2025: (Finally) the Year of the Robots is the title of an article by Richard Stone, friend and founder of our wonderful PR partners Stone Junction. In the piece, Richard argues that “Industry in the UK has been primed for increased use of industrial robots by several factors, from Brexit related labour shortages to rising costs, and the need for greater productivity. Alongside this, the UK’s push toward advanced manufacturing aligns with Industry 5.0, encouraging adoption of AI and robotics to enhance global competitiveness. Furthermore, Government incentives for technology adoption are also driving the shift, positioning the UK for an automated, resilient industrial future.”
Richard goes on to make seven key points that are going to make the difference in 2025. Do read his piece.
I hope he is right. Indeed, in this recent blog post I contend that the recent Budget increases in the cost of employing people should be an incentive for investment in productivity. In the Budget, I didn’t see much in the way of new government incentives for technology adoption, beyond a promise for a “Cross-government Review of Technology Adoption for Growth, Innovation and Productivity” – note that this is a review, not an action list. Something may come from this in due course. The Budget did keep the full expensing of capital allowances and R&D tax relief, both of which encourage growth, but are not new initiatives.
In our piece Achieving ROI with robotics, we talked about barriers to the uptake of robots and automation in the UK. One aspect is culture. Another possible barrier is a lack of understanding of return on investment (ROI) and concerns about upfront cost. Achieving ROI with robotics was written to address this, by helping companies to build an ROI equation, busting common dispensing robot myths, and sharing customer success stories.
This article was written in 2022. I had hoped that 2022 was the Year of the Robots, but maybe it was 2023, with sales of industrial robots in the UK reaching a new record high, a 51% increase compared to the previous year. As of 2022, the UK had 98 robots per 10,000 workers in manufacturing, which is below the world average of 151. By 2023, this figure had increased to 111 robots per 10,000 employees… but the UK still ranked 24th globally in robot density. So, despite recent growth, the UK has historically lagged behind other major manufacturing nations in robot adoption. In 2020, the UK installed around 2,500 industrial robots, compared to 6,000 in France.
While the UK has made progress in robot adoption over the past decade, it still has significant room for growth compared to other industrialised nations. The total UK robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 40% between 2020 and 2030, potentially reaching a market size of almost £3.5 billion.
From here on, let’s make every year the Year of the Robots. Give us a call if you want to automate your material dispensing, UV curing or surface treatment.
