August 2012
Featured in this insight: Business & enterprise, Manufacturing, engineering & industrial
Market research shows growth still possible for manufacturing SMEs in England: The latest National Barometer carried out by the Manufacturing Advisory Service suggests that growth is still possible for manufacturing SMEs in England.
More than half (53%) of respondents to the survey have seen orders grow in the last six months, and the same number anticipate an upturn between now and January 2013. A third of the companies questioned are looking to create new jobs, whilst over half (55%) are expecting to maintain their workforce at its current size. Almost three quarters (71%) are looking to boost their turnover through exports in the next eighteen months.
However, there has been a reduction in the number of respondents seeing an increase in enquiries – from 49% in the last barometer to 40% in this. In addition, the number of considering purchasing new machinery or investing in new premises in the next six months has fallen from 44% to 38%.
Despite this, Business Minister, Mark Prisk, commented:"This latest MAS Barometer shows that many small manufacturing firms across the UK are growing and expect to continue to grow despite the challenging wider economic environment.”
View more of our sector specific insights: Business & enterprise, Manufacturing, engineering & industrial
