Automation is becoming central to investment plans across UK manufacturing, with new research from Barclays showing that 87% of manufacturers are using automated technology to manage disruption and changing demand.
The findings come from the latest Barclays Business Prosperity Index, based on research among 504 manufacturing decision makers during August. It found strong confidence across the sector, with 94% expecting their business to prosper during the coming 12 months.
Investment is following that confidence. Three quarters of manufacturers are planning major investment, sourcing and supply chain decisions further ahead than they were a year ago, while respondents expect spending to increase by an average of 32% over the next 12 months. For West Midlands electrical engineering specialist Banelec, the figures reflect conversations already taking place on factory floors.
“Manufacturers are looking very seriously at what they can automate and where they can get more from the equipment they already have,” said Dean Banner, Managing Director of Banelec.
“The starting point is different for every factory. Some businesses want a complete automated production cell. Others have machinery that can be upgraded with a modern control system, better drives, improved sensing or new software. Our job is to understand the process first and then build the right solution around it.”
Banelec specialises in the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of industrial automation and electrical control systems, working with manufacturers to take projects from the initial engineering discussion through to commissioning on site.
Its experience spans PLC control systems, robotics integration, conveyor automation, variable speed drives, machine control, safety systems, control panels and production line upgrades. That breadth has become increasingly valuable as manufacturers explore automation for the first time.
For many SMEs, the range of technology available can make the investment process a minefield. Questions around machinery integration, PLC architecture, safety, software, electrical design and commissioning all need to be resolved before production begins.
Banner believes good systems integration starts with spending time alongside the customer.
“We hand-hold customers through the whole process,” he said. “You can sit down with us with an idea, a production problem or a process you want to improve. We will work through what is happening on the shopfloor, look at the practical options and develop the system from there.
“That approach is particularly useful for companies making their first move into automation. They have people who know their manufacturing process inside out. We bring the controls and automation expertise and work alongside them.”
Banelec has delivered automated systems across a wide range of industrial environments. One project saw its engineers design, build, programme, install and commission a complete robot and conveyor machining cell for an ejection seat manufacturer, introducing the customer’s first robotic cell after decades of manual production.
Its engineering work has also included a custom control system for British Steel’s £10 million rail stocking facility in Scunthorpe, where 11 hoists operate together to handle 108m lengths of finished rail. Variable speed drives, absolute encoders and PLC control allow the system to monitor the position of each hoist and continually coordinate movement.
At the other end of the engineering spectrum, Banelec developed a double-redundancy fail-safe crane control system for Aibel for use on the Johan Sverdrup offshore platform, drawing on the company’s experience of complex crane controls and hazardous-area applications.
The Barclays research suggests investment will continue moving further into factory operations. Some 22% of manufacturers plan investment in logistics automation during the next three to five years, while 27% are considering AI-driven planning, forecasting and decision-making systems.
For Banner, the value of those technologies will ultimately be measured by what happens in production.
“Automation works best when there is a clear reason for doing it,” he added. “That could be increasing capacity, improving repeatability, making material handling more efficient or giving operators better control over a process.
“We have spent years solving those kinds of engineering problems. When a manufacturer is ready to automate, we can take them through the process and turn the idea into a working system on the factory floor.”
With manufacturers planning further ahead and committing more capital to technology, automation is moving firmly into the mainstream of UK industrial investment. For Banelec, that creates an opportunity to apply decades of electrical control and automation experience to a growing number of factories looking to make that investment work in practice.