Innovation is becoming increasingly necessary for the success of UK manufacturers, it has been claimed.
In a speech made today by John Redwood MP, Conservative economic competitiveness policy group chairman, it was argued that manufacturers would need to respond to a world that is becoming increasingly customer focused.
At a seminar supported by the London Manufacturing Advisory Service, Redwood, who is a also a visiting professor at the Middlesex University Business School, said that innovation in processes, materials and products was necessary to meet these demands.
“Today, manufacturing is about making products better, faster and cheaper…satisfying needs that we didn’t even know we had yesterday,” he said.
The event was held at Middlesex University to mark the opening of the new festo mechatronics laboratory, an advanced facility designed to help students prepare for the trading environment of the future.
However, Colin Allaway, principal specialist at London MAS, added that innovative thinking must accompany new technologies to ensure success in the sector.
“New technology can create competitive advantage but increasingly innovation is about creativity in every area of the manufacturing business, from design and manufacturing processes, through to finance and customer service,” he said.
“It is those companies which embrace this concept of innovation that will succeed in the future.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
