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| SECTOR | IMPORTS | 5Y/YR | RANK | EXPORTS | 5Y/YR | RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Machinery | $11.2B | +2.6% | 15 | $7.90B | +1.9% | 15 |
| Automation and Robotics | $6.33B | +5.7% | 7 | $5.98B | +0.5% | 8 |
| Pumps and Valves | $8.34B | +2.7% | 5 | $7.06B | +1.0% | 9 |
| Material Handling | $4.66B | +5.6% | 5 | $4.18B | +4.8% | 7 |
| Food Processing Equipment | $2.00B | +3.1% | 4 | $858.3M | -0.7% | 16 |
| Steel and Metal Products | $35.6B | +2.1% | 11 | $25.1B | +1.9% | 19 |
| Specialty Chemicals | $12.2B | +0.1% | 8 | $11.5B | -4.2% | 11 |
| Plastics and Polymers | $21.5B | +1.7% | 8 | $14.3B | +3.6% | 16 |
| Packaging | $5.61B | +2.2% | 7 | $2.55B | +1.0% | 16 |
| Industrial Textiles | $1.75B | +1.1% | 11 | $1.09B | -1.8% | 16 |
| Electrical Equipment | $20.5B | +5.9% | 8 | $7.57B | +0.0% | 25 |
| Semiconductors and Industrial Electronics | $4.98B | +2.5% | 24 | $3.50B | -4.4% | 21 |
| Automotive Components | $21.5B | -2.8% | 7 | $7.46B | -4.5% | 22 |
| Aerospace Components | $14.2B | -4.2% | 7 | $40.8B | +5.4% | 2 |
| Medical Devices | $11.0B | +3.6% | 7 | $7.78B | +2.6% | 12 |
| Construction Materials | $5.18B | +3.9% | 4 | $1.10B | +0.7% | 28 |
| HVAC and Industrial Refrigeration | $5.70B | +3.1% | 5 | $1.69B | -0.8% | 21 |
| Power Generation Equipment | $3.63B | +8.3% | 3 | $3.07B | +1.6% | 7 |
| Water Treatment Equipment | $1.19B | +3.8% | 7 | $1.43B | +0.2% | 8 |
| Mining Equipment | $3.73B | -0.5% | 8 | $6.92B | +1.8% | 5 |
World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Belgium's Asteria Group has acquired UK self-adhesive label manufacturer Abbey Labels.
Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, through AGH Solutions, awarded Mitsubishi Electric Europe a £133,759 contract to replace failed compressors in air source heat pumps serving its modular ICU, with a duration of 5 months.
Anglian Water awarded a framework worth £3.6 million including VAT to AVK UK and Cla-Val UK for control valves and spares. The initial term runs from 15 November 2026 to 14 November 2031 with extension options, covering four English regions.
Pulpex has opened its first commercial-scale fibre bottle factory at Westway Industrial Estate in Renfrew, near Glasgow, creating about 39 jobs. The plant has an initial capacity of up to 40 million bottles a year.
Premier Paper Group acquired PPB Ltd, a paper, board and display materials merchant with offices in Leeds and Dartford and turnover of about £20 million. It is Premier's fifth acquisition in four years.
UK Steel Enterprises (UKSE), a Tata Steel subsidiary, made an equity investment in contract canner Cardiff Canning, which then added a second production line.
Cardiff Canning has installed a second production line at Freemans Park, Cardiff, costing GBP 400,000, lifting annual capacity to 35 million cans for the UK ready-to-drink market.
Ampo Poyam Valves won a contract to supply cryogenic gate, globe and check valves for the Power, Capture and Compression project of Net Zero Teesside in north-east England, with first deliveries due September 2026.
Cerberus Capital Management has agreed to acquire a substantial portion of Goodwin plc's Mechanical Engineering Division, including Goodwin Steel Castings, Goodwin International, Noreva, Easat and the Pump Division, for up to about £1.1 billion in cash. Closing is expected in Q1 2027.
Amcor agreed to supply Tiptree, the preserves brand owned by Wilkin and Sons, with RecyClass-certified collation shrink film and stretch wrap containing 30% post-consumer recycled content. The move prepares Tiptree for UK Plastic Packaging Tax changes from April 2027.
Zeus Packaging entered a long-term partnership with corrugated sheetboard maker Progroup at Progroup's Packaging Park in Ellesmere Port, UK. From October 2026 Zeus will move a significant part of its UK corrugated production there, expected to exceed 100 million square metres a year.
Danish packaging group Westpack, owned by Adelis, is acquiring London-based premium packaging provider Wrapology from Waterland-backed Carton Group. Wrapology operates across Europe and Asia, including Hong Kong and China. The announcement is dated August 25, 2026.
Cromwell Polythene Ltd was awarded a £68,000 contract by City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council for recyclable liners for food waste kitchen caddies. The award date is 23 August 2026.
Paranova Print and Packaging plans to invest £20m over five years to expand its fibre-based packaging operations, including a £6m facility and £14m on equipment and automated logistics.
Halton Wales, part of Halton Group, was awarded a contract by Axima UK to supply high-integrity HVAC dampers from its Ebbw Vale facility for the Sizewell C nuclear project in the UK. The contract is valued at several tens of millions of euros.
Progroup AG and Zeus Packaging agreed a long-term partnership under which Zeus will consolidate a significant share of its UK production at Progroup's Ellesmere Port packaging park. Production is scheduled to start in October 2026 and reach at least 100 million square metres per year.
Tennants UK, a number plate manufacturer in Nottingham, installed a second VeloBlade Nexus digital cutting system in August 2026 to expand in-house production of Enviro-Plate and Acrylic Plate components. The investment value was not disclosed.
Paranova is building a £6m purpose-built 98,000 sq ft manufacturing site in Godmanchester, Cambridgeshire, expected to be fully operational in November with 150 staff, with a new Koenig & Bauer press arriving in September.
Kirloskar Brothers' UK subsidiary SPP Pumps Ltd received an order from Saipem Offshore Construction worth GBP 11,674,520 (about Rs 149.59 crore) for design, manufacture and supply of vertical pumps and spares for an offshore energy project, to be executed within 52 to 60 weeks.
Invopak (Involvement Ltd) and Italy's Metalscatola Spa formed a joint venture that acquired UK-based Falco Packaging Ltd, which is rebranding as Invo Metal Ltd to supply metal tins and lids to UK industrial buyers.
Manchester sign maker Elite Sign Solutions selected the VelobladeNexus cutting system from Vivid Laminating Technologies, installed in July 2026 with help from Soyang Europe.
PALM converts its paper mill in King's Lynn, UK, from newsprint to corrugated case material after the paper machine PM 7 was affected by the decline in newsprint demand.
ABB has agreed a recommended all-cash offer of 503 pence per share for all of Rotork plc, implying an enterprise value of about $5.5 billion. The deal is expected to add about 3% to ABB's revenues and expand its automation offering.
UK packaging producer ASC Direct is now operating three AOPACK corrugated box making machines for short-run and custom packaging. It added a BM2508-Pro and a BM1800-Mini after using its first AOPACK machine since 2020. The announcement was made on June 26, 2026.
UK corrugated packaging companies CLF Packaging Ltd and Boxwise Ltd have merged into CLF Boxwise, serving manufacturers and distributors in the Midlands and South East. Amanda Boulter and Jo Jolley lead the new company. No deal value is given.
