The company, which designs and manufactures end-of-line packaging machinery, said this contrasted starkly with European counterparts, which were streamlining production through automation and technology.
The company welcomed the formation of a Food and Drink Sector Council, which met for the first time on January 29, saying it would help food manufacturers “weather” the Brexit storm. This, it said, would help the farm-to-fork food chain, which was valued at £112bn and employed 4M people.
One of the key pillars outlined in the government’s Industrial Strategy was to drive the UK economy forwards with innovation.
Endoline’s sales director Andrew Yates said this was essential to driving the UK economy and to improving productivity and efficiency for food manufacturers.
“Despite the UK’s advancing manufacturing economy, there is still a long way to go to catch up with other European countries,” he said.
“With increased productivity and output being a key measurement of success, it is vital that industry bosses understand the benefits of integrating smart, automated systems into their factory production lines.”
He said food manufacturers needed to be thinking of capturing, processing and analysing data from the factory floor remotely as well as improving productivity and avoiding downtime.
“The opportunities and challenges facing food manufacturers as we exit the EU are significant,” he said.
“While the formation of the Food and Drink Sector Council will help the industry navigate these changes, ultimately, food manufacturers need to understand that investment in automation will be integral to improving efficiencies, while building a more sustainable landscape for the UK’s food and drink economy.”