Paul Markillie is the Innovation Editor at The Economist and the man behind the newspaper’s special report on the transformative potential of new innovations in manufacturing technologies, materials and processes.

“As manufacturing goes digital, it will change out of all recognition … The wheel is almost coming full circle, turning away from mass manufacturing and towards much more individualised production. And that in turn could bring some of the jobs back to rich countries that long ago lost them to the industrialised world.”

When Paul dropped into Chartwell’s office last week for a cup of tea he told us how this new wave of disruptive innovation, being developed in the US and Europe, could undermine the advantages currently enjoyed by low wage economies like China and India. Next time he drops by he promised to bring with him a claw hammer he recently had made for him by a 3-D printer!