Exclusive: Forging future automation solutions
Mark Stepney, of Schubert UK, believes there's a pressing need for British firms to drive automation to compete with the rest of Europe. Pic: Schubert
With markets across Europe facing continued challenges, the need for British businesses to invest in automated equipment solutions to compete with their continental competition has never been clearer, as Neill Barston examines speaking to Mark Stepney, managing director of Schubert UK on this year’s market trends
As a fresh report from the non-government manufacturing organisation asserts, the growth of digital processes and computing capability over the past 20 years has opened up a significant wealth of opportunity for the sector.
However, despite Britain having globally renowned research facilities and expertise in sector technology, there has been significant disparity in adoption of companies adopting machinery and advanced tools that could give them a decisive edge on a global stage.
The confectionery, snacks and bakery sectors are no exception to that position, with many family owned SME businesses expressing a desire to expand, yet have been held back by uncertain economic conditions that have been complicated by Brexit, and trading complexities in a post Covid-19 international market.
According to the latest study from Make UK alongside Sage, titled Global Lessons for Accelerating Automation and Digital Adoption in UK Manufacturing, targeted investment in digital technology and harnessing the power of AI could help deliver an additional £150 billion to the UK’s GDP by 2035.
As the new study asserts, the Labour government has set itself a target of being the fastest growing economy in the G7 nations, with technology adoption highlighted as integral to that goal.
This has seen a new industrial strategy unveiled this summer that includes potential support for the adoption of robotics and other AI-led manufacturing tools that could pave the way for the equivalent of the next industrial revolution should they be adopted swiftly enough.
There are indeed signs from within industry that such strategies can pay dividends if companies are encouraged sufficiently to take the plunge with positive action plans.
Speaking to Confectionery Production Mark Stepney (main image), managing director of Schubert UK, who now also serves as vice chair of Automate UK, which comprises the British Association of Robot Automation (BARA), PPMA packaging and processing group and UKIVA, the region’s industrial vision systems organisation, believes that there is hope on the horizon that the situation is improving for the sector.
While he conceded there had been ‘some nervousness about investment’ on a general level, a consistent message of seizing present international opportunities appears to be gaining some traction.
Notably, he explains that his own business is finding, companies are beginning to show greater take-up rates of technology solutions for its own packaging equipment for the sector.
This has included everything from its advanced pick and place machinery that has utilised key robotics systems, its patented flow-wrapping line, the flowpacker, through to cartoning and bar packing systems that have been embraced by smaller SMEs through to major corporations operating within the confectionery and snacks space.
“We set a relatively conservative financial target this year, as we were anticipating certain changes in the market, which would be out of our control, but it’s turning out to be a decent year. I think, our manufacturing sector is finally waking up to the fact that if they don’t invest now, they are never going to do it, and we’ll ultimately be left behind by our international competitors, so now is the time, ventures Stepney of the company’s progress.
He continues: “When I think about it from a PPMA and automate UK perspective, we represent 600 companies and 30,000 employees collectively, and 7 billion in turnover, we have a responsibility to promote them and their capabilities, but what we need is for those businesses to take up automation and that has always been a hurdle,” he concedes, noting that in spite of background challenges in the market on a general level, which have included global uncertainties surrounding freshly introduced US tariffs, the wider industry is in a comparatively promising position.
This is particularly the case with Schubert’s parent business in Germany, which has successfully continued to export machinery around the world, and the nation’s proactive general strategy of swiftly integrated digital solutions into its manufacturing landscape has been hugely to its benefit in recent years.
As for his own experience in the UK, theSchubert UK MD says that there has been much to be enthusiastic about for the business division, which continues to grow after two decades in Britain.
It is due to play its part at this year’s PPMA event in Birmingham alongside a tally of more than 350 exhibitors, running between 23-25 September at the NEC venue, which lies just a stone’s throw from company’s regional offices.
“Schubert UK started up here in 2002, and I have been here 17 years myself now. We have had some changes here through increasing our headcount quite significantly.
Prior to that, the average service length was 13 or 14 years, and for a firm that is 23 years old we have great staff retention. We look after our employees, and it’s an amazing business. It is exciting technology that is always innovating, and there’s always something new coming out and just a lovely place to work,” he adds of its state of play this year.
In terms of immediate challenges for the industry, he’s clear that one of the biggest hurdles that British companies are facing is in being prepared for landmark EU regulations that have been brought in on packaging waste.
Though Brexit may have meant that the UK has sought to remove itself from certain industrial requirements, compliance with such new legislation isn’t something that will be optional for them, as Stepney asserts.
He adds: “Within Europe they have recently introduced the PPWR (packaging and waste regulations), which is specifically for the EU – and we have seen a lot of British SMEs say, ‘it’s nothing to do with us and might come to us in a few years’ time’ – but actually if you’re sending confectionery into Europe, these regulations do apply. It may be being phased in over a period of time, but they are far reaching.
“If you had an assortment box of chocolates, if the free space within it is more than 40 per cent, it’s banned, or hollow trays, they are also banned, so this is the time for those clever smaller and medium sized firms to engage with this in readiness.
“So, Schubert has taken on an initiative, the Schubert Competence Centre, that we brought together our specialists as a team to deliver this message, so these regulations are going to be what drives companies’ need to invest in automation,” notes the senior executive on what stands as one of the hottest topics of the moment.
Mark Stepney (right of pic) at Schubert’s German HQ with Marcel Kiessling, has welcomed the 20th anniversary of Schubert UK
On a personal level, he’s greatly enjoyed applying himself to a host of tests that have arisen over the past three decades, and it seems he remains as passionate about his core subject as ever.
“I’ve spent my life in automation, and worked for companies that do the same thing day in-day out, Schubert is just a whole different world, investing something like 9-10 per cent of revenue back into R&D innovation every year, so there’s something that takes you by surprise. So, we see ourselves as pioneers, not followers, and that’s what keeps me passionate.”
Make UK study
From a wider industry perspective, Make UK’s study pulled no punches in its assessment that there had in fact been a significant lag in British companies adopting fresh technology compared to its European counterparts, as well as businesses further afield.
However, as Seamus Nevin, its chief economist notes, hope could well be on the horizon with the right level of government support – with there being a clear economic case for many companies needing to urgently engage in increasing their technology investment to thrive in a hugely-competitive market.
“Time and again, we hear from small and medium-sized manufacturers that they’re keen to adopt new technologies, but are being held back by fragmented support, complex funding systems, and a lack of accessible, appropriate digital skills training. If we want to unlock a £150 billion boost to UK GDP by 2035, we must make it easier for SMEs to adopt automation and AI, noted Nevin on the present state of manufacturing in the country.
He adds: “Other countries are accelerating ahead by putting smaller firms at the heart of national strategies – with long-term support that’s simple to access, reliable, and rooted in real business needs.
From South Korea to Switzerland, governments have created clear, SME-focused strategies that simplify innovation funding, offer long-term tax incentives, and ensure every business can access practical support.
“These policies work not just delivering improvements in economic growth, but also in more environmentally friendly processes with fewer defects, higher profit margins, and creating more higher skills, better paying jobs.”
