we took the decision to ring-fence and maintain a science and research budget at £4.6 billion, and to increase capital investment by £500 million.

“We have taken on the principle of the Technology Innovations Centres to ensure that we smooth the path from original research to commercial success. We call them ‘Catapults’ for the simple reason that they are about propelling ideas into commercial ventures. The first is funded at £140 million over the next six years and focussed on high value manufacturing.”

The stage was then taken by Juergen Maier who forewarned that automation could become UK manufacturing’s Achilles heel, if we don’t take full advantage of the technologies available in the same that other European countries do. “What we are excellent at in this country is process improvement,” he said.

“We do not invest in the best automation and capital equipment, such as robotics, which Mr Prisk mentioned earlier. There are two reasons for this. One is that we do have an issue about getting finance, particularly to SMEs and despite numerous initiatives like Project Merlin or the growth funds.

“The other is that in the UK, we have an engineering culture of sweating our assets. We should be investing about 22 billion Euros into our manufacturing capability in the UK compared to the 57 billion Euros spent in Germany. We are a good 35 percent below that in terms of the amount that we invest in automation.

“We are still at levels of 2009 and nowhere near the pre-recession rates of 18.3 billion. And the forecast is that we are not going to lift out of it this year, whereas you can see Germany reinvesting, so its competitiveness will be better than the UK’s.”

Following the morning presentations, a panel discussion was chaired by Peter Marsh, Manufacturing Editor of The Financial Times. During the panel, Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle Central and Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Digital Infrastructure, queried the role of enhanced capital allowances (ECAs) in making automation investment decisions and their importance to productivity gains when making the business case for investment.

The view of the panel was that it tends to be the larger companies that invest in automation and robotics. Peter Marsh asked Mike Berridge, director of business improvement at the AWS Electronics Group whether his SME would have invested more than it does at present if it had access to ECAs. Berridge replied, “We probably would.”

Chris Buxton, chief executive of the British Automation & Robotics Association (BARA), said, “Customers are always looking for product repeatability. Automation and robotics leads to better manufacturing flexibility, and not only do you get improved consistency of quality but also an increased level of quality, because the performance of the machinery employed is repeatable.

“The benefits include reduced cost, particularly in terms of labour cost. Consistency of quality leads to better competitiveness, which in turn leads to better profitability, growth and more jobs. Successful companies employ people – those going out of business make people redundant. A study by BARA shows two to three million jobs created in manufacturing, as well as indirect jobs downstream.  The estimate is that between now and 2016 we will create another million jobs.”

The fact that the impact of automation on jobs in the UK formed a big part of the conference was no surprise. From Mr Prisk’s mention of Nissan’s investment in the keynote speech, to BARA’s discussion about the impact of robotics on job creation, the tone was clear. What is interesting is that there were so few dissenting voices in the crowd, from end users to MPs and manufacturers to trade bodies the view was clear; the UK’s Achilles heel can also be its jobs lifeline, provided we invest in and manage the process intelligently.

We must rebalance the UK economy whatever the economic conditions

Siemens is proud to be a key sponsor of Automated Britain, which is being held at The Commonwealth Club in London on Tuesday March 6, 2012. Here Juergen Maier, Managing Director of Siemens UK Industry Sector, explains why the UK has no choice but to move forward in order for the economy to recover.

Somebody asked me if it was possible to talk of rebalancing the UK economy in the face of an economic storm and whether the Government policies in place were sufficient to allow this to happen. I replied that the current economic conditions make it doubly important that we should aim to redress the balance towards manufacturing, which at the moment only stands at 12% of GDP compared with a European average of 25% and a world average of 31%.

As for government action, we have renewed support for apprenticeships and vocational training. For instance, there are a number of University Technical Colleges that are being set up to offer 14-19 year olds the opportunity to take a full time, technically-oriented course of study.

Each one is equipped to the highest standard and sponsored by a university or college. Thirteen new University Technical Colleges are to be opened across England including The Black Country University Technical College, which opened in the West Midlands in partnership with Siemens.

Another key initiative is the High Value Manufacturing Catapult which, in October 2011, brought seven partners together to form the new Catapult centre, bringing together their expertise in different and complementary areas of high value manufacturing.

The new centre provides an integrated capability and embraces all forms of manufacture using metals and composites, in addition to process manufacturing technologies and bio-processing. The High Value Manufacturing Catapult will draw on excellent university research to accelerate the commercialisation of new and emerging manufacturing technologies.

At Siemens we are delighted to be able to support both these initiatives and several others which are engaging with our sector.

The Automated Britain conference has already attracted significant cross-party political support from policy makers in government and industry and politicians from all parties. Mark Prisk MP, Minister for Business and Enterprise, will deliver one of the keynote addresses; 'The view from Government’. He will be joined at the event by Chi Onwurah, Labour MP for Newcastle Central and Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Digital Infrastructure.

Also present will be Iain Wright, MP for Hartlepool and Keith Hodgkinson, Head of electronics, materials, chemicals and product regulation at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), who will chair the last panel session.

Automated Britain is a joint conference between GAMBICA and Intellect to promote automation as a key factor in growing the UK economy. To attend the event, go to www.automatedbritain.co.uk and click book now. GAMBICA and Intellect members and invited guests will pay a special rate of only £245 to attend.

Automated Britain promises lively panel discussions on Britain’s manufacturing renaissance

Does automation really create growth and increase employment? What are the drivers to encourage uptake of investment in automation? These and many more questions will be hotly debated at Automated Britain’s panel discussions, according to Marco Pisano, programme manager of Intellect.

Automated Britain, a joint conference between Intellect and GAMBICA to promote automation as a key factor in growing the UK economy, will take place at the Commonwealth Club in London on March 6 2012.

Peter Marsh, of The Financial Times

The first panel discussion will address the question: Does Automation really create growth and increase employment? Chaired by Peter Marsh, manufacturing editor of The Financial Times, panellists will include Alan Courts, finance director of Rittal UK, John Frieslaar, chief technical officer for Western Europe at Huawei Technologies, Atul Mehta, partner and industrial sector leader at IBM Global Business Services, Mike Berridge, director of business improvement at AWS Electronics Group and Ian Schofield, key account manager at ABB Robotics.

The themes to be discussed will include:
• Does automation drive growth in the whole supply chain (including product, equipment and services) and therefore increase employment?
• Automation may replace repetitive task labour, but does it also grow high value labour in the technical, design and service areas?
• What is the importance of investing in education and training for the right skills for this economic model?

The second panel discussion, entitled what are the drivers to encourage uptake? will address the question of investment in automation. The Chairman will be Keith Hodgkinson, head of electronics, materials, chemicals and product regulation at BIS. He will be joined by Eric Le Corre, managing director of Michelin Tyre, Myles McCarthy, MD Implementation Services at the Carbon Trust, Danny Wootton, global innovation director at Logica and Professor Mike Jackson, director of EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Intelligent Automation at Loughborough University.

The themes the discussion will draw out include:
• To what extent is Government supporting manufacturing in the UK?
• What policy decisions could further improve the confidence to invest more in automation?
• What financial options are there to seek funding for investment? What else could be done?
• How can the manufacturing community spread best practice to encourage general industrial growth?
• What research and innovation activity will support this growth?

There will also be a table-top exhibition during the event and opportunities for networking discussion and debate during the day and at the evening drinks reception.

To attend Automated Britain go to www.automatedbritain.co.uk and click book now. GAMBICA and Intellect members and invited guests will pay a special rate of only £245 to attend.

Automated Britain attracts significant cross-party political support

Policy makers in government and industry and politicians from all parties are supporting the Automated Britain conference reports Steve Brambley, deputy director of GAMBICA.

Automated Britain is attracting significant cross-party political support. A joint initiative between GAMBICA and Intellect to promote automation as a key factor in growing the UK economy, is taking place at the Commonwealth Club in London on March 6 2012.

Mark Prisk

Mark Prisk MP, Minister for Business and Enterprise, will deliver the keynote address 'The view from Government'. Also attending will be Chi Onwurah, Member of Parliament for Newcastle Central and Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Digital Infrastructure.

Julian Huppert

Julian Huppert, Member of Parliament for Cambridge, said this about the event: “Investment in automation is crucial if our manufacturing industry is to retain its place in the competitive global market and grow in the future, bringing desperately needed new jobs.

“These are extremely difficult economic times but by embracing new technology we equip our manufacturing industry with the most up-to-date tools it needs to keep a competitive edge. And of course, this industry’s success is vital for the UK economy as a whole, not only producing the goods we need at home but holding our strong position in the extremely important international export market.

“In addition to the huge economic benefits that automation brings, there are also environmental advantages. Automation consumes less energy, controls pollution and cuts carbon emissions.”

Pauline Latham OBE, Member of Parliament for Mid Derbyshire, adds: “Automation technology has the potential to increase the competitiveness of our manufacturing industries, whilst increasing energy efficiency and reducing emissions. For this technology to be successful in Britain, it is important that there is a continued supply of motivated and well educated young people to continue the trade, and this could be done by graduate and apprenticeship schemes.”

Chi Onwurah (right)

At the event, automation users and manufacturers will team up with politicians and civil servants to demonstrate that the economy can be rebalanced by manufacturing, and that automation plays a major part in that.

The conference will also explore whether there are any perceived obstacles that discourage industry from making more of this type of investment, and will end with a panel discussion ‘Investment in automation; What are the drivers to encourage uptake?’, chaired by Keith Hodgkinson, Head of electronics, Materials, Chemicals and Product Regulation at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

To attend Automated Britain go to Intellect's website and click book now. GAMBICA and Intellect members and invited guests will pay a special rate of only £245 to attend.

Automated Britain - Where manufacturing automation users meet policy makers

Automated Britain, on March 6 2012, will provide a unique opportunity for automation users to interface with policy makers in government and industry. Here, Marco Pisano, programme manager of Intellect, argues that the Automated Britain conference, which will take place at the Commonwealth Club in London, is one of a number of factors that could herald a renaissance in UK manufacturing.

Marco Pisano

Automated systems and processes are an essential part of attracting direct investments and represent a key component for growth to rebalance the British economy. A combination of world-class R&D from the corporate and academic sectors and early adoption of automated technologies by UK manufacturers can accelerate economic recovery in Britain.

Participants at the Automated Britain conference will learn about the government's manufacturing growth strategy and get an insight into automation strategies and market trends. Steve Brambley, deputy director of GAMBICA says: “Automation users and manufacturers will demonstrate that the economy can be rebalanced by manufacturing, and automation plays a major part in that.

“The government aims to rebalance the economy away from reliance on services and towards industry, which at the moment only stands at 22% of GDP. This contrasts with a European average of 25% and a world average of 31%. The part that the financial sector played in the economic downturn has given Government a desire to be less reliant on services. What we want to show is that automation is a key player in making this rebalancing happen and to make UK business competitive in a global market.”

Automated Britain is a joint initiative between GAMBICA and Intellect and will alert the manufacturing industry, Government and the media to the economic benefits that automation offers. It will also spread best practice by having senior executives from the automation and manufacturing industries jointly present case studies on successful uses of automation to improve competitiveness.

The conference will also explore whether there are any perceived obstacles that discourage industry from making more of this type of investment. Case studies will be presented by manufacturing companies such as Rolls Royce, Kraft Foods, National Grid and Ricoh in tandem with their automation partners ABB, Emerson, Honeywell, Rockwell, PCME and Siemens.

Steve Brambley argues that there are examples where global companies have decided to invest in the UK, and adds: “The conference will positively demonstrate what is happening right now, and what is possible if we join up policy decisions with industry best practice.”

To attend Automated Britain go to www.automatedbritain.co.uk and click book now. GAMBICA and Intellect members and invited guests will pay a special rate of only £245 to attend.

The Henry Ford parable – a lesson for the manufacturing sector

The American industrialist Henry Ford once said that, “If you need a machine and don't buy it, then you will ultimately find that you have paid for it, but don't have it”. I believe that a century later, his assertion is more pertinent than ever for UK manufacturing.

In the context of the economic downturn and subsequent cuts it seems that manufacturers are reluctant to invest in improving their machinery. However, as time passes, inefficient industrial machines consume more and more costly energy and begin eating away at budgets. A solution for this problem is the installation of a variable speed drive (VSD).

VSDs can reduce the energy bill on many applications or motor driven systems by more than their own capital cost in a relatively short period, often less than a year. As energy prices continue to soar, the return on investment on a VSD application increases in proportion to the bill.

Henry Ford’s assertion should serve as a guiding rule for organisations in the manufacturing sector looking to send real savings straight to the bottom line. Failing to buy energy saving equipment, such as VSDs, as part of a system that incorporates an electric motor will cost money in the long term. And it will cost far more money than simply paying for the VSD in the first instance.

Mark Prisk set to launch Automated Britain

GAMBICA and Intellect will be holding a joint event on March 6 2012 at The Commonwealth Club in London to promote the concept of automation and its benefits to industry. Called Automated Britain – The Renaissance of UK Manufacturing the event will also explore whether there are any perceived obstacles that discourage industry from making more investments of this type. Keynote speakers will include Mark Prisk MP, the Minister of State for Business and Enterprise and Juergen Maier, managing director of Siemens UK Industry. 

The purpose of the Automated Britain conference is to alert industry, Government and the media to the opportunities that automation offers. It will spread best practice by having senior executives from the automation and manufacturing industries jointly present case studies on successful uses of automation.

Automated Britain is aimed at industry leaders in the UK manufacturing chain, including senior strategists and decision makers, investors, business consultants and Government officials. Case studies will be presented by major automation companies such as ABB, Emerson, Honeywell, Rockwell and Siemens in tandem with the manufactures that use their technology.

“In the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Review at the end of 2010, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills recognised the importance of automation as a key technology in enabling globally competitive manufacturing operations to invest and grow in the UK,” explained Steve Brambley, deputy director of GAMBICA.

Marco Pisano, programme manager of Intellect added: “Smart automated systems and processes are not only essential in attracting foreign direct investments, but represent a key component to grow and rebalance the British economy. A combination of world-class R&D, both corporate and academic, and early adoption of automated technologies by UK-based modern manufacturers can accelerate economic recovery and unleash the potential for long-term prosperity in Britain.”

Automation has a similarly important role to play in improving energy efficiency and can make a significant contribution to the carbon reduction agenda.  Most of the highest profile energy efficient technologies of the last few years, such as lean burn car engines and domestic boilers, have been largely the result of the incorporation of modern automation, sensing and control technology into the equipment.

Scaled up into major manufacturing industries, these techniques can cut energy consumption, reduce costs and improve efficiency.

This is particularly relevant given that Europe’s major polluting industries are about to face a raft of new EC directives, based on the polluter-pays principle.

Furthermore, automation technology continues to be a strength of the United Kingdom and a manufacturing industry in its own right. It contributes over £5bn per year to the UK economy and directly employs around 100,000 people.

The renaissance of UK manufacturing

GAMBICA and Intellect will be holding a joint event in February 2012 in London to promote the concept of automation and its benefits in the manufacturing chain. Called Automated Britain – The Renaissance of UK Manufacturing the event will also explore whether there are any perceived obstacles that discourage industry from making more investments of this type.

Automated Britain is aimed at industry leaders in the UK manufacturing chain, including senior strategists and decision makers, investors, business consultants and Government officials.

GAMBICA believes that the key benefits of automation technology are enhanced competiveness for UK industry, improved energy efficiency and pollution control.

The purpose of the Automated Britain conference is to alert the manufacturing industry, Government and the media to the opportunities that automation offers. It will spread best practice by having senior executives from the automation and manufacturing industries jointly present case studies on successful uses of automation.

The companies presenting at the event will be drawn from GAMBICA’s membership, which comprises the majority of the major players in the automation sector. Each vendor will present in partnership with an end user and will focus on the business benefits delivered by the equipment.

“In the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Review at the end of 2010, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills recognised the importance of automation as a key technology in enabling globally competitive manufacturing operations to invest and grow in the UK,” explained Steve Brambley, deputy director of GAMBICA.

“Smart automated systems and processes are not only essential in attracting foreign direct investments, but represent a key component to grow and rebalance the British economy. A combination of world-class R&D, both corporate and academic, and early adoption of automated technologies by UK-based modern manufacturers can accelerate economic recovery and unleash the potential to give Britain’s long-term prosperity.”

Automation has a similarly important role to play in improving energy efficiency and can make a significant contribution to the carbon reduction agenda. Most of the highest profile energy efficient technologies of the last few years, such as lean burn car engines and domestic boilers, have been largely the result of the incorporation of modern automation and sensing and control technology into the equipment.

Scaled up into major manufacturing industries, these techniques can cut energy consumption, reduce costs and improve efficiency.

This is particularly relevant given that Europe’s major polluting industries are about to face a raft of new EC directives, based on the polluter-pays principle.

Furthermore, automation technology continues to be a strength of the United Kingdom and a manufacturing industry in its own right. It contributes over £5bn per year to the UK economy and directly employing around 100,000 people.

GAMBICA launches VSD energy savings calculator

~ Easy to use calculator predicts return on investment ~

The VSD savings calculator

GAMBICA has launched a simple calculator that estimates the energy savings that installing a variable speed drive (VSD) on a relevant application can achieve. GAMBICA, the national organisation that represents the interests of the instrumentation, control, automation and laboratory technology industries in the UK, launched the product on behalf of the members of its variable speed drives group.

The free calculator allows potential buyers to make an informed decision before purchasing a VSD for their application. It comes in the form of an easy to use Microsoft Excel file and is available to download from GAMBICA’s website.

The new VSD energy saving calculator is intended as a first-pass indication tool to help decide if a VSD will bring energy savings to the application. The calculator can also help estimate what payback period can be expected, making it clearer that a VSD represents a guaranteed investment that will reduce energy bills by more than its cost.

Electric motors consume significant amounts of electricity; estimated to be about two-thirds of all industrial energy use. Even a simple electric motor, costing a few hundred pounds, can be expected to consume many tens of thousands of pounds worth of electricity over its useful lifetime. Variable Speed Drives can help to make significant energy savings by controlling the motor speed, particularly in pump and fan applications.

“Energy saving is currently a high priority on the British and EU agendas and VSDs are gradually being recognised as one of the most important tools for cutting energy costs,” explained Steve Brambley, deputy director of GAMBICA. “We hope this new tool will encourage non technical people, particularly in purchasing departments, to embrace the technology,” concluded Brambley.

The energy saving calculator can be downloaded for free from the GAMBICA website at http://www.gambica.org.uk/vsdcalculator.

GAMBICA calls for greater VSD awareness in purchasing following IEA white paper

Steve Brambley of GAMBICA

~ UK automation trade body GAMBICA supports International Energy Agency findings ~ 

GAMBICA has responded to the International Energy Agency’s white paper ‘Energy-efficiency policy opportunities for electric motor-driven systems’ by calling for purchasing teams to take action to implement the IEA’s findings. The trade body also believes that machine builders and systems integrators can help reduce the energy demands of electrical motors by moving towards a standardised process for describing energy efficiency in quotations.

The IEA’s document argues that energy usage on electric motor applications is going to double by 2030, as a result of the anticipated need for more installations across the globe. However, the IEA also suggests that current energy usage could be cut by ten per cent despite this increase, if all appropriate efficiency measures were put in place to control the new motors. The paper provides a strong and global validation of GAMBICA’s previous position on energy efficiency policies in the UK.

The IEA paper shows the actions and deadlines by which the organization hopes to achieve its aims, in the form of a workplan, entitled “Torquing the Talk”. The top priority in the workplan is convening a technical working group by the end of 2011 to maximise the saving potential of variable speed drives, fans, pumps and induction motors. As GAMBICA has pointed out many times before, VSDs should be central to many company’s environmental and energy efficiency plans.

GAMBICA believes that that the actions of systems integrators and machine builders, the people who are often responsible for building variable speed drives into engineering applications, are crucial in implementing the IEA’s workplan.

“By including the lifetime energy cost of the application in their quote to the customer, these groups can both mark themselves out in comparison to their competitors and provide a better, more cost effective service to the end user,” explained Steve Brambley, head of GAMBICA’s Industrial Automation sector. “Ultimately I would like to see a consistent standard applied to all industrial systems that would clearly delineate their energy efficiency.

Something similar to the miles-per-gallon ratings used for vehicles would give a clear comparison and be easily understood by non technical people.

“GAMBICA has long held that engineers in the UK are aware of the benefits of using variable speed drives in industrial applications,” continued Brambley.

“However, we believe that more should be done to prompt purchasing teams to base decisions on lifetime energy costs as well as capital expenditure. This brilliant IEA document should be essential reading for anyone concerned with the level of energy use in their business.”