What the Government must do to drive manufacturing growth in UK PLC

Gail has been writing about manufacturing technologies across several trade publications for over 30 years. She has worked as a business-to-business journalist with such titles as Food Manufacture, Fine Food Digest, Artisan magazine, The Grocer, British Baker, Builders Merchants Journal and DIY Week. While editor of Packaging News she won several awards and for the last 13 years she has been editor of Machinery Update, the machinery-only journal published by Automate UK. She stepped down from the magazine at the end of 2023 to work on projects for Automate UK including this new UK Automation Forum.

In his role as CEO of leading trade body Automate UK, Peter is looking to use his 25 years of experience in robotics and automation to support end users in adopting the latest in automation technology and to help raise awareness of the benefits that automation can bring to UK manufacturing. His experience comes from RARUK Automation, a company he formed in 2016 that is now a world leading supplier of collaborative robots (or cobots), and for which he is also now a non-executive director.

James has accumulated over 25 years of manufacturing experience, including 13 years as Managing Director of a specialist high precision, internationally trading, supplier of turnkey instrument sub-systems and prior to joining the MTA, he was Production and HR Director at a major manufacturer of mechanical seals and support systems. James brings knowledge about global manufacturing, a strong interest in supply chains together with logistics, and is an expert on global advanced manufacturing. He regularly participates in policy formation in the UK, Europe and further afield.

As the Sector Head for Industrial Automation and Test and Measurement at GAMBICA, the Trade Association for Instrumentation, Control, Automation and Laboratory Technology in the UK, Nikesh is responsible for representing the sector covering product groups for variable speed drives, controlgear, soft starts, PLCs, terminals, enclosures, uninterruptible power supplies, position sensors and machine safety components. He has developed a wider understanding of both the technical and commercial areas of the manufacturing industry, through both his work for GAMBICA and his previous work as a Technical Sales engineer and Account Manager within industry. He has recently been working on encouraging and promoting digitalisation within industry alongside having a vested interest in sustainability. He is also a STEM ambassador hoping to encourage the younger generations to get involved in STEM subjects.

Faye is Head of Policy at Make UK, representing 20,000 manufacturers across the UK. She leads Make UK’s policy and advocacy work, spanning labour market and skills, digitalisation and innovation, net zero, energy efficiency and devolution. her core focus is to champion manufacturers and influence Government to back manufacturing. Prior to joining Make UK, Faye worked at the Department for Education and the Department for Business and Trade, working and leading on a variety of different Government policies.