Ready for the second revolution

Manufacturing is and will remain a major contributor to economic activity and employment in most parts of the UK and drives innovation by introducing new products and processes.

It is critical to the nation's economic prosperity, a fact that the

(RDAs) are highly conscious of.

Manufacturing now accounts for 16 per cent of the UK's gross domestic product (GDP), is responsible for more than half of UK exports and undertakes 75 per cent of all business research and development.

It involves significant contributions from activities counted in the services sector, including R&D, engineering, finance, advertising, maintenance, logistics, and other business-oriented functions. Effectively it is feeding many of the thriving service industries in the UK economy.

In the West Midlands, manufacturing has probably more of a legacy than anywhere in the UK, if not the world. The area has long been known as the heart of UK manufacturing. The region was the birthplace of the industrial revolution and spawned a generation of innovations that changed the world for ever, including the microwave, LCD and laser technology, fuel cell technology as well as important life-saving medical developments.