Alastair Morris, Managing Director of engineering component specialist Accu, discusses the challenges that the engineering industry has faced this year and why he’s optimistic for the future.

The impact of digitalisation

Software and digitalisation are set to help the UK’s manufacturing and engineering sector to really get ahead of the game. Embracing new technologies isn’t just an option, it’s a necessity for staying competitive in today’s fast-paced manufacturing landscape.

As suppliers of engineering components into manufacturing, we are well aware that 2024 has been a challenging year for industry. Rising material, transportation and energy costs continue to impact many markets and the companies that have grown in the engineering components sector are those which have worked hard to control costs and have invested in digitalisation.

However, despite the challenging environment, Accu as a business has experienced growth of 30% in the last 12 months.

Much of this growth has been facilitated...