Artificial intelligence for manufacturing: competences and capabilities in Wales, UK
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Wales is situated in the South-West of the United Kingdom, bordered by the Irish Sea to the West and the Bristol Channel to the South, connected to England along its Eastern border. Industry is centred around the more densely populated areas including Cardiff (Capital City), Swansea, Newport and the Valleys in the South, and Wrexham and Bangor in the North; and has historically been largely focused on mining and Steel production. Manufacturing currently accounts for approximately 16% of the overall Welsh national GDP.
At its peak, Welsh manufacturing and its service economy was a major player in the European community, but since Brexit, much of this momentum has now been lost. Prior to the UK’s political changes in 2016, Wales was a centre for automotive manufacturing and many large multinational companies were based in Industrial towns up and down the country.
Wales is governed by the Senedd (National Assembly) and all funding is administered by the Welsh Government who are responsible for agriculture, economic development, education, health, housing, local government, social services, tourism, transport and preservation of the Welsh language. The Welsh Government actively promotes Welsh interests abroad and has links with Europe through international trade and R&D programmes such as the EEN, the Vanguard Initiative, Agile Cymru and the Wales Innovation Network. The Manufacturing Action Plan for Wales (launched in 2021) focuses on key areas such as NetZero and Advanced Manufacturing through the Catapult Centres and research institutions, such as AMRC in the North-West and Compound Semiconductor Cluster in the South. These industrial policies are supported by public business support organisations such as Industry Wales, Technology Connected and Business Wales as part of the national agenda.
Much of the advancement in manufacturing technologies and services are led by Innovation hubs and technology organisations such as the Digital Manufacturing Innovation Hub (DMIW), Universities, HE Initiatives and sector specific Innovation programmes which provide specialist business support in areas such as Additive Manufacturing, Digital Manufacturing Technologies, Artificial Intelligence Applications and Industry 4.0 through funded programmes. Additional opportunities for collaborative research are supported by regional DIHs such as DMIW, Universities and UK-wide initiatives such as Make UK and UKRI. Regional industrial leadership groups such as Manufacturing Wales and the Mid Wales Manufacturing Group continue to promote collaboration and supply chain-building for resilience and are largely focused on labour, skills, logistics and raw materials together with strategies for long term sustainability.
Wales is continuing to drive its Innovation strategy around Transport, Infrastructure, Energy, Digital Technology and Construction but is still largely under-adopted in terms of Digital Manufacturing tools and technologies. H2020 and Horizon Europe have provided exceptional opportunities for local businesses to engage in critical research – technology providers such as Control 2K have been engaged in developing services and technologies for the sector for over 25 years, supporting interoperability between legacy systems and state-of-the-art technology.
Organisations such as AMRC Cymru bridge the divide between the business community and academia, supported by larger UK manufacturing giants such as Boeing, Rolls-Royce, Airbus and BAE Systems, but still faces challenges with SME engagement at a regional level. A number of successful I4.0 projects such as ‘Ffatri 4.0’ and ‘BITES’ have demonstrated success in energy efficiency and production improvements but there is little uptake of AI and Machine Learning in the current climate – which is why projects such as AI REDGIO 5.0 are vital in demonstrating these technologies and skills to businesses and are key to unlocking the potential of Welsh manufacturing.