With Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announcing a £360 million boost to British manufacturing and R&D in the Budget, the spotlight is on a sector that represents nearly 10% of the UK economy.
Expanding manufacturing businesses and those installing robotics to save time and costs are increasingly looking to mezzanines to help them make best use of their space and increase productivity.
Mezzanines allow manufacturing companies to maximise use of their available space without the expense and inconvenience of finding new premises.
The Chancellor said his aim was to “make the UK a world leader in manufacturing, securing the highly skilled jobs of the future and delivering the long-term change our country needs.”
The funding is made up of joint government and industry investment across the life sciences, automotive and aerospace sectors. It includes £270 million for advanced manufacturing industries to fund car and space innovation in order to grow electric vehicle and clean aviation technology.
Hi-Level Mezzanines has exceptional experience in installing mezzanines for manufacturing, including for life sciences and the automotive industry.
Here are our 5 top benefits of mezzanines for manufacturing:
1.Hi-Level’s mezzanines are fit for purpose. Our robust and cost-effective solutions meet the high demands of heavy machinery with substantial weight loads, with our qualified structural engineers calculating the load and mezzanine specifications needed. As well as production line space, our mezzanines are used for sortation areas, workspaces, staff areas and walkways. Our in-house design team value-engineer a bespoke solution for every project to minimise material and labour costs, and we can build a mezzanine over machinery that cannot be moved, as we did for superbike specialists GB Racing. Our automotive clients also include Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, Rolls Royce and Aston Martin.
We have the expertise to overcome challenges and our processes ensure minimal impact on existing production. In the words of GB Racing: “Impressed with the scanning technology used at survey, the level of detail on drawings and the Project Manager’s technical assistance and guidance throughout the project. Installation was fantastic – could not believe how quickly it happened!”
2.Mezzanines are made for smart manufacturing. In the next five years smart factory solutions are expected to be the primary drivers of competitiveness, according to 86% of manufacturing executives questioned in a Deloitte survey. Manufacturing companies installing a mezzanine in 2024 are helping to futureproof their business as robotics becomes more prevalent across the sector. There is both the scope and an impetus for expansion. Robot installations are up 3% in UK industry since Brexit, but in the same period sales of robotics in Germany have increased by 30% (according to the International Federation of Robotics). Meanwhile, 63% of manufacturers plan to invest in capital equipment over the next 24 months (source: Make UK). At Hi-Level we have become experts in mezzanines for automation for clients from Amazon to Next.
3.Mezzanines bring office and production operations under one roof for a more efficient use of space. Admin staff and management team are brought on the same site as the shopfloor, situated on a mezzanine above the manufacturing facility. This was the case with our client KAPCO, a manufacturer and distributor of commercial aircraft parts and supplies. We installed a mezzanine structure that would provide additional office space above the packaging and dispatch area when the company moved its European distribution centre from the Netherlands to a large disused warehouse in Bordon, Hampshire.
“A design was created which matched our working requirements and actually achieved more useable office, warehouse and workshop space. Hi-Level then helped us build our environmental requirements for modern office and warehouse working conditions with the latest, heating, air conditioning, and lighting systems, plus an advanced security and access control system that would allow us to continually tailor the building to our ever-changing working practices and contractual requirements”. KAPCO
4.Mezzanines are the answer for expansion. This includes companies bringing manufacturing back to the UK from abroad to avoid supply chain disruption. Some 38% of British brands surveyed believe reshoring manufacturing would be one of the best ways to grow their business, a poll by ShipBob and CensusWide found. A mezzanine allows you to find the space your business needs when it has outgrown your current premises or you simply need to maximise capacity. A mezzanine floor can double, triple, or quadruple usable space, and can be engineered to take any load. Using overhead space that would otherwise be wasted can maximise productivity at a fraction of the cost of moving to new premises. Hi-Level Mezzanines installs a range of bespoke mezzanines, from Amazon distribution centres to the clinical demands of medical facilities for life sciences providers.
Our expertise is highlighted in this testimonial from furniture manufacturers Page Lacquer: “Hi-Level were not only extremely efficient but they were helpful and patient during installation. They are just the company we were looking for. Their support and professionalism throughout the project was of the highest standard. We would recommend them to any company looking to install a mezzanine.”
5.Hi-Level Mezzanines innovates to stay ahead of the game. Our game-changing Hi-Tile flooring for mezzanines, launched in 2023, is perfect for manufacturing. It uses robust interlocking 7mm textured PVC tiles to create the most durable, cost-effective flooring on the market. Its seamless interlocking joints, electrostatic resistance and anti-slip surface make it the perfect partner to robotics solutions. A range of colour options makes it equally useful for zoning, allowing demarcation of production, office and washroom areas, for example.
UK manufacturing contributed 9.4% to total UK economic output from July to September 2023 and employs 2.6 million people. That’s eighth in the world by value of output. Hi-Level Mezzanines is ready to help UK manufacturers make the very best use of their space.
Hi-Level Mezzanines
Hi-Level Mezzanines provides mezzanine floors of the highest quality in the industry, yet remaining competitively priced thanks to the expertise of our team of qualified structural engineers, innovative digital design process and advanced solutions.
For 30 years we have been creating space for amazing things to happen. Contact us today for more information at [email protected] or call 01730 237 190.
