The UK expects 50% of its welders to retire by 2027, creating over 35,000 job vacancies that the industry cannot fill quickly enough. Meanwhile, costs are spiraling—from energy bills 50% higher than European competitors to wage inflation driven by fierce competition for scarce skilled workers.

For metal fabricators, these pressures are making automation not just attractive, but essential for staying competitive.

"Labour shortages and rising labour costs are having a very real impact on the competitiveness of the UK aluminium industry, and fabricators are particularly exposed," says Nadine Bloxsome, CEO of the Aluminium Federation (ALFED), adding:

"Across our membership, we're seeing growing interest in automating key parts of the production and fabrication process, especially where skills shortages are acute."

Multiple cost pressures squeeze margins – automation can help

The financial squeeze comes from several directions. National Insurance increases and minimum wage rises mean a 44% cost increase for entry-level workers between 2021-2025, according to Oxford Economics. And skilled trades face their own inflationary spiral as competition for scarce welders and CNC operators drives wages sharply upward.

"The challenge is twofold: there's a clear shortfall in available skilled labour for operational and technical roles, especially in areas like welding, finishing, and CNC machining. On the other hand, wage inflation is pushing up operational overheads significantly," Bloxsome explains. "These costs can't always be passed down the value chain, so margins are being squeezed, particularly for SMEs."

Energy costs compound the problem. UK aluminium producers and processors face industrial electricity costs up to 50% higher than European counterparts, according to ALFED, directly limiting their ability to invest and compete on price.

"Automation is absolutely central to addressing many of these structural challenges, particularly when it comes to labour, productivity, and energy efficiency," says Bloxsome.

Many untapped automation opportunities in fabrication

While robot adoption has been modest among UK metal manufacturers until now, this represents significant untapped potential. With just 119 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers compared to a global average of 162, according to data from the International Federation of Robotics, there's substantial room for growth. Fabricators are increasingly discovering how robots and automation can tackle repetitive and demanding tasks, boosting capacity and productivity while often lowering costs and freeing skilled staff for higher-value work.

The transformation potential is clear from success stories like Contracts Engineering in Sittingbourne. Starting with no automation, the company now operates three welding robots and has more than doubled its business in four years. Robotic welding handles half of everything they quote, delivering 50% cycle time reductions while maintaining consistency across thousands of welds.

“We’re seeing a big automation potential in fabrication that, until recently, was only explored by a few pioneering companies. It’s now becoming broadly accessible,” says Søren Peters, Co-CEO of HowToRobot, whose impartial experts often conduct fabrication site visits to identify low-risk, high-value automation opportunities that can fill labor gaps and improve margins. 

"The good business cases are there, and the technology is ready. It's often just a matter of knowing how to find the best opportunities and match them with suited technology," adds Peters.

Today's robotic systems can handle everything from CNC machine tending to cutting, profiling, forming, bending, grinding, polishing, material handling, inspection, assembly, and packaging. Advanced sensors and AI now enable robots to cope with variations that previously made automation unfeasible in smaller fabrication shops.

Automation help is available

Despite the clear benefits, barriers to adoption remain.

"For many SMEs in particular, the biggest barrier is often not interest or ambition, but it is the confidence in choosing the right solution, making the business case, and accessing the right support to implement it successfully," says Bloxsome.

There are, however, many opportunities available for fabricators to get help and overcome these barriers. 

"We often see companies wanting to automate but not having the expertise or bandwidth to figure out where to start, which solutions might work, and whether they’ll provide a good return on investment,” says Peters, adding:

“When companies get help to find and prioritize opportunities, defining the right requirements, and getting tailored proposals from vetted suppliers, it takes a lot of the guesswork out of automation – and helps make it happen faster.”

Through working with fabricators and other manufacturers, HowToRobot has found that a structured sourcing process that facilitates comparable, budgetary quotes from suppliers can vastly accelerate the process of finding a solution – often down to a few weeks instead of several months or even years. 

“Platforms like HowToRobot are playing an important role, helping companies understand the landscape of available technologies and how they can be tailored to their specific operations,” says Bloxsome. 

The financing landscape is also evolving. Rather than requiring large upfront investments, leasing arrangements now allow fabricators to spread costs over time, making automation accessible to smaller operations.

“Overall, I’m very optimistic. The appetite is there, the technology is ready, and with the right guidance and support, I believe automation will become one of the defining enablers of growth, resilience, and low-carbon leadership in UK aluminium,” concludes Bloxsome.