INVEST IN THE UK – Says Mark Alderson

Briman members are investing in technology, techniques and people to stay ahead of the game, says Mark Alderson

Within the UK, manufacturing makes up 11% of GVA, 44% of total UK exports, 70% of business R&D and directly employs 2.6 million people. To sustain these figures, trade magazine, The Manufacturer, argues that investment is vital. Fortunately, Briman Group members are doing just that.

These investments come in a variety of forms, including improved machine efficiency and capacity, automation, cutting edge manufacturing and print techniques and up skilling of their workforce. These investments are keeping British manufacturing at the forefront of technology as well as supporting the British economy.

Juniper Products has made a conscious effort to bring manufacturing back to the UK. This decision has been supported with more than £200,000 of investment into new machinery during 2018.

Managing director, Andrew Langley confirmed that this investment had provided greater capacity, improved lead times and cost benefits, enabling the company to offer a bespoke service. Great Central Plastics, known for its range of custom design plastic moulded products, has invested in advanced CAD and CAM technology to aid in-house tooling production.

In turn, this has created two new jobs for apprentices inits tool room. Print technology has been at the heart of First Editions investment.

It became the first company in Europe to offer rotary digital printing and continues to invest heavily in this print medium. Kevin Kingdom of UK Lanyards Makers said: “As well as bespoke automatic ribbon cutting and sewing equipment, our key investment this year has been in people.

To have a flexible but well trained workforce has been our vision and we are now in a very strong position to ramp up production to deliver large volumes in a very short lead-time.” Foremost Magnets has invested in two new production lines, due to be commissioned early in 2019, automating the process of mounting magnets.

Investing in such equipment has facilitated an increase in project run size, thereby reducing costs and mitigating the effects of the significant labour cost differentials of Far East competitors. “This means we can compete on the price of large run projects while maintaining UK ethics and production quality,” said managing director, Lee Woodcock. Supporting British manufacturers enables them to continue make these significant investments and remain at the forefront of the industry.

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