OCTOBER 2020 ROUND-UP
Did you hear... The best soundbites from around the industry
“We made this decision given that ... the investment environment has
become increasingly severe due to the impact of COVID-19.”
Hitachi has cancelled plans to build a new nuclear power station in Angelsey – a project
that would have created thousands of jobs and boosted the UK’s Net Zero ambitions.
“All of us in this country need you to have those practical skills. We need those
practical skills collectively – as a society and as an economy – more than ever.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson lays out his plans for a Lifetime Skills Guarantee, to help
people without A-Levels gain qualifications in sectors including engineering.
Princess Royal
visits Arco NDC
Arco has welcomed
HRH The Princess
Royal to its brand new
National Distribution
Centre (NDC) extension
in Hull, marking Phase 3
of the site’s expansion.
The Princess Royal
was given a tour of
Arco’s state of the art
facility and its industryleading
Quality Lab,
before commemorating
the occasion by
unveiling a plaque.
The Princess Royal
also performed the
official opening
ceremony for Arco’s
original NDC in 2003.
With an area of
almost 20,500m2 and
standing at 22 metres
high, the Phase 3
development doubles
the warehouse’s floor
space and trebles its
storage capacity.
“Phase 3 re-affirms
our continued
commitment to our
customers, those who
work with Arco and the
city of Hull,” said the
company’s chairman,
Thomas Martin. “Our
efforts in expanding the
business’s logistical
capabilities will allow us
to fulfil our ambitious
future growth plans.”
Pic of the month Loop Industries
The UK is a potential home for what would be Europe’s largest plastic recycling centre, under
plans announced by plastics innovator, Loop Industries, and SUEZ, a leader in environmental
services. The so-called Infinite Loop facility will harness Loop’s unique breakthrough
technology for the production of virgin quality, food grade, 100% recycled and infinitely
recyclable plastic. Loop’s patented and proprietary low-energy technology enables waste
plastic to be recycled an infinite number of times, with no degradation in quality. The new
centre will have the potential to produce the equivalent of approximately 4.2 billion food
grade beverage bottles made of 100% recycled and infinitely recyclable PET plastic annually.
By leveraging Loop’s innovative technology, the facility will be able to claim savings of 180,000
tons of CO2 annually, compared with virgin PET production from a traditional petrochemical
process – equivalent to approximately 418,000 barrels of oil.
Industry begins to recover, Make UK finds
Britain’s manufacturers
have begun the long road to
recovery after improvements
in output and orders from the
historic lows of the last quarter,
according to a survey published
by Make UK and business
advisory firm BDO. However,
there is still a long way to go to
reach the highs seen earlier in
the year.
The Manufacturing Outlook
Q3 survey found that the
balances on output improved
to -36% from a record low of
-56% in the last quarter. UK and
export orders also improved
from similarly historic lows to
-36% and -34% respectively.
More encouragingly,
companies expect the prospects
for industry to continue moving
in an upward direction with
the balance forecast for output
for the next three months
improving to -7%. Whilst still
negative this would represent a
significant improvement.
Despite the improvements
in output and orders, the
major negative in the survey
was the balance on investment
intentions falling to -32%
from -26% in Q2. Whilst
not reaching the levels
of cutbacks seen during
the financial crisis as yet,
the trend downwards is
following a similar pattern
to that seen at the time.
By way of an indicator as
to how far investment has
been cut back this year, the
balance in the first quarter
was +20% as industry bathed
in what seemed greater
political certainty following
the general election.
www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk 7
Arco
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk