Manufacturing News – Late July 2026
Manufacturers are warning that further sharp increases in minimum wage rates risk adding to already severe cost pressures and could make it harder for firms to create the jobs and training places needed to tackle the UK’s growing NEETs crisis.
The warning comes as Alan Milburn’s independent Young People and Work review has underlined the scale of the challenge, with nearly one million young people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training and the UK at risk of a “lost generation” without stronger routes into work.
Make UK has stated that wage policy must therefore support fair pay while preserving the entry-level jobs, apprenticeships and workplace training that young people need to get a foothold in industry.
Sourced from The Manufacturer
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South West specialist oil and gas valve manufacturer Rotork is set to be acquired by global engineering group ABB for £4.14bn.
Bath-headquartered Rotork’s directors have backed the takeover approach, with ABB saying it has no current plans to “significantly change Rotork’s presence in the UK, which is expected to remain an important manufacturing and technology base for Rotork”.
Under the terms of the cash offer, Rotork shareholders will receive 50p per share, representing a premium of around 60% to its latest three-month average share price.
Sourced from TheBusinessDesk
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New research has shown the huge impact the ongoing Iran war is having on businesses across the Midlands. The research – carried out by the Black Country Chamber of Commerce alongside the Greater Birmingham, Coventry, Warwickshire and East Midlands chambers – reveals 80% of businesses have seen costs increase because of the conflict.
Some 64% of manufacturers said they had faced ‘moderate or significant’ extra costs with five per cent saying the increases threatened their viability.
Sarah Moorhouse, Chief Executive of the Black Country Chamber, said the survey highlighted the need for more government support with energy costs and better contingency planning to develop price stability.
The survey was carried out between 11 May and 8 June and saw 698 businesses of all sizes and sectors across the Midlands respond.
Sourced from The Manufacturer
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Group Rhodes, a Wakefield-based manufacturer of heavy industrial presses and forming equipment, has revealed a £400,000 investment in new plant and facilities.
It said this would strengthen its capability to design, manufacture and deliver large-scale press projects for customers around the world.
The investment consists of new assembly pits and material handling equipment and enhances the company’s ability to handle large and complex projects with greater precision, capacity and efficiency.
Sourced from TheBusinessDesk
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Special Melted Products (SMP) is delivering Project Vulcan, which the company says will establish the UK’s first large-scale super alloy forging capability.
The initiative aims to reshore strategically important aerospace and defence manufacturing dominated by US suppliers.
Andy Richardson, chief executive of Special Melted Products, said: “It’s rewarding to see a company with SMP’s heritage continue to play a key role in the city’s manufacturing story. We’re proud of our past, but focused on what’s next: evolving with the needs of British manufacturing. The shift towards UK sovereign capability in nickel-based superalloys is increasingly important for both supply chain resilience and the long-term strength of the UK’s advanced manufacturing base.”
SMP currently generates around £100m in revenue and employs 260 people across two sites.
The business is one of the few UK manufacturers to produce high-integrity alloys and components for critical applications in aerospace, energy and civil nuclear industries, with clients including Rolls-Royce.
Sourced from TheBusinessDesk
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Macclesfield-based provider of heat treatment and specialist thermal processing services, Bodycote, has reported better interim revenue and profit levels.
Total sales of £381.2m were up from £369m in 2025, while a pre-tax profit of £41.2m was compared with £36.6m the previous year. An interim dividend of 7.2p is a 4.3% uplift on 2025.
So far, £12.6m has been spent under the current £80m share buyback programme.
In June this year US private equity giant Apollo withdrew its interest in launching a potential offer for the group.
Bodycote said it has delivered strong growth in its target markets of Aerospace & Defence, Industrial Gas Turbines, Medical, Semiconductors, partly offset by continued weakness in Automotive, particularly in Europe.
Sourced from TheBusinessDesk
