The last night of February saw the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) (www.mta.org.uk) hold its Annual Dinner at the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster, London.

The event had particular significance this year, as it marked the 100th anniversary of the Association representing the UK’s suppliers of manufacturing technology; it was attended by over 500 guests from the MTA’s membership and the wider manufacturing community.

Marcus Burton, MTA president and director of Yamazaki Mazak, used his keynote speech to reflect on the history of the association and how manufacturing technology will shape our future.

He said: “The overarching lesson from our history is those that have prospered are those that have understood what is happening around them, embraced the new opportunities and changed their business models.

“With the opportunities of the 4th Industrial Revolution, we can leapfrog the past and invest in the future. Businesses, the public and Government must embrace these new opportunities and ensure that the UK changes its culture to one of long-term investment.”

Mr Burton concluded “Digitalisation is going to dominate the future of our industry; in fact, manufacturing is being recast as a digital industry. We in this room have everything that is needed to move productivity forward.”

The dinner also saw the MTA honour four key figures in the manufacturing technologies sector, by presenting each with an Outstanding Contribution to UK Industry award.

They were: Sir David McMurtry, executive chairman of Renishaw; John Deer, deputy chairman of Renishaw; Keith Ridgway, executive dean of the AMRC Group; and Juergen Maier, chief executive of Siemens UK.

Speaking of the dinner and awards, MTA CEO James Selka said: “It is fantastic to have so many of UK manufacturing’s leading figures in one room to celebrate 100 years of the MTA.

“It is our great honour to be able to present the Outstanding Contribution to UK Industry award to four people who have dedicated their lives to our sector and who are all real champions of UK industry.”

Sir David McMurtry invented the touch-trigger probe in the early 1970s while deputy chief designer at Rolls-Royce.

He co-founded Renishaw in 1973, along with John Deer, who was managing director of Renishaw from 1974 to 1989 and was primarily involved in the commercial direction of the group, with particular emphasis on its global growth.

Keith Ridgway worked in industry before moving into academia in 1980. He joined the University of Sheffield as a lecturer in 1988 and became Professor of Design and Manufacture in 1997.

He helped to set up the AMRC with Boeing in 2001, and he helped to launch the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre in 2009.

Juergen Maier was appointed chief executive of Siemens UK in 2014. He has held senior roles within Siemens in the UK and Germany and has recently led Made Smarter, the independent review of industrial digitalisation that sets out how UK manufacturing can be transformed through the adoption of industrial digital technology (IDT).