MEATing POINT Magazine: #08/ 2016

ENERGY EFFICIENCY
“History repeats itself,
as no one was listening the
first time around” Anon
by Steve Osborn and Naomi Diaz - Osborn
The UKs Productivity has also been
seen to decrease against industrial
nations and it is now more than 30%
lower GDP per hour than countries such
as US, France and Germany. This has
resulted in a return to recession for the
UK for the 3rd time in 8 years, according
to the Office of National statistics. With
such a proud manufacturing heritage this
has got to be cause for concern. And with
the Steel industry currently suffering as a
result of changing economic landscape,
it is time for other industries – especially
food and drink manufacturing to sit up and
take note. The significance of this should
not be underestimated since the food
and beverage sector contributes almost
£100 billion p.a. to the UK economy and
employs 3.3 million people, making it the
largest manufacturing sector in the UK, in
fact the UK food and drink manufacturing
sector is larger than the automotive and
aerospace sectors combined.
It does not bare thinking about that food
and drink manufacture could suffer in
the same way that the steel industry has.
It is often said though, that “history
repeats itself, as no-one was listening
the first time”
Why is this happening?
The adoption of robotics across the industrial
nations is a key factor in the decrease in
productivity and needs to be addressed
by UK Plc.
In 2014, global robot sales increased
by 29% to 229,261 units, not
surprisingly highest number in a
single year to dates. Equally not
surprising, the main growth has
been seen in the automotive parts
suppliers and electrical/electronics
industry.
And this is where comparisons to
the steel industry comes into focus.
China has considerably holds a
leading position in adoption of
robotics with a share of 25% of the
total supply in 2014. Taking another
look at the productivity data shows
that countries that are leading the
way in terms of productivity such
as Germany, France and US show
a strong correlation to the number
of robotic installations, with the US
and Germany featuring in the 5
countries accounting for 70% of
all robot sales along with China,
Japan and Korea. During this
period, France have increased
their investment in Robotics, whilst
the UK’s commitment has been
in decline. And whilst it might be said
that Japan comparative productivity is
lower than UK, this is quite apparently
being tackled through manufacturing
innovation and commitment to industry
4.0. The forecast for robotic installations
sees China looking to around 150,000 in
2018, double the 2014 levels, compared to
the UK whose forecast is fairly flat during
the same period. The other industrial
nations showing steady growth during
the same period. Looking at the bigger
regional picture, Europe and the Americas
are only forecasting single digit growth in
robotic installations, compared to steady
double digit growth for the forthcoming
years in Asia.
Palletizing robots have started to become
a familiar sight, but more needs to be done
44 www.meatingpoint-mag.com | 2016