In 2018 Dyson’s profits broke GBP1 billion for the first time as investments in advanced manufacturing and research reached a new high while revenue continued its strong growth trajectory. Dyson’s investment in future technology took grip across the UK and Asia and the global research and development team grew to 5,853 engineers and scientists. Investments deepened across all areas of core technology including energy storage, heater technologies, robotics, machine learning and motors. Direct retail continued to grow rapidly as Dyson opened more of its own stores and increased direct sales.
“In 2018 Dyson made its largest investment in the UK while driving its technology investments around the world, particularly in Singapore, responding to soaring demand for Dyson products across Asia. Globally, enthusiastic owners are demanding high-performance products so we are deepening our operations and technology investments to meet their needs. Unusually for a business like ours, around half of our people are engineers and scientists, in 2019 they will continue to develop the core technologies which will enable future products. Alongside this, our automotive business is rapidly progressing and Dyson is investing in the technologies that will define our future,” said Jim Rowan, Dyson, CEO.
New Products for wellbeing drove growth globally as Dyson broadened its technology investments with new products launched across six product areas, all underpinned by investment in core technologies. The Dyson Airwrap™ styler launched in October 2018 and quickly became one of the fastest selling Dyson products, new purification technology addressed growing concerns about indoor air quality, and people quickly adopted Dyson’s next generation vacuums which are equipped with the latest Dyson digital motor technology and batteries.
The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology welcomed the second cohort of undergraduate engineers to its Malmesbury Technology Campus as it continued its GBP31 million investment in Higher Education in the UK. The 2018 entry was one of the most competitive engineering degree courses in Britain, and 40% of the successful 2018 applicants were female, compared to the average 15.1% in UK engineering undergraduate courses. Construction of the undergraduate village in Malmesbury was completed, providing accommodation pods for the growing cohort of undergraduate engineers and further significant investments are planned for 2019. A new social space, ‘The Roundhouse’, will open in early 2019 offering a bar, café, cinema and study space; and further health and wellness investments, including a lap pool, are also planned.
Investment across the UK, Malaysia and Singapore. The UK investment program and expansion continues with the construction of new laboratories, allowing the growth of Dyson’s energy storage research program as well as the robotics program, one of the largest in the UK; the Singapore Technology Centre will double in size; and the Malaysia Design Centre goes into its fifth phase of development. Malmesbury, Hullavington, London and Bristol will continue to be core creative and engineering parts of Dyson and The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology is a vital part of the plan to nurture engineers for a long-term future in the UK.
An increasing majority of Dyson’s customers and all of our manufacturing operations are now in Asia; this shift has been occurring for some time and will quicken as Dyson brings its electric vehicle to market. As a result, an increasing proportion of Dyson’s executive team is going to be based in Singapore; positioning them to make the right decisions for Dyson in a quick and efficient way. This does not change any of our investment and recruitment plans; however we are now at a point where Dyson’s corporate head office will relocate there to reflect the increasing importance of Asia to Dyson’s business.
Dyson Automotive continued to gather momentum as the 750 acre, GBP200 million, Hullavington Technology Campus in the UK opened, offering state-of-the-art automotive spaces to the growing team. Dyson’s existing footprint and team in Singapore, combined with the nation’s significant advanced manufacturing expertise, made it the ideal location to manufacture the Dyson car. In April, Roland Krueger will join Dyson, based in Singapore, to oversee all aspects of the automotive project as it approaches launch; he joins having been president of Infiniti Motor Company, Ltd. and Senior Vice President of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., (part of Nissan Group Companies) since January 2015.
