Keywords
Citation
(2003), "Investment in robots plummets in UK", Industrial Robot, Vol. 30 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2003.04930aab.002
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2003, MCB UP Limited
Investment in robots plummets in UK
Investment in robots plummets in UK
Keywords: Robots, UK statistics
UK manufacturing has all but stopped investing in robots. Robot sales to UK manufacturers in the latest quarter have roughly halved to 110 from 199 in the previous quarter (see Figure 1). This is in sharp contrast to what is happening in the continent where sales are booming. The British Automation and Robot Association at the University of Warwick (who collect these statistics) believe that this is due to a number of factors.
Figure 1
Robot sales to UK manufacturers
Firstly UK manufacturing takes a much shorter-term view of investment than many of its continental rivals. This is partly due to the requirement to keep shareholders happy. German industry, for example, has many large family owned businesses that take a longer-term view, whilst UK companies are forced to provide returns year in and year out. Large-scale investment generally has a negative short-term impact but repays many times over the long term.
When share prices are falling, companies tend to lose their nerve over large capital expenditure projects and this certainly seems to be the situation at the moment. Many automation companies have stated that customers are holding back on placing large orders.
In Italy where investment in automation has been very strong, much of it can be attributed to tax incentives designed to increase the uptake of high technology in manufacturing. Perhaps the UK government should consider a similar tax incentives.
Dr Ken Young a researcher at the University of Warwick and head of BARA said: “It certainly seems ironic that while a record number of people are getting involved building robots in their spare time, fewer people seem to be using them in their businesses. Perhaps if less were spent on company cars that depreciate rapidly and more on robots, which earn money, we could return our industry to world class performance. With robots now costing about the same as a good sales rep’s car it would be interesting to see the financial justification offered for the purchase of the car instead of the robot.”
For further details, please contact: Dr Ken Young, BARA c/o University of Warwick; Tel: 024 7657 3742 / 024 76 523716; Mobile: 0777 5534345; E-mail: bara@bara.org.uk; Web site: www.bara.org.uk