Six million engines show what Wales can make – let’s continue to build our manufacturing future

Jack Sargeant

There are some milestones that are about much more than a number.

When Toyota’s Deeside plant recently produced its six millionth engine, it was not simply a celebration of production. It was a celebration of more than three decades of skill, engineering, teamwork and commitment from generations of workers in North Wales.

For me, that is exactly what next month’s National Manufacturing Day, should be about. A chance to celebrate what manufacturing contributes to Wales today while looking ahead to what it can contribute tomorrow.

During my time as the Member of the Senedd for Alyn and Deeside, I was privileged to visit manufacturers and engineering businesses across the constituency. Those visits reinforced something I have always believed, that manufacturing is not a relic of Wales’s industrial past. It is central to our economic future.

And, above all, manufacturing is about people.

From Airbus and AMRC Cymru in Broughton and Toyota and Boccard in Deeside, we have an extraordinary story to tell, and an opportunity to write the next chapter.

A manufacturing future already taking shape

Alyn and Deeside is home to some of the biggest names in global manufacturing.

Airbus’s presence in Broughton is a remarkable example of Welsh engineering expertise competing at the highest level of global aerospace. Whenever I visited, I was struck not only by the scale of the operation, but by the knowledge, skill and dedication of the people working there.

The aircraft wings produced in Broughton fly around the world. They are a powerful reminder that Welsh workers are contributing to products that are recognised and relied upon globally.

Alongside that industrial strength sits an increasingly important innovation ecosystem.

AMRC Cymru is helping manufacturers develop new products, improve productivity, reduce waste and make better use of energy. It is a fantastic example of what can happen when industry, research and education come together.

The technologies transforming manufacturing are moving at extraordinary speed. Automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced materials, digital technologies and decarbonisation are changing how things are designed and made.

We should not resist that change. We should make sure Wales and its workforce is at the forefront of it.

That means investing in research and development, but also in people. Innovation depends on skilled workers who can use new technologies, solve problems and continually improve the way things are done.

Six million reasons to be proud

Toyota’s milestone is particularly powerful.

The Deeside plant has been manufacturing engines since the early 1990s. More than three decades later, it has reached the extraordinary milestone of six million engines while continuing to evolve with the automotive industry.

Six million engines is six million reminders of the skill and expertise that have been built up in North Wales over generations.

It tells us what can happen when an international company puts down roots in a community, develops a highly skilled local workforce and continues to invest and innovate.

Manufacturing provides more than jobs inside a factory. It supports supply chains and local communities, while creating opportunities for apprentices, engineers, technicians and managers to build long-term careers close to home.

And the opportunities are not limited to the industries that have traditionally defined manufacturing in Wales.

Manufacturing for a new energy future

One of the most exciting opportunities ahead is in the energy sector. Boccard’s fully digitalised facility in Deeside shows how the strengths we already have can connect Wales to major energy and nuclear projects and help deliver a more secure, lower-carbon energy future.

There is also an enormous opportunity on the horizon at Wylfa.

The Rolls-Royce SMR reactors planned for Wylfa have the potential to put North Wales at the centre of the UK’s future nuclear energy industry, creating opportunities across engineering, construction, manufacturing, maintenance and the wider supply chain.

For Wales, that means building on skills and expertise that already exist rather than starting from scratch.

The opportunity could and should extend beyond Ynys Mon itself. We should be thinking now about how Welsh businesses can secure a place in those supply chains, how colleges and universities can prepare people for the jobs that will be created, and how communities across North Wales can benefit.

The products and infrastructure we need for a cleaner, more secure energy system will have to be designed, engineered and manufactured by people. There is no reason why many of those people should not be working here in Wales.

The people behind the products

But there is a danger when we talk about manufacturing only in terms of investment figures, factories and technology.

We can forget the people.

Every engine produced at Toyota, every aircraft component manufactured by Airbus, every component produced by Boccard and every innovation developed through AMRC Cymru depends on people with the right skills.

That is why I have always been such a strong advocate for apprenticeships and technical education.

I started my own career as an apprentice, and I know first-hand the opportunities that a good apprenticeship can provide.

A young person should be able to look at a modern manufacturing facility and see a future for themselves – in engineering, digital technology, research, design, project management, sustainability or leadership.

They should know they can build that career here in Wales.

For some, university will be the right route. For others, an apprenticeship or technical qualification will provide the ideal start. We should never tell a young person there is only one definition of success.

Our skills system must reflect the modern economy and give people the chance to learn, retrain and progress throughout their working lives.

Let’s open the doors

That is why National Manufacturing Day is so important. It is an opportunity for manufacturers to open their doors and show the next generation what is happening behind them.

What first sparked my interest in engineering was taking part in the F1 in Schools programme at Connah’s Quay High School. What sparked my interest in the art of manufacturing was machining the wheels for the model F1 car on the lathe at the SME where I later served my apprenticeship.

That experience shaped me.

We should give young people across Wales similar experiences: invite schools and colleges into factories, research centres and workshops; let them meet apprentices, speak to engineers and technicians, see robots and digital manufacturing in action, and ask questions.

A visit might last an hour or an afternoon, but it could change a young person’s perception of their future.

I have not just seen the pride that exists among manufacturing workers in Alyn and Deeside. I have worked alongside them.

It is pride in what they make, but also in the skills, teamwork and problem-solving behind it. That pride deserves to be shared with the next generation.

Wales should be ambitious

Wales has a proud manufacturing history, but we should not allow our industrial story to become one about the past. The lesson from Airbus, Toyota, Boccard, AMRC Cymru and the opportunities around Wylfa is that our manufacturing future is already being built.

We have major international companies, a skilled workforce, world-class engineering expertise, research and innovation, and communities with generations of manufacturing knowledge.

Our task now is to bring those strengths together. That means continued investment in skills, research, infrastructure and clean energy. It means supporting businesses of all sizes, from global manufacturers to the SME’s in their supply chains, and making sure future investment benefits local communities.

National Manufacturing Day is about more than celebrating what Wales makes. It is about asking what we want Wales to make next.

I want young people in North Wales and across the country to know that they do not have to leave Wales to find an exciting career in engineering, science or manufacturing.

Six million engines at Toyota show what can be achieved when we invest in people, skills and long-term industrial partnerships. The opportunities emerging in advanced manufacturing, clean energy and nuclear power show what could come next.

Wales should be proud of what we have made. But we should be even more ambitious about what we will make next. 

Jack Sargeant was the Welsh Labour Senedd Member for Alyn and Deeside until May. He served as Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership in the Welsh Government. A time-served engineer with a degree in industrial engineering, before politics he worked as a machinist at an engineering services company and as a research and development engineer with Atlas Copco.

You can find out more about Make UK’s National Manufacturing Day here: https://www.makeuk.org/national-manufacturing-day

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