Fanuc welcomes the Government’s £4.5 billion funding enabling UK manufacturers to invest for the future and increase their productivity through advanced technologies such as automation and digitalisationFanuc UK, a leading factory automation supplier, has welcomed the recent Government announcement of a £4.5 billion windfall for the UK manufacturing industry. Including £2 billion for the automotive industry, £975 million for aerospace and £960 million for clean energy, the funding will be available to UK manufacturers from 2025, following the next general election.
Tom Bouchier, managing director of Fanuc UK, said: “This package of loans and grants will help to provide the industry with some much-needed long-term certainty. As the eighth largest manufacturing nation in the world — and still the only developed country without a coherent industrial strategy — we punch well above our weight. To keep driving forward and maintain our strong position on the international stage, UK manufacturers need clarity and certainty to enable them to invest for the future and increase their productivity further through advanced technologies such as automation and digitalisation. This funding package will go a long way towards enabling them to do that.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: “Britain is now the eighth largest manufacturer in the world, recently overtaking France. To build on this success, we are targeting funding to support the sectors where the UK is or could be world leading. Our £4.5 billion of funding will leverage many times that from the private sector, and in turn will grow our economy, create more skilled, higher-paid jobs in new industries that will be built to last.”
In addition, the Government has also agreed to expand the
Made Smarter Adoption programme, which aims to accelerate growth among SME manufacturers. In 2025-26, the scheme will be rolled out throughout the whole of England before its UK-wide expansion from 2026-27. The programme helps SMEs to use advanced digital technologies in a bid to drive up productivity and reduce carbon emissions, and also includes digital internships.
Mr Bouchier said: “At our Fanuc Open House event last week (14-16 November), the key themes among speakers and visitors alike were how UK manufacturers can increase their sustainability credentials; helping them prepare for the future of manufacturing with advanced technologies; and encouraging a pipeline of new talent into the industry. The announcement of the Made Smarter expansion plays directly into all these areas. Helping SMEs to compete on the international stage through advanced technologies such as automation and digitalisation — and ensuring we have a workforce with the skills required to capitalise on these — will keep the UK’s manufacturing industry thriving in the years and decades to come.”