From its roots in the 19th century the UK polymer industry continued to grow, innovate and diversify with current annual sales of £19billion, and a directly employed workforce of over 250,000 and over 400,000 included in the downstream.
The Polymer Sector served by Cogent comprises four discrete processing areas: Plastics Processing, Rubber Processing, Polymer Composite Processing and Sign Making. The British Plastics Federation says that the UK Plastics industry is a” dominant player worldwide in the three core sectors that make up the plastics industry” material and additive manufacture, material processors and machinery manufacture. There are 14,000 companies in the wider polymer sector and around 7,500 firms engaged in the UK plastics industry of which the BPF says about 3,000 are primary processors.
The industries require innovators, technologists, designers and highly skilled processing technicians to remain at the forefront of developments and changes in the world’s demand for more versatile, lightweight, low cost and energy saving products and applications.
In the Government’s report on Skills for Growth (Building Britain’s Future) the Composites area is singled out as a strategic area for growth, Cogent are working with The Department for Business Innovation & Skills to ensure we have a skilled workforce at the relevant levels for the Polymer Composites Industry.
*Aerospace * Automotive * Marine * Defence * Medical * Electrical * Plastic Electronics, * Construction * Transportation * Consumer & Domestic Products * Leisure, Toys, Packaging.
For more information see the BPF’s UK Plastics Industry at a Glance.
