2014 news cbrfutureofmanufacturing

The future of manufacturing

30 October 2013

The article at a glance

Launch of final project report from the Foresight Lead Expert Group Professor Alan Hughes was a member of the Lead Expert Group …

Foresight Lead Expert Group:  The Future of Manufacturing

Launch of final project report from the Foresight Lead Expert Group

Professor Alan Hughes was a member of the Lead Expert Group oversaw the technical aspects of this project which was particularly involved in writing the final report. The Lead Expert Group was led by Sir Richard Lapthorne, and also included Professor Nicholas Crafts, Professor Steve Evans, Professor Anne Green, Professor Richard Harris, Professor Chris Lowe, Dr Hamid Mughal, and Professor Sir Michael Sterling.

This report looks at how manufacturing is set to enter a dynamic new phase, driven by rapid changes in technology, new ways of doing business, global competition and potential volatility in resource prices and availability. These changes mean that manufacturing in 2050 will look very different from today.

The project commissioned over 30 research reports to inform its findings of which six were written and co-authored by CBR and UK~IRC colleagues including Simon Deakin, Cher Li, Elif Bascavosoglu-Moreau, Alan Hughes, Bill Martin, Ken Coutts and Bob Rowthorn.