Manufacturing News – Early August 2026
Specialist oil and gas valve manufacturer Rotork today said it expects mid to high single-digit revenue growth this year as the impact of Middle East-related disruption in its core business is offset by growth in other sectors.
Recovery in oil & gas is now expected to be more gradual, the Bath-headquartered group said, with full-year divisional revenue expected to be slightly lower year-on-year.
However, it now anticipates stronger growth in its chemical, process & industrial (CPI) business.
Rotork is one of the region’s largest advanced manufacturing firm, designing and making high-quality flow control equipment for the global oil, gas, water and power industries. It employs around 3,200 people across its 16 manufacturing sites worldwide.
Sourced from TheBusinessDesk
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Shares in Macclesfield-based heat treatment and specialist thermal processing services company Bodycote have soared to the highest level since 2022 after two separate conditional proposals from private equity firms for a possible cash offer for its entire share capital.
Shares opened this morning at over 900p, double what they were just a year ago, and a huge premium on the price the company has been buying back stock since a capital reduction programme started in March.
Both private equity offers value the company at around £1.6bn. The business was valued at £1.56bn today on current share trading.
Responding to speculation regarding potential offers, it confirmed CVC Advisers has proposed an offer of up to 915p per share, including a 7.2p interim dividend.
The board revealed that the CVC proposal follows earlier approaches from CVC regarding a possible cash offer.
Sourced from TheBusinessDesk
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UK manufacturers ramped up production last month for the fourth consecutive month and at the fastest pace in almost two years, according to a leading survey of the industry.
The S&P Global poll of manufacturers found them in upbeat mood in July, though anxious about the prospect of a long war in the Middle East that would block supplies of oil and gas, and raise the cost of production.
Uncertainty about the outcome of the war meant the S&P Global purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dipped in July but maintained a run of nine months of expansion. The PMI, which tracks activity in the sector, fell back to 51.9 in July, down from 52.5 in June, despite the rise in manufacturing output growth. A reading above 50 denotes a period of expansion.
The figures come after a torrid two years for the manufacturing industry after the election of Donald Trump and the president’s “liberation day” tariffs that took effect in the spring last year. The industry received a second big blow last autumn when a hack of the computer system at Jaguar Land Rover brought production at the UK’s largest car manufacturer to a halt.
Sourced from The Guardian
