The MTA (Manufacturing Technologies Association) has written an open letter expressing the organisation’s support for the EU Referendum ‘Remain campaign’ which is signed by the Executive and many prominent members. A copy of the letter is reproduced here…

Dear Sir,

We are writing to express the support of the Manufacturing Technologies Association and of ourselves and our companies for the UK’s remaining within the European Union. The manufacturing technology sector, which provides the machinery, instrumentation and software that makes manufacturing happen, is a global one. Over 80% of the output of the UK manufacturing technology sector is exported, with the countries of the EU accounting for nearly half of that. The ability to access that market cheaply and efficiently is essential to our continued competitiveness.

As a truly globalised sector, many of our companies are multinationals, including companies from outside the EU, in particular the USA and Japan, who have established European Headquarters in the UK. This provides a multiplier effect bringing with it economic activity, and consequent employment in a diverse range of business functions such as applications engineering, marketing, management and finance – not just a UK sales team. This is about more than market access, it is about the UK being a fully participatory member of the EU, able to influence the political and economic climate.

As the largest economic bloc in the world, we believe that the EU is better placed to negotiate International Trade Agreements than the UK would be alone. This argument is borne out by our experience of the creation of international standards where the MTA represents a strong UK voice in concert with our European partners.

Yours sincerely,

Guy Mollart
President MTA and President Mollart Engineering

James Selka
Chief Executive Officer MTA

Paul Crawford
Managing Director Europe, Allied Machine and Engineering

Paul Dixon
Director, Baker Blower          

Mark Ridgway
Manging Director, Group Rhodes

Mike Diskin
Managing Director, Halifax Numerical Controls          

Matthias Meyer
Manging Director, Heller UK   

Peter Graves
Managing Director, Industrial Tooling Corporation      

Ernst Wagner
Managing Director, Kasto ltd  

Paul Bexon
Metrology and Quality Service

Tim Allen
Manging Director, MJ Allen Group      

Tony Bannan
Chief Executive Officer, Precision Technologies Group

Ben Taylor
Assistant Chief Executive, Renishaw           

Steve Totty
Managing Director, Star GB   

Marcus Burton
European Group Managing Director, Yamazaki Mazak

MTA Member’s views

MTA members were consulted in late 2015. When asked the question “Thinking about the consequences for your business, should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?  “YES/NO” 89% of respondents answered “yes” and “10%” answered “no”. 1% indicated that they were “unsure”.