Today’s Spring statement has prompted a renewed focus on the UK’s productivity, with the Shadow Chancellor highlighting Britain has the lowest rate of industrial robot use in the OECD.
In response, Mark Gray, Universal Robots has made the following comments:
“It is correct to say the UK has the lowest robot density in Europe and that it is the only G7 country that is lower than the world average. However, that means there is huge potential for our manufacturing base to leverage automation and increase productivity.
The high costs and inflexibility of traditional industrial robots puts them out of reach of the average SME. However, collaborative robots (cobots) are very different as they typically achieve payback within just six months. As UK manufacturers consider the consequences of Brexit to their operations cobots offer a clear strategy for addressing skills shortages, increasing output and upping productivity.
