New research from
BEP Surface Technologies shows the UK’s electroplating and surface finishing sector is shrinking at an alarming rate, with one in six firms disappearing over the past decade and most of the remaining businesses showing no real-term financial growth. The findings point to a sector approaching irreversible decline, which will negatively impact defence, nuclear, aerospace and power generation supply chains.
Analysis of Companies House balance sheets reveals that of the 80 independent electroplating firms operating in 2015, only 67 remain, and at least a further seven are already insolvent or being wound up. Across the group, combined net worth has barely increased in 10 years, despite inflation rising by more than 40%. Most financial strength is concentrated in the top 10 companies, while the majority are barely breaking even. Andrew McClusky, managing director of BEP Surface Technologies, said the decline cannot be ignored: “This industry has been slowly and quietly shrinking. Not failing in the headlines, but gradually thinning out each year, one plant at a time. Once the capability falls below critical mass, it will not return, and we are already close to that point.”
BEP’s own balance sheet places it firmly in the top tier of the sector, with net assets exceeding £3 million and a long history of supporting nuclear, defence, rotating equipment and wider industrial clients. However, broader data shows an industry where many competitors struggle to stay viable, even after this year’s Chrome 6 authorisation under
UK REACH helped stabilise the market. Several firms have already removed plating tanks, exited chrome processes entirely, or closed following fires, restructurings or prolonged losses. Others now operate with negative equity, sustained by group support or asset revaluations rather than sustainable profitability.
Surface finishing is a crucial, though often unseen, factor in maintaining UK industrial resilience. It guarantees the durability and performance of turbine shafts, propulsion systems, landing gear, reactor components and precision parts. When that capability is lost locally, it results in longer downtimes, increased lifetime costs and less control over vital supply chains. Mr McClusky explained: “If a power station is waiting for a refurbished turbine shaft, or if a naval gearbox needs to be back in service, you cannot wait three months for an international sub-contract queue. Capability is either here when you need it, or it is not. That is how serious this is.”
The UK’s decision earlier this year to permit continued, tightly regulated use of Chrome 6 under UK REACH restored some stability to the sector, preventing a regulatory cliff-edge that could have quickly moved essential processes abroad. The ruling allows companies to keep using Chrome 6 for specified applications under strict exposure limits, health monitoring and environmental protections.
“But while that decision stopped an immediate collapse, it did not resolve the deeper structural problems. Mr McClusky says “Authorisation stopped the immediate fall, but it didn’t rebuild the ground beneath us. The sector is still under strain, and without coordinated action, we will lose capability that the UK cannot replace.”
Skills shortages remain at the core of the issue. Over decades, the sector has lost two generations of practical technical expertise. Many experienced platers, process engineers and quality technicians are approaching retirement, while technical colleges have reduced manual engineering and workshop-based learning. Apprenticeship programmes are inconsistent and rarely aligned with the needs of operating facilities.
Mr McClusky said: “You can’t learn surface engineering from a PowerPoint presentation or just from the recently announced V-Level qualifications. hey have their place, but they are not a substitute for real benches, real plants and real operators. Surface finishing is a hands-on discipline built on judgement, repetition and lived experience, none of which you get in a classroom-only model. Unless the UK rebuilds proper workshop-based training, with young people learning alongside skilled operators who have spent decades on the shopfloor, we will lose this knowledge faster than we can replace it.”
Despite these pressures, Mr McClusky emphasises that SMEs in the sector can modernise when conditions are favourable. BEP’s own experience with the Made Smarter North West adoption programme illustrates this, with upgrades to CNC control systems, digital monitoring for process chemistry and enhanced traceability for critical applications.
He added: “Give SMEs clear rules and a nudge on tech, and they move. We have seen it first-hand. The wins include better yields, fewer reworks and faster audits. That is how you keep capability here and make it cleaner and more competitive.”
Profitability remains another challenge. Many surviving firms operate with margins too narrow to afford new equipment, training or compliance. Buyers’ expectations of annual savings have driven prices down to a level that now diminishes capability rather than enhances it. In several regions, companies are already the last providers of their specific process, with no alternative capacity behind them. If the UK wants this capability to stay onshore, the commercial model must reflect the true cost of delivering it.
To prevent further irreversible decline, BEP is calling for a national surface-finishing capability task force involving plating specialists, defence and energy OEMs, technical colleges, regulators and standards bodies. The task force should map UK capability, restore practical training routes, tailor compliance requirements for SMEs and ensure any substitution decisions are supported by proven performance data rather than assumptions.
Mr McClusky concluded: “The sector now needs realignment, with a clear understanding of where capability remains strong, where it is strained and where intervention can prevent irreversible damage. Training should revert to practical workshops, compliance support ought to be tailored for SMEs, and substitution must be based on proven performance rather than assumptions. We have a narrow window to safeguard and rebuild this industry. If we don’t act now, we won’t get a second chance.”