Weekly News Bulletin – 25th May 2018

This week, we saw interesting news that the future of construction could see drones around building sites. According to the Construction Enquirer, a report commissioned by Colmore Tang Construction believes that by 2025, drones will be able to carry large materials. This report also predicts that the plastic bottles recovered from the world’s oceans will be recycled to create biometric buildings. What are your opinions?

Construction Global released a thought piece looking at how the construction industry has reacted since the Carillion Collapse and what lies ahead for the UK sector. We would recommend reading this article if you want to learn more about the impact Carillion has had, such as reduced house building, and how the industry will look to recover towards the end of this year.

In similar news The Herald shared growing concerns over fears for manufacturing sector growth. These fears have been fuelled by the Confederation of British Industry’s report that has revealed that order books in the sector are collectively in their worst shape since autumn 2016.

Insider Media Limited echoed these thoughts with their article based on findings from the EEF and Squire Patton Boggs report, which found that almost half of the UK’s manufacturing companies remain concerned about access to skills post-Brexit. This report also saw 17% of businesses report a drop in applications from European citizens and 13% of the businesses questioned are still victim to an increase in EU workers leaving their businesses.  Are you concerned about how Brexit will affect your access to skills?

We saw news from The Business Desk that £400,000 has been invested in new Birmingham city centre offices for Willmott Dixon. With a 10-year lease for 4,000 sq ft, the office will encourage a collaborative style of working between staff and clients, and will also feature a digital design room for the latest in Building Information Modelling (BIM). Here at Metsec, we believe collaboration is key between staff and clients so are excited to hear more about how the space will work.

Finally, The Business Desk reported that manufacturers in the west midlands are considered to be amongst the most financially stable. Based on May figures, west midlands manufacturing companies are continuing to outperform the majority of their regional counterparts. This is based on research from Bureau Van Dijk’s Fame database which reports that the region has the lowest percentages in the UK of manufacturers who are at a higher than normal risk of insolvency.

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Drones to move construction materials around sites

A report into the future of construction is predicting drone deliveries on site, 3D printed walls and self-assembled floating buildings.

http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2018/05/22/drones-to-move-construction-materials-around-sites/

What lies ahead for the UK construction industry in the wake of Carillion?

2018 has been a tough year so far for the construction industry. Construction output has been falling and falling hard. January and February saw declines in output of 1.6% and 1% respectively. Whilst in March construction output fell by 2.3%, its biggest fall since August 2012 as a triple whammy of factors hit the sector.

https://www.constructionglobal.com/major-projects/what-lies-ahead-uk-construction-industry-wake-carillion

UK Manufacturers raise concerns about accessing skills post-brexit

Almost half of the UK’s manufacturing companies remain concerned about their ability to access skills post-Brexit, according to a new report.

https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/yorkshire/uk-manufacturers-raise-concerns-about-accessing-skills-post-brexit

Fears over manufacturing sector grow amid UK economy woes

FEARS that UK manufacturing has lost momentum have been fuelled by a survey revealing order books in the sector are, overall, in their worst shape since autumn 2016.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/16242905.Manufacturing_loses_momentum_as_weak_UK_economy_takes_tol/

£400,000 investment in One Snowhill offices

Willmott Dixon has invested £400,000 in its new Birmingham city centre offices at One Snowhill.

https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/westmidlands/news/2017678-400000-investment-one-snowhill-offices

West Midlands manufacturers ‘among most financially stable’

West Midlands manufacturing companies are continuing to outperform the majority of their regional counterparts as new research reveals that they are among the most financially stable in the UK.

http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/westmidlands/news/2017671-west-midlands-manufacturers-%E2%80%98among-financially-stable%E2%80%99?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WestMidlands_22nd_May_2018_Daily