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Professional Engineering, the magazine of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, has teamed up with Protolabs for the fifth consecutive year to create a special report on the UK manufacturing industry.

We're interested in the challenges facing UK manufacturing, and the adoption of technology, automation and talent acquisition, and would love to hear your responses to a few short questions. We'll also be comparing the results to last year to see how our manufacturing outlook has changed.

Your valuable insight will appear in the next issue of Professional Engineering magazine in print and online. The survey should take no more than ten minutes to complete, and as a thank you for taking part, you'll get the chance to enter a prize draw to win a £100 Amazon voucher, courtesy of Protolabs.

Thank you for your time.

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* 1. Which sector of the manufacturing industry do you work in?

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* 2. Which region do you live in?

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* 3. What are the most important areas your business will in invest in in the next 12 months? [Select up to three]

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* 4. From your perspective, over the next 12 months, what is the most important factor for your business to be competitive? [Rank in order]

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* 5. In your view, what is your business’ main obstacle in terms of acquiring new business? [Rank in order]

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* 6. What of the following words do you most associate with manufacturing? [Tick up to five]

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* 7. How prepared do you think the manufacturing industry is for Industry 4.0 or the ‘rise of digital’ processes?

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* 8. What percentage of your business’ manufacturing services are automated?

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* 9. How much do you expect automation in your business to increase over the next…

  Not at all A little Somewhat A lot I don't know
12 months
5 Years

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* 10. What do you think UK companies need to do to retain their position in global manufacturing? [Tick all that apply]

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* 11. What do you think are the greatest challenges faced by UK companies when it comes to adopting digital manufacturing techniques? [Rank in order]

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* 12. How would you define Industry 4.0?

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* 13. What impact will Industry 4.0 and automation have on your business?

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* 14. What challenges have you or your company faced in adopting digital manufacturing techniques?

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* 15. Professional Engineering may contact you to follow up on the issues raised in the survey and with the final results. If you are happy for us to do this, please enter your details below. You can opt out at any time by emailing profeng@thinkpublishing.co.uk

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* 16. If you would like to be in with a chance of winning a £100 Amazon gift voucher, please share your details below.  

Please note that in providing your information for this competition you consent to us sharing this with, Protolabs, our survey partner who may in turn send you marketing messages related to their products. Protolabs will store your data in accordance with data protection legislation. You can see their privacy policy here. 

For questions or to opt out at any time, please contact marketing@protolabs.co.uk

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* 17. If you haven't entered your email address above and would like to be entered into the prize draw for a chance to win an £100 Amazon voucher, please enter your email address below

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