New MTA President takes manufacturing message to Parliament

Tuesday 4 December saw members of the Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) gather

in Westminster for the 2018 Annual General Meeting, the inauguration of new president Marcus Burton and a meeting in Parliament with business minister Richard Harrington MP and his shadow Chi Onwurah MP.

Marcus Burton, a director of Yamazaki Mazak, will serve a two-year term as president of the Association. He has a wealth of experience in the manufacturing technologies sector and has recently served on the Made Smarter Review. He took over the office from Geoff Bryant, who was warmly thanked by the meeting.

“I’m honoured to take up the Presidency and looking forward to using my term to make a difference to the industry in which I have enjoyed such a rewarding career,” says Marcus Burton. “Issues such as Brexit and industrial digitalisation will have a major effect on our industry and I want to make sure that our voice is heard.”

After the AGM, members heard from two of the leading academics in their fields. Professor Sam Turner, CTO of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, talked about the Made Smarter programme which is aiming to turn the North West of England on to industrial digitalisation. Professor Anand Menon, director of the Centre for the UK in a Changing Europe at Kings College London, then shared his thoughts on the latest developments in Brexit.

This was timely as later in the afternoon members went to Parliament to meet MPs and ministers while the Brexit debate got underway in the House of Commons. Speaking at the meeting, Marcus Burton made it clear that manufacturing industry regards a ‘No Deal’ outcome to Brexit as damaging and that the Government should do everything possible to avoid it. Business minister Richard Harrington MP and Shadow business minister Chi Onwurah MP made time in their incredibly tight schedules that day to speak.

Established in 1919 the MTA has been at the core of the UK’s engineering-based manufacturing economy for almost a century.

The Manufacturing Technologies Association is the UK’s trade association for companies in the manufacturing technology sector. MTA members design, manufacture and supply the advanced machinery, equipment and intellectual property that enable the creation of the products we rely on from day to day and that drive our economy.

The MTA owns and runs MACH, the UK’s premier event to showcase manufacturing technologies. The biennial exhibition, held at the NEC, attracts over 25,000 visitors, over 600 exhibitors and the last edition, MACH 2016, saw over £150,000,000 of business attributed to it.

Machine Technologies Association (MTA)
Tel: 020 7298 6400
www.mta.org.uk