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What will the future of global manufacturing look like? This is the question that Corrotherm CEO Jan Ward is answering in her latest article for a respected business publication

Corrotherm CEO Jan Ward is no stranger to international press, being featured in articles for her own achievements, as well as writing insightful pieces to share her extensive knowledge. We’ve covered some of her previous publications on the blog, including a look at the pipe for Stainless Steel World magazine and a detailed overview of additive manufacturing for 3D fab+print.

This month, Jan writes about the future of global manufacturing for G20 magazine, a hot topic in the industry right now. G20 is a business magazine and the official publication of the International Chamber of Commerce G20 CEO Advisory Group, released annually at the G20 and B20 summits. We’re always keen to view the latest edition each year, as it pulls together a variety of interesting articles relevant to international businesses like ours, such as trade, boosting investment, financing infrastructure and supporting SMEs, which helps us to stay on top of industry happenings and remain forward thinking.

Within the feature, Jan talks about how we are in the middle of a second industrial revolution, with new technologies developing that could change the way that manufacturing companies operate, and how it’s causing a shift in the global economy. In the past, countries like China and India were producing high volume low value goods for export, while importing higher-value manufactured goods back into the countries. This was certainly of benefit to the early industrially developed nations.

Now, however, China and India are leading the charge with technical innovation producing their own high-value products, negating the need to import from the west. “This has pushed manufacturers in western developed industrial nations into producing low volume high value, highly technical innovative products,” writes Jan. “Continuous spending on R+D and improved productivity has become the norm.”

She continues to explain that large manufacturers have needed to grow and maintain a large worldwide presence to stay competitive, which has led to a globalised standardisation of products. For now, the top five manufacturing performers are also the top five exporters (which include the US, China, Japan, Germany and the UK), however some developing industries are starting to move up the scale (Malaysia, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam). This is a trend that is likely to continue and will have an impact on the future of global manufacturing.

Finally, Jan touches on the concept of ‘factory 4.0’, which predicts the use of the latest technologies to develop automated factories controlled from off-site locations that may not even be in the same part of the world. Additive manufacturing will continue to grow, changing production processes forever.

It’s an exciting read, giving us a taste of what we face in the future of manufacturing. If you would like to find out more about Jan’s outlook, read the full feature online, page 12

Topics: Corrotherm News

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