17th October 2026
While rising energy prices and the cost of living dominate the headlines, businesses across Scotland are investing in new factories, developing medical technology and creating opportunities in advanced manufacturing. These are six examples of a different side of the Scottish economy.
There is no shortage of bad economic news. Households are worried about energy bills, businesses face rising costs, and many town centres continue to struggle. Yet look beyond the daily headlines and a rather different picture begins to emerge.
Across Scotland, companies are developing new products, attracting investment and preparing to compete in international markets. Some are established industrial businesses expanding their operations. Others are young companies attempting to turn promising ideas into commercially successful products.
Not every investment will succeed, and some of the jobs announced have yet to materialise. Nevertheless, these developments demonstrate that Scotland still has opportunities to create wealth, develop new skills and build industries that could support employment for years to come.
Here are six examples worth watching.
Renfrew: Turning paper bottles into a manufacturing business
One of the most tangible developments is the opening of a new factory by packaging technology company Pulpex near Glasgow.
The facility, which opened on 8 October, can initially produce up to 40 million fibre bottles a year and is expected to create around 39 skilled manufacturing jobs. The company says more than 90% of the available production capacity for the current financial year has already been committed to customers.
Pulpex makes bottles from wood pulp, seeking to provide an alternative to conventional plastic packaging. Its first customers include household cleaning brand smol, while Purely Scottish Natural Mineral Water plans to introduce water in a paper bottle.
The significance is that the technology has moved beyond laboratory development and small-scale trials into commercial production.
If demand grows, the company hopes to expand through manufacturing partnerships overseas. That could give Scotland a role not just in producing packaging, but also in developing and licensing the technology.
The environmental claims will need to be judged against the full life cycle of the products, including manufacturing, transport and disposal. But the opening of a working factory, with customers already committed, is a meaningful step.
Prestwick: Aerospace engineering prepares for expansion
A major investment announced by GE Aerospace on 12 October offers another example of Scotland's industrial capabilities.
The company plans to invest £30 million in expanding and modernising its Prestwick operation, including a new 55,000-square-foot building. The wider investment package is expected to total £57 million, with public-sector support.
The expansion is intended to increase the site's capacity for aircraft-engine maintenance, repair and overhaul. GE Aerospace plans to recruit around 150 workers over five years, with the expanded facility expected to be fully operational in early 2028.
Aerospace maintenance is a specialised business requiring engineering expertise, technical training and reliable supply chains. It can support a range of occupations, from skilled engineers to logistics and support staff.
The announcement also illustrates the role public investment can play in encouraging private companies to expand. The eventual economic return will depend on whether the additional capacity attracts sustained business and whether the planned recruitment takes place.
For Ayrshire, however, it provides a clear example of an established industrial employer preparing for future demand rather than contracting its operations.
Montrose: Scotland wants more of the offshore wind supply chain
Scotland's offshore wind industry offers enormous potential, but there has long been a question about how much of the manufacturing and associated economic activity will actually take place here.
A new investment at the Port of Montrose is intended to address part of that challenge.
Subsea Micropiles is establishing a manufacturing facility to produce components used to secure floating offshore wind turbines in deep water. The project involves more than £5 million of investment and is expected to create around 80 jobs.
Separately, SSE has identified Montrose as its preferred location for an operations and maintenance base for its planned Berwick Bank B wind farm. That could create a further 100 jobs if the development proceeds.
The two announcements could strengthen Montrose's position as a centre for offshore wind engineering, servicing and maintenance.
There are still important qualifications. The additional employment depends on projects being delivered, and offshore wind developments must navigate planning, financing, construction and commercial challenges. But the direction of travel is encouraging.
Scotland already has substantial experience in offshore energy. The opportunity is to use those skills to manufacture more components, develop specialist services and retain a greater share of the economic benefits locally.
[b]Glasgow: A small medical technology company with global ambitions
Not all promising Scottish businesses require large factories or hundreds of workers. Some begin with a specialist technology that could eventually serve customers around the world.
Glasgow-based Nami Surgical is developing miniature ultrasonic surgical instruments designed to work with robotic-assisted surgery.
Ultrasonic instruments use high-frequency vibrations to cut tissue and seal blood vessels. Nami's work focuses on making this technology more flexible and suitable for integration into robotic surgical systems.
On 14 October, the company announced £3.4 million in additional funding to advance development and commercialisation. The funding is expected to support five additional jobs at its Glasgow headquarters.
Nami originated as a spin-out from the University of Glasgow in 2021. Its progress illustrates how university research can become the basis of a new business, attracting investment and creating highly skilled employment.
However, developing a medical device is only part of the challenge. The company must also establish the necessary evidence, regulatory compliance, commercial partnerships and customer demand before it can build a substantial market.
If successful, the benefits could extend well beyond the initial handful of jobs, through intellectual property, specialist employment and sales into international healthcare markets.
Edinburgh: A women's health brand looks overseas
Innovation is not confined to engineering and heavy industry. Edinburgh-based GLORIAH is an example of a consumer business attempting to build a market around products addressing an area of women's health that has often received limited attention.
The company raised £600,000 in a funding round announced in early October, exceeding its original £500,000 target. It plans to expand its UK retail presence and prepare for entry into the United States.
The fundraising attracted several investors, including Highland Venture Capital and Scottish Enterprise.
For a young consumer brand, investment can provide the resources to develop products, establish distribution, build recognition and test new markets. But overseas expansion can be expensive, and a successful fundraising round does not guarantee that a business will become profitable.
What makes this an interesting Scottish story is the attempt to build a business around a specific customer need and then take it beyond the domestic market.
Scotland needs successful consumer businesses as well as technology companies. They can develop their own products, build brands and generate income from customers elsewhere in the world.
Advanced materials: Scotland looks to the next generation of manufacturing
A further example comes from iGii, a Scottish company developing an advanced carbon nanomaterial known as Gii.
On 16 September, the company announced a £22.7 million package of investment and support to accelerate commercialisation and expand its manufacturing and development work.
Advanced materials can have applications across a range of industries, potentially allowing manufacturers to improve the performance or reduce the weight of products. But translating a scientific breakthrough into a commercially viable material is a demanding process. Production must be reliable, customers must be convinced of its advantages, and costs must be competitive.
The investment in iGii is therefore a step towards commercial growth, rather than proof that a large new industry has already been established.
Its progress is nevertheless worth watching. Scotland has universities, research institutions and engineering expertise that can provide the foundations for new manufacturing businesses. The economic challenge is to help those businesses grow, sell their products and retain skilled employment in Scotland rather than seeing the benefits move elsewhere.
What do these businesses tell us about Scotland's economy?
The six examples are very different, but they have something in common. Each is trying to turn a particular capability into a commercial opportunity.
Pulpex is moving packaging technology into industrial production. GE Aerospace is expanding an established engineering operation. Subsea Micropiles is seeking to capture more of the offshore wind supply chain. Nami Surgical and iGii are working to commercialise specialist technologies, while GLORIAH is developing a consumer brand for wider markets.
They also illustrate why headline investment figures need to be treated carefully. Announced spending is not the same as money already spent. Planned jobs are not the same as people already employed. A promising technology is not automatically a profitable business.
The real test will be whether the investments lead to sustained production, paying customers, growing exports and secure employment.
There is also a question of geography. Much of Scotland's business activity is concentrated in the Central Belt and established industrial centres. The Highlands and Islands need opportunities of their own, but they could also benefit indirectly if growing Scottish businesses create demand for specialist suppliers, engineering services, transport, maintenance and training.
Could more of this happen in the Highlands?
Caithness has its own base of engineering, energy and technical expertise, alongside the experience associated with Dounreay and the wider nuclear sector. The region also has opportunities connected with renewable energy, digital services and specialist manufacturing.
The challenge is to turn those capabilities into businesses that employ people locally and continue to grow after individual construction projects finish.
That requires more than attracting a large investment announcement. Smaller firms need access to finance, suitable premises, skilled workers, reliable transport and customers willing to buy their products. Colleges and universities need to connect training with realistic employment opportunities. Local procurement can help, provided businesses are able to compete on quality, cost and delivery.
There is no guarantee that a factory opening in Renfrew or an engineering expansion in Ayrshire will directly benefit Caithness. But the underlying lesson is relevant: successful businesses grow by finding something they can do well, developing a market and investing in the ability to serve it.
Beyond the gloom
None of these developments removes the immediate pressures facing households and small businesses. High fuel prices, expensive energy and uncertain economic conditions remain serious concerns.
But an economy is not defined solely by the businesses that close or the bills that rise. It is also shaped by the companies investing in new products, building skills and looking for customers beyond their immediate surroundings.
Scotland has examples of that activity, from industrial manufacturing to medical technology and consumer products. Some will grow into substantial employers; others may struggle to turn their ambitions into lasting success.
The important thing is to give promising businesses a fair opportunity to develop, while judging progress by results rather than announcements alone.
For Scotland, and for places such as Caithness, the long-term prize is not simply attracting investment. It is building an economy in which more home-grown ideas become successful businesses, more local people can find skilled work, and more of the value created stays in the communities where people live.
That will not solve the cost-of-living crisis overnight. But it is a more encouraging story about the future than the daily headlines sometimes suggest.