UK manufacturing lags behind in innovation, survey finds

The UK has come in third place after China and India, according to a survey assessing innovation in the manufacturing sector.

A Siemens survey of 527 respondents across sectors including engineering, automotive, pharmaceuticals and oil has revealed British manufacturers are “over-optimistic” about their innovation skills and more investment is needed for the sector to do well.

The research found only 51% of respondents had investment plans for the coming year.

However, 50% were upbeat about the sector’s performance in the next year compared to 16% who didn’t think the sector would do well in the next year.

Jürgen Maier, managing director at Siemens Industry UK said: “It’s good that we are positive but the evidence points out that we are not as innovative as we think we are.”

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