A strengthening order book across British manufacturing is creating a new question for industry: how quickly can factories build the capacity needed to turn improving demand into sustained growth? The latest S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI provides growing evidence of that opportunity. Manufacturing production increased for the fourth consecutive month in July, accelerating to its fastest rate in almost two years, while total new orders rose for an eighth successive month.
Export demand is also strengthening. New export orders increased for a seventh consecutive month, with manufacturers reporting new business from North America, the European Union, mainland China, India and South Korea. For Brierley Hill-based Banelec, the figures represent more than an encouraging economic indicator. They point towards a period in which manufacturers will increasingly need to examine the productive capacity of their factories.
Dean Banner, Managing Director of the electrical control systems and automation specialist, believes automation and electrical control engineering will have an increasingly important role to play as manufacturers respond to growing order books.
“When orders start increasing, manufacturers very quickly begin looking at capacity,” said Banner. “The opportunity is there, so the focus becomes how you produce more, how you make the best use of your existing equipment and people, and how you create the flexibility to take on additional work.
“That is where automation and good control engineering can make a significant difference.”
The latest figures arrive after an extended period of adjustment in international manufacturing and trade. US tariff changes during 2025 reshaped trading conditions and prompted manufacturers and supply chains to adapt sourcing, pricing and export strategies. The July PMI suggests some of that disruption is now easing, with respondents reporting improving market conditions alongside stronger domestic and international demand.
S&P Global recorded new export business from a broad range of major markets, including North America, Europe and Asia. Supplier performance also improved during July, while the rate of input cost inflation eased sharply to a five-month low. The headline PMI remained above the 50-point threshold associated with expansion for a ninth consecutive month, at 51.9 in July. Behind that headline figure, production growth accelerated to a near two-year high.
Banner believes the changing picture demonstrates the adaptability of British manufacturers and creates an opportunity to look ahead at the capabilities required for the next stage of growth.
“Manufacturers have spent a great deal of time adapting to changes in global trade, supply chains and costs,” he said. “What is particularly encouraging now is seeing new business coming through from both domestic and export customers.
“For manufacturers, that creates a reason to think about the next stage. If your order book continues to grow, do you have the production capacity and control infrastructure in place to capitalise on it?”
That question sits at the centre of Banelec’s work. The Brierley Hill engineering company designs, manufactures and integrates bespoke electrical control and automation systems for industrial customers, helping businesses improve the way machinery, production processes and wider factory systems operate.
For manufacturers experiencing increasing demand, automation can provide a route to higher throughput while allowing skilled employees to concentrate on activities where their knowledge and experience create the greatest value.
Rather than approaching growth solely through additional machinery or factory space, manufacturers can examine how existing equipment is controlled, connected and integrated. Production bottlenecks can be addressed, processes coordinated more effectively and previously separate pieces of equipment brought together as part of a more responsive manufacturing system.
Banner said: “Capacity does not always mean adding another machine or extending a factory. Sometimes there is significant potential within the equipment and processes a manufacturer already has.
“The right automation and control solution can help a business increase throughput, improve repeatability, connect processes and get more from existing assets. That can create the headroom required to take on more work.”
The importance of capacity is becoming increasingly visible within the PMI data. Alongside rising production and new orders, outstanding workloads at UK manufacturers increased in July for the first time since April 2022. S&P Global suggested that growing backlogs could ultimately support further employment as companies respond to higher workloads.
For Banner, this is precisely the point at which investment in automation can support wider business growth.
“Winning the order is the first part of the story,” he said. “The next challenge is delivering it efficiently, consistently and at the quality the customer expects.
“When a business starts building a backlog, it becomes important to understand where additional capacity can come from. Automation gives manufacturers another lever they can pull alongside recruitment, new machinery and investment in skills.”
It is a message that complements recent research highlighted by Banelec into the relationship between automation and employment. Analysis of almost 27,000 UK manufacturing sites between 2005 and 2023 found that manufacturers adopting technologies such as CNC machinery and industrial robots subsequently experienced employment growth.
The findings support a broader view of automation as an enabler of business expansion: increasing productive capability can help companies pursue additional orders, which in turn supports demand for skilled people across programming, engineering, maintenance, quality and production.
As manufacturing systems become more sophisticated, the electrical controls sitting behind production equipment are also taking on greater strategic importance. Modern control systems can connect machinery and processes across the factory, giving operators greater visibility over production and allowing equipment to respond more intelligently to changing requirements.
For manufacturers considering how to increase output, that creates opportunities extending from individual machine automation through to integrated production lines and factory-wide systems.
Banelec’s experience spans bespoke control panels, PLC systems, automation integration and complex engineering projects across manufacturing and highly controlled industries including power generation, nuclear and defence. Banner believes this systems-level approach will become increasingly valuable if the current improvement in manufacturing demand continues.
“Automation works best when you look at the complete process,” he said. “It is about understanding where production can flow better, where information can be used more effectively and where controls can help operators achieve more.
“The objective is to give the manufacturer a system that supports the business they want to become, rather than simply the production requirement they have today.”
The latest PMI figures provide an encouraging backdrop for that investment. UK manufacturing has now recorded nine consecutive months of improving operating conditions, while July brought faster growth in production, new orders and export business.
After a period in which global tariff changes and supply chain disruption required manufacturers to continually adapt, stronger order books are shifting attention towards how businesses can capture the opportunities emerging in domestic and international markets.
For Banelec, automation and electrical control engineering have an important role in making that transition possible. Banner concluded: “There is a real opportunity here for British manufacturing. Orders are increasing and UK companies are continuing to win business internationally.
“The manufacturers that can respond with the right capacity, productivity and flexibility will be well placed to build on that momentum. Automation and electrical control engineering can provide the infrastructure behind that growth, helping businesses turn a stronger order book into greater output and, ultimately, a stronger manufacturing operation.”