EEF survey reveals lack of support

Manufacturers are failing to receive financial support from UK banks, according to the latest survey by the manufacturers’ organisation, EEF.

The group’s second annual ‘Innovation Monitor, Creating the Playing Field’ revealed a lack of understanding from financial institutions about why manufacturers invest in innovations. According to EEF, this has left many of the better-performing companies with difficulties in accessing credit despite their intentions to increase investment in innovation.

Of the 218 manufacturers surveyed, 53.2 per cent said that they had introduced product innovations over the past three years and 59 per cent said they would continue to invest over the next three years.

The survey showed that the biggest challenges manufacturers faced when innovating were speed (21.3 per cent) and technical barriers (22 per cent). However, collaboration with customers and the research base had increased during the recession with 94.4 per cent of respondents collaborating with customers, up from 84.6 per cent in 2008.