Editor’s comment: Welcome to the December/January 2018 digital edition of Factory Equipment!
Firstly, I would like to wish all our readers a very happy new year and I hope 2018 is a productive and successful year for you.
As we look ahead to February, the exhibition season begins again and Southern Manufacturing is just around the corner – see our full preview from page 6. It’s also been announced that I’ll be a judge for the Talent in Logistics Awards, taking place in June! So I’ll soon be deliberating over the worthy winners who’ve made a significant contribution to their companies and across the transport and logistics sector.
Elsewhere, as productivity gains become the collective goal for UK manufacturing, this year could see many more businesses adopt advanced production technologies and automated solutions in order to keep up with their foreign competitors. A recent study found that if the UK became as automated as some of the world’s leading countries in this area, like Japan, Germany and Sweden, productivity would increase by 22.3 per cent. Therefore, as the Fourth Industrial Revolution continues to develop, the UK’s ability to compete means we must quickly find further ways to become more productive.
This month there’s a discussion on why steam could be the hidden gem of your biomass heating system. The biomass industry has developed strongly over the past few years, and as the technologies advance, so too does the number of products that can be burned as fuel for heating.
Also included is the December/January issue of Materials Handling & Logistics, which includes an in-depth preview for the upcoming IntraLogisteX show taking place at the end of February.”
You can view this month’s digital issue here.
Jack Cheeseman – Editor
