Just finished working through a report from PWC on The Future of UK Manufacturing. Hard going but some really interesting analysis and observations in there. As the report’s sub-heading puts it, reports of the death of manufacturing in the UK are greatly exaggerated but the sector faces major challenges if it is to retain critical mass in the long term.

It also bursts the bubble of some popular misconceptions. The…

Full marks to Leeds manufacturer Vickers Laboratories in its aim to create a UK first and give Britain a pre-eminent position in the drive to develop a gold standard for the precise measurement of chemicals.

Vickers is developing the technology to manufacture primary standards for acid, alkaline and conductivity measurements, which will be used by laboratories as a benchmark for the tests they are required to carry out.

Vickers…