Global manufacturing executives rank the º£½ÇÊÓƵ as one of the top destinations for future sales growth, according to new research.
The 'Global Manufacturing Outlook' report, from financial services firm KPMG, says executives place the º£½ÇÊÓƵ ahead of established manufacturing economies such as Germany and on a par with China.
The º£½ÇÊÓƵ has risen to second place as a country where global companies expect to derive the majority of their sales growth over the next two years. Only the US (45 per cent) beats the º£½ÇÊÓƵ (17 per cent).
The Global Manufacturing Outlook report, which surveyed 460 executives, also reveals that, in terms of a country where global companies expect profit growth in the next two years, the º£½ÇÊÓƵ is ranked third (16 per cent), only marginally behind China (18 per cent) and marginally ahead of Germany (15 per cent).
Stephen Cooper, KPMG's º£½ÇÊÓƵ head of industrial manufacturing, said: "This is encouraging news for manufacturers in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and reflects the increasing confidence in the sector we have seen in recent months.
"The º£½ÇÊÓƵ economy overall is showing positive economic signs, while comparatively, some of our overseas competitors are on more shaky ground.
"It is also interesting that the global companies expect a higher profit growth in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ than Germany.
"Germany traditionally has a reputation of being efficient in manufacturing processes, so one would expect them to rate perhaps higher than the º£½ÇÊÓƵ as a naturally more profitable country for investors. The wider Euro crisis and European debt issues may still have a lag impact on Germany."
The report also found that manufacturers were making a dramatic move to 3D printing technology to reduce product development life cycles.
While 81 per cent of global companies said that they were using 3-D printing in product development, this trend was even more marked with º£½ÇÊÓƵ companies where 85 per cent said that 3-D printing was used to speed up product development.
