The £13.5 billion UK photonics industry employs 69,000 people producing products exported throughout the world. The industry is characterised by global exports, with the UK’s leading reputation in photonics exemplified by the many companies who export almost everything they manufacture. But exactly what fraction of the industry outputs overall are exported, to where?
Delivering the latest photonics products means the industry, has and continues, to invest substantially in R&D, capital equipment and people. However there is little direct evidence of the levels of investment which are frequently taken for granted as normal in the industry.
The PLG has therefore launched a survey of the UK photonics industry to gather key additional data on exports, funding, investment and enablers/barriers to growth for UK Photonics. We encourage as many UK photonics companies as possible to complete the 15 question on-line UK photonics industry survey
We understand that the current Coronavirus pandemic introduces huge uncertainty for the economy, including the photonics industry. The survey was compiled and initial inputs gathered prior to the pandemic and thus for consistency we ask for responses to made from the pre-pandemic viewpoint. Depending on developments we may conduct an additional survey later in the year to see what the impact has been.
No personal data is requested in the survey, all data will be treated in confidence and only aggregated results published.