Without metals, vital industries such as power generation, construction, and manufacturing could no longer operate effectively. There are thousands of companies in the metals industry and hundreds of thousands of people ensuring metals can be produced, modified, and used in a wide range of applications.
What the metals industry does
The metals industry produces metals such as aluminium and alloys such as steel. It also creates metal components, including the steel frames used in construction. It processes and modifies metals into different forms so they can be used in a variety of other industries for a range of purposes.
It also obtains and recycles scrap metal from objects that have reached the end of their natural lifespan, which can involve the uses of complex equipment such as Roscamat electric tapping machines. Roscamat electric tapping machines are used in everything from paper mills to automobile manufacturing.
The UK Metals Council
The UK Metals Council is an association of companies and trade bodies working in all aspects of the metals industry from production to recycling. It represents the interests of its members to the government and the rest of the world. Its publication of Vision 2030 The UK Metals Industry’s New Strategic Approach in 2015 set out a plan for how the industry can continue to develop to meet society’s ongoing need for metals and pursue goals such as net zero.
Plans for the future
Innovation is key to any industry surviving. Metals, as with many other industries, are currently paying particular attention to improving their sustainability, which means more efficient processes that use less energy and labour and produce less waste. The almost infinite ability of metals to be recycled makes them a popular choice of material in comparison to something such as plastic. New and more efficient cars, aeroplanes, infrastructure, and technology will all rely at least in part on metals.
Metals already form a vital part of the UK economy, featuring prominently in many industries. As innovations continue to be pioneered and sustainability improves, this is likely to continue.
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