Sectors
Oil & Gas
The Oil & Gas Sector includes companies producing or supplying fossil fuels, coal and natural gas and is one of the most important drivers of global industrial growth.
It has been an important part of the global economy for decades and will remain so into the future. Being an all-encompassing sector, it includes companies that produce and supply all forms of energy with oil and gas being the primary product but includes renewable sources such as wind and solar as well.
Also included are exploration and drilling, pipeline transport, rail transport, sea transport, and distribution through wires to homes. Digital technology has fostered a number of significant changes withing the sector in recent years.
Rail Transport
Rail Transport is a major cog within the global economy and implements millions of wagons on a daily basis providing the items we rely on for our daily lives such as groceries, medicines, motor vehicles, oil and gas, and building materials.
On a worldwide basis rail freight helps keep global communities running smoothly and efficiently. As with many other sectors the rail freight sector makes significant changes on an annual basis by developing new ways to move goods more sustainably. Many businesses are switching from road and air transport to rail transport to keep their supply chains moving forward in a sustainable and efficient manner.
The rail sector includes not only rail transport but also the manufacture of rolling stock, rail infrastructure, loading and unloading machinery, and rail maintenance.
Ship Building
The Shipbuilding Sector is an important global sector involved with the construction of ships and other floating vessels, which normally takes place at a shipyard, and this sector has been in existence for literally thousands of years across the world. Shipyards provide a variety of goods and services and contrary to common believe they are not just involved in designing and building vessels, but they also repair and retrofit vessels on a daily basis. This sector also includes the construction of barges, ferries and yachts for personal and commercial use.
Naval Engineering is another term commonly used for the Shipbuilding Sector and can include both commercial and military markets. The repair of ships is an integral activity that can happen while at sea or in port, with the larger and critical maintenance and repairs operations can only happen at the dry docks within ship repair yards.
Shipbuilding today is carried out by manufacturing prefabricated sections of the hull and superstructure which are then assembled at the dock. Otherwise known as ‘block construction’ components such as pipes, cables, and other smaller components are incorporated into each block and later connected and joined at the dock.
Turbines – steam gas
Steam Gas Turbines are heat engines which are designed to extract thermal energy from generated pressurized steam that is translated into mechanical force through use of a rotating output shaft. A steam gas turbine has a base structure that typically comprised of high-quality castings and advanced metalwork made of high-grade steel alloys. Precision engineered parts produced on high-tech CNC machinery assures durability and efficiency and enables the steam turbine to remain central to the energy economics of the 21st century.
Thermodynamic efficiency is derived through the use of multiple reducing stages by passing the steam through the stages. The turbine’s resulting energy is a rotary motion that is often coupled to a generator turning the motion into electricity. Turbogenerators are often the core of thermal power stations. Turbines are powered by a variety of fuels such as fossil-fuels, nuclear fuels, geothermal, or solar energy.
Steam turbines are often the de facto standard power generation method used to meet the power requirements of heavy industry, and has been globally used for decades. Steam Turbines are used in many industries including chemical, petrochemical, cement, glass & steel, pulp & paper, oil & gas, power generation, and many others.
Transport
Transport or sometimes called Transport and Logistics is a diverse sector contributing to broad number industries and covers vehicle manufacturing, logistics, supply chain, freight transport, and passenger transport, and is underpinned by road, rail, air, and water networks. These services are required for people to get from point A to point B in a timely manner and for the transfer goods around the world by businesses. On a global scale people rely heavily on these networks and services making it essential that the sector keeps them always running smoothly.
The Passenger Transport section of The Transport Sector includes route planning, infrastructure maintenance, facilities, safety devices, bus building, coach building, rail manufacturing, rail transport, light rail and tram manufacturing and transport, metro manufacturing and transport, taxi building and transport, and shipbuilding and water transport arenas.
Logistics and Supply Chain are also a critical element that includes freight transportation, maritime and port operations, courier services, warehousing, storage, and handling.
Industrial Vechicles
Industrial Vehicles are defined by vehicle type and drive type, application, capacity, level of autonomy, and include such vehicles like transport lorries, dumper trucks, bulldozers, road graders, crawler cranes, agricultural tractors, excavators, aerial work platforms, boom lifts, and scissor lifts. Many Industrial Vehicles are used to build infrastructure but are often used in the manufacturing process to store and retrieve inventory for the production line and can also be designed to transport finished products and raw materials to warehouse distribution centres. Industrial vehicles are typically designed to attach specialized heavy-duty equipment and implements and are available in a range of sizes and have historically been powered by internal combustion engines but battery-operated industrial vehicles and are increasingly popular.
As the need for battery-powered industrial vehicles increases and smart factories join the industrial vehicle sector, the industry is expected to have new growth opportunities.
More opportunity on a global basis is provided through the increasing number of warehouses per region as a result of the even increasing need to support hub and spoke models in a variety of industries like e-commerce, automotive, consumer products, and electronics.
Motorsport
The global Motorsport market is a large sector and is growing quickly. The Motorsport Sector is defined as international competitions where highly tuned and specialised vehicles engage in races.
The most common motor vehicles featured in these competitions are cars, motor bikes, go-karts, boats, and trucks with the most well-known being auto racing. Globally the best-known competition circuits are Formula One, Various other Formula Circuits, Indycar, and Nascar and these circuits influence and promote the use of new technologies like electrical energy, aerodynamics and oil-based products. Innovation is a key driver in this sector and a priority for automotive manufacturers as they seek to improve maintainability, performance and efficiency of their vehicles.
Developments from the Motorsport Sector later carry over into the consumer auto industry and are supported by the Automobile manufacturers who heavily invest in R&D to upgrade their vehicles in order to gain competitive advantage in the competition. R&D investments inevitably create advancements in other ancillary industries like tyres, consumer and commercial vehicles, oil, electric, and technology.
Healthcare
The healthcare sector consists of all businesses involved in the provision and coordination of medical and related goods and services and is the largest employer in the world. The healthcare industry consists of a diverse array of companies, including drug manufacturers, biotech, medical equipment, managed healthcare, healthcare facilities, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, surgical equipment, and diagnostic tools.
The healthcare sector c The healthcare sector consists of businesses that provide medical services, manufacture medical equipment or drugs, provide medical insurance, or otherwise facilitate the provision of healthcare to patients. The healthcare sector contains a diverse array of industries, with activities ranging from research to manufacturing to facilities management, and drugs. The aging global population is driving ongoing strong demand in the healthcare sector on a global scale.
Drug and Pharmaceutical Manufacturers are comprised of biotech firms and pharmaceutical firms that not only engage in research and development but focus more on manufacturing and marketing a portfolio of drugs. The Biotech Industry consists of companies that engage in research and development to create new drugs, devices, and treatment methods.
Medical Equipment makers manufacture standard and familiar products such as scalpels, forceps, bandages, and gloves but also includes companies carrying out advanced research leading to the manufacturing of hi-tech equipment, such as MRI machines and surgical robots. Healthcare Facilities firms operate hospitals, clinics, labs, psychiatric facilities, and nursing homes.
Aerospace
The Aerospace Sector is one the most broad, innovative and fast-paced sectors in the world and includes a variety of products such as flight vehicles that require millions of individual parts and components as well as support systems that are needed to operate and maintain the vehicles.
New products are always being developed; environmental issues are always being addressed. The main sub-sectors of aerospace include Military and Civil Aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), space systems, and missiles. Aviation Fuel Refinement and alternative fuels also contribute to the growth of this sector.
In addition to flight vehicles the Aerospace Sector includes Airport Infrastructure and Aviation Security and both sub-sectors continue to grow globally. Another sub-sector is Aviation Fuel Refinement and alternatives fuels that are environmentally sustainable and protect the airline industry from the price volatility.
Defence
The Defence industry is very comprehensive covering everything from land, sea and air capabilities to electronics and cyber security provides the technology that protects nations all over the world. It is a worldwide industrial complex enabling research and development, design, production, delivery, and maintenance of military weapons systems, subsystems, and components or parts, to meet the rigorous military requirements.
One product can encompass a huge range of industrial components. The defence sector is a dynamic sector that is constantly changing and is always in need of new technologies and methods of manufacturing. Because many of the products are highly complex it can take a number of years for a product or process to be developed.
The Defence Industry Sector has companies operating within that range from large multinational companies down to specialist small local companies that develop and supply components to the larger companies. In addition to traditional and newly developed products, this sector is made up of maintenance and service of existing aircraft, land vehicles and naval vessels.
Retail
The Retail Sector consists of companies that sell goods and services to consumers and is made up of a variety of different store types on a worldwide basis and is one of the most important sectors in the global economy. It covers a broad range of activities, including selling products or services directly to consumers through stores, shops and online and includes grocery, convenience, discount, department stores, DIY, electrical and speciality.
The Retail Sector grows at a steady year on year pace and employs a huge number of workers worldwide, with online retail being a critical component of this sector. It is a highly competitive and fast-paced sector which especially came to light in past few years, where changes to retail supply chain occurred on a global basis demonstrating how important retail sales are for the global economy.
Retailers work with suppliers to get the right range of products, determine pricing and promotional strategies, hire staff and manage the retail facilities where they trade. Modern marketing methods gives retailers a global reach and allows them to reduce the physical size of markets and offers the ability to acquire consumers on a worldwide basis. Retail sales directly support other industries such as agriculture, food packaging and manufacturing.
Renewables
Renewable energy provides nearly a third of the UK’s electricity with half of this coming from wind power. Generation from onshore and offshore wind are central to the UK’s shift to a future-visioned renewable energy system and offering a cost-effective choice for new electricity.
Considered to be a clean technology that is generally popular with the public and is viewed as a low-carbon energy source that pays back to consumers. The UK is the world leader renewable energy due to its investment in offshore wind, with more installed capacity than any other country with huge sums being invested in offshore wind while supporting thousands of jobs in the manufacturing of wind turbines, turbine towers, propellor blades, generator units, and transmission infrastructure.
Ancillary sectors include project development, construction, and operations. The renewable energy sector is a transformative sector generating highly skilled jobs across the UK and is the backbone of a clean, reliable, and futuristic energy system.