Page 4 - Industrial Technology April 2021 issue

WELCOME

EDITORIAL
Editor
Mark Simms BSc Tel: 01732 773268 DANGER IN BEING CLEVER
mark.simms@itmagazine.uk.com
ADVERTISING JUST FOR THE SAKE OF IT
Regional Director (Home Counties & South East)
Mark West Tel: 020 8467 3613
mark.west@itmagazine.uk.com n 1979, Janet Kay took the song Silly Games to number two in
the UK music chart, and had similar success all over Europe. Now
Regional Sales Manager (Midlands) considered an anthem of its genre, it has been described as
David Harman Tel: 01772 462596 Iprobably the most popular “lover’s rock” song from the 70s. What
david.harman@itmagazine.uk.com
is most memorable for me about the song, though, is the unfeasibly
Regional Sales Manager (North of England, Scotland & Wales) high note that Janet hits in the chorus. It’s a high C, two octaves above
Jan Anderson Tel: 01978 314730 middle C. Song writer Dennis Bovell said he included it the song
jan.anderson@itmagazine.uk.com because he wanted something that reminded him of a TV advert
Deutschland/Suisse/Österreich with Ella Fitzgerald hitting a note that caused a glass to shatter.
Eisenacher Medien Tel: +49 171 275 3069 But for me, the hitting of that high C in Silly Games defined an
info@eisenacher-medien.de adage that I think could be applied on many occasions and in
many different areas: that just because you can do something
Overseas
doesn’t mean that you should.
George Bennett MA Tel: + 44 161 374 5615 From the ethically questionable lobbying by politicians in
it.marketing@itmagazine.uk.com
support of private businesses to the growing of human cells
MAILING ADDRESSES inside monkey embryos, you have to wonder sometimes at the
Press Releases: mark.simms@itmagazine.uk.com thought processes that lead individuals to conclude that the
Advertising Copy: production@itmagazine.uk.com least responsible action is actually a really good idea.
Head Office: Victoria House, 2 Mornington Road Of course, it’s easy to sit on a high horse when it comes to
Sale, Cheshire M33 2DA the big moral questions, but which among us hasn’t been guilty
Email: it.marketing@itmagazine.uk.com at one point or another of doing something simply because we
Circulation Department: PO Box 85, Sale M33 2BB could? And I wonder if there’s a danger there when we look at
Email: it.circulation@itmagazine.uk.com product design, because while we must include the features we
believe customers need, and build in the functions we know
GENERAL ENQUIRIES
customers want, there is always the temptation to include additional
Email: it.info@itmagazine.uk.com Tel: 0161 374 5615
attributes that, if we’re honest, have no real raison d’etre other than to
demonstrate how clever we are.
As a controlled circulation journal, Industrial Technology is sent free Now, maybe that’s fine. Every product needs differentiators, and in
of charge to individuals in the UK who meet the terms and an increasingly competitive environment a ‘me too’ product might not be
conditions of the publishers. To apply for free regular copies, write to enough to deliver the returns or market share that you need. But what if
the Circulation Department. To those not meeting the terms and
conditions, the magazine is available on UK subscription at a cost of those additional, unrequested features are not only unnecessary but
£90 per year (10 issues). Single copies are £9. Overseas actually detrimental to the usability of the product, requiring additional
subscriptions (airmail) are as follows: Rest of Europe including Eire layers of complexity that makes the product less appealing rather than
£140 (single copies £14); USA $220 (single $22); Rest of the more? These are not trivial questions to address, because we all want to
World £170 (single copies £17).
enable our customers to do more than they imagined possible, with
products that consistently exceed their expectations. But are we being
Printing & production by Pensord Press, Blackwood, Wales
clever for the sake of being clever, or are we providing genuine
Industrial benefits?
Mark Simms
Technology Editor

OPTIMISM FOR GROWTH IN 2021 AMONG BUSINESSES

rivate sector activity fell at the slowest pace in in each main sector. For business and professional “More broadly, the UK and devolved governments
a year in the three months to March 2021 services (+32%) and manufacturers (+30%), these are ought to keep businesses close as the roadmap for
according to the latest CBI Growth Indicator. the highest expectation for growth since June 2015 and reopening gets underway. Helping firms thrive once
PThe composite measure – based on 671 August 2017 respectively. restrictions relax will be the best way of aiding the UK’s
responses to CBI surveys between 24 February and 16 Alpesh Paleja, CBI lead economist, said: “After a much-needed recovery.”
March – also revealed that expectations for growth over torrid year, our latest surveys show some light at the end In its latest Industrial Trends Survey, the CBI found
the next quarter are the most positive since 2018. of the tunnel – with the decline in activity across sectors that manufacturing output volumes in the three months
Manufacturers reported broadly flat output (+3% from slowing, and expectations of a rebound in growth over to March improved to broadly flat, which marked their
-8%), the most positive balance for the sector since May the next three months. highest balance since May 2019. The survey of 321
2019. “Nonetheless many businesses are still struggling. It’s manufacturers found that output increased in eight out of
Looking ahead, expectations for growth over the next likely that further targeted action will be required for 17 sub-sectors. Looking ahead, manufacturers expect
three months are the strongest since February 2018 aviation particularly, as the immediate outlook for the output to pick up rapidly over the next three months, with
(+24%), driven by predictions of above average growth sector remains significantly challenging. expectations at their strongest since August 2017.

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