Last week’s poll: slow adoption of industrial robots in the UK

News

The UK government is keen to see a rise in productivity, yet the nation falls short when it comes to installations of industrial robots.

industrial robots

According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), Britain’s installed base of industrial robots dropped by three per cent in 2018 following a year of growth that saw sales rise by 31 per cent.

Europe leads the world in relation to the number of robots installed, with 106 industrial robots per 10,000 employees employed in the manufacturing industry, but the UK continues to fall short of its European counterparts.

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Further reading

SME manufacturers look to people power and existing machinery to boost productivity

Digital manufacturing: what, where, how and why?

Interview: Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO of ABB

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Why is this? According to Mike Wilson, chairman of the British Automation and Robot Association (BARA), the UK has attracted workers from other countries, removing the need to invest in capital equipment. However, with Brexit looming, businesses will either have to rethink how they use their human resources, or start investing in robot automation.

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