Dan Brooks, Institute Director at the Advanced Machinery and Productivity Institute (AMPI) gives his perspective on the current state of the machinery sector and the opportunity to realise the UK’s potential…
More than 40 years ago my Dad embarked on a career in engineering, as my Grandad and Great Grandad had before him. He undertook an apprenticeship as a machine tool fitter working for a British machinery builder, on British built machines, for end users all around the world.
40 years later he now works for a Tier 1 supplier to the automotive industry and works entirely on machines designed and built outside the UK. I can’t help asking myself what happened? Where has the UK expertise gone? And how we can rebuild?
In the wake of the recent spending review and long-anticipated Industrial Strategy, the question we must ask is this: what do we want to be world-leading in? At a time when global supply chains are fracturing and geopolitical instability is reshaping industrial priorities, the answer must be clear and unapologetically strategic. For the UK, a fundamental priority should be the development of a resilient, sovereign, advanced machinery supply chain.
Machinery underpins every modern manufacturing capability. It is not just a support function, it is the bedrock of industrial productivity, innovation, and competitiveness. Yet the UK has, for too long, become comfortable importing the very systems that enable its manufacturing output. Machine tools, robotics, and automation systems are sourced from abroad despite the presence of a highly capable research base and world-class engineering expertise here at home.
This dependency is not without consequences. According to a recent report (Institute of Manufacturing/University of Cambridge, 2024, https://bit.ly/3ZGQF4W), in 2022 alone, we imported $49 billion worth of machinery – $7 billion more than we exported. In contrast, Germany exported $102 billion more machinery than it imported. That gap not only represents lost economic value, but also lost opportunities for job creation, skills development, and supply chain resilience.
We must stop seeing this as a market failure and start seeing it as a strategic imperative.
The good news is we know where our strengths lie. The UK is not going to win in the race to produce low-cost commodity machinery, nor should it try. But we do have a globally recognised strength in high-value, high-precision engineering. This is where we must focus our efforts. The same report referenced above highlights that the machinery industry is one of the highest value components of the manufacturing ecosystem, with productivity per employee some 30% higher than manufacturing as a whole.
This matters deeply, particularly as the government ramps up its investment in R&D, skills, and critical technologies. That’s welcome news. But cutting-edge technologies require cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities. If we want sovereign capability – in aerospace and automotive, energy and clean tech – we must ensure the machinery behind that capability is also developed, built, and supported here in the UK.
This is why I’ve loved building the Advanced Machinery and Productivity Institute (AMPI). Born out of the North of England, AMPI is the UK’s first dedicated initiative driving advanced machinery innovation. Its mission is clear: to transform the UK’s capability to design, develop and commercialise advanced machinery technologies. AMPI is building the connective tissue between early-stage research and real-world deployment, whilst supporting local SMEs to get new machinery products to market faster.
We are already seeing the benefits. UK companies are beginning to rethink their reliance on imported technologies, recognising the advantages of sourcing high-precision machinery domestically—particularly given current economic and political volatility. But awareness remains low. Too many industrial decision-makers are unaware of the depth and breadth of UK machinery innovation already underway. This must change if we are to scale our ambitions.
A sovereign supply chain is not simply about self-sufficiency—it’s about economic resilience, export growth, and strategic agility. It’s about building a domestic ecosystem capable of supporting our ambitions, from net zero to reindustrialisation, with machinery that is not only available and abundant, but better.
What’s needed now is focus. R&D investment must be targeted, not just increased. Funding frameworks must support SMEs to innovate, removing barriers to access and providing the technical and commercial expertise to turn ideas into reality. We need to create the conditions for success—not just through financial support, but through strategic direction and a long-term commitment to sovereign capability.
The UK cannot and should not aim to do everything. But we should be world-leading in the areas where it counts most. Advanced machinery is one of those areas. It is the silent engine of industrial productivity and the foundation upon which all other manufacturing advances are built.
Since taking on the leadership of AMPI, I have seen first-hand how positive the early signs of change are in our country’s advanced machinery industry. Decades of capability erosion are being reversed and there is a real sense of progress emerging from this critical sector. What excites me the most is the breadth and quality of the technologies I can see we are producing, and the incredible craft of the people responsible. It’s evidence that we are not giving up on our rich heritage in the machines that enable world class manufacturing.
As the UK’s new Industrial Strategy is put into action, let us build on that momentum and ensure that machinery is no longer an afterthought—but a central pillar of our industrial future.
Head to the website to find out more about what AMPI are doing to strengthen the UK’s machinery sector as well as the targeted impact they are creating within the region, here.
For more articles like this, visit our Innovation channel.