Composites UK has released its 2022 Hub Report, which analyses the UK composites industry over the past year in comparison to previous years.
The Hub, which is the UK composites capabilities database, contains the details of almost 1,400 companies in from within the UK composites supply chain. The database is publicly searchable and open to anyone to use, but also acts as the tool which is used when Composites UK receive enquiries which come through to the Association’s helpdesk.
However, on a deeper level the Hub is much more than a signposting service. When completing their listings, companies can also fill in confidential fields that are only visible to Composites UK, allowing the Association to gather industry statistics and identify trends, something which is critical in moving the UK industry forwards.
In 2021, 1348 companies out of 1439 companies were listed as trading on Companies House. This fell by 9.2% in 2022. Between 2020 and 2021, 6.3% of companies ceased trading. The increase in companies no longer trading again shows the impact of primarily the pandemic and the aftereffects of the EU Exit. As the world returns to pre-pandemic environments, we anticipate the composites sector will also recover at a similar rate.
The loss of some large companies such as Honda, as well as smaller companies being withdrawn from the UK and the inevitable reduction in turnover due to the pandemic has seen the value of the UK composites sector reduce by almost 33% in the past 12 months. Prior to this the industry had seen a steady growth and we therefore expect the industry to recover to similar rates of growth in the next 12 months.
The UK composites supply chain is still primarily made up of component manufacturers, equipment, and raw material suppliers. The industry saw a loss across all specialisms however no one area of the supply chain was impacted more so than others. This is similar for the primary markets served despite the impact of the downturn of the Aerospace sector primarily. This matches the changes seen across all sectors.
The next step for Composites UK is to launch a new version of the Hub database alongside a brand-new website. The improved database will allow the Association to incorporate new elements into future Hub Reports.
The prices for this new report are as follows:
- Free for Composites UK members (available to download via the Member Resources Area of the website)
- £100 for non-members who had a profile at the time of export (April)
- £200 for non-members who did not have a profile at the time of export
Non-members are welcome to contact the Association for details on how this can be purchased on info@compositesuk.co.uk.
Website: www.compositesuk.co.uk/hub