Reports from the CBI have revealed that manufacturing orders grew at a rate stronger than has been seen for the last three years in the last quarter of 2013, with 34% of manufacturing companies and organisations reporting an increase in new orders. From September to December in 2013, 0.8% growth in the economy and growth forecasts for the coming year helped consumers and other businesses to have more confidence in the manufacturing industry, placing more orders than any time in the last three years.
The figures are great news for a manufacturing industry which has been down on its luck throughout the recession; businesses will now look to increase the number of jobs available, offer more security to existing staff and expand their operations as much as they can in this boom period.
Phil Chesworth, Managing Director of Midland Pallet Trucks, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of manual handling equipment for the manufacturing industry, says, “The news of the increased orders in the manufacturing sector is fantastic for many businesses across the country. Manufacturing forms the backbone of the country’s economy, and with more orders, more investment can be made on behalf of the businesses. Many organisations are now employing more staff, improving their workforce and splashing out on brand new manual handling equipment such as pallet trucks and lift tables in order to cope with the new demand and higher orders.”
Investment to cope with such an increase in demand is something that businesses will tackle in many different ways. Some will choose to expand a fleet of pallet trucks or other equipment in numbers, buying in more of the same in order to deal with the increased orders on the most basic level. This is often an effective technique; purchasing the most versatile equipment which can deal with the largest selection of orders and loads, and expanding the fleet when it comes to flexibility, is one way to ensure that a higher volume of goods can be passed through at any one time.
Other organisations going down the investment route choose to invest in trucks and other equipment which will expand their capabilities. The possibilities are endless here; if a warehouse receiving manufactured goods knows there are increased orders for the coming months, they may need to make room for more storage space and purchase a number of trucks that can traverse narrower aisles. Some companies may decide that they need to build upwards rather than outwards in order to accommodate more orders, and will opt for a manual stacker truck with lift capabilities of up to 3m. Every business will know how they want to invest their money in the coming years as the UK bids goodbye to recession and economic uncertainty; there is no wrong answer when it comes to investing for the future.