Freight Britain
UK food manufacturers pull forward on ‘ local ’ machine investments
Speed , proximity and short lead times are emerging as strong influencers to the Made in Britain rationale . Particularly in the food safety arena where delays to time saving inspection machinery is not conducive to productivity , compliance and brand protection .
As a British company using domestic suppliers to source materials and design , engineer , install and support machines locally , contaminant and checkweighing specialists Fortress Technology and Sparc Systems examine the competitive and cost advantages behind this accelerated reshoring drive .
Today ’ s food manufacturing world is in a very different place to how it was 20 years , and indeed 20 months ago . With the pandemic highlighting the fragility of international supply chains , Fortress and Sparc Managing Director Phil Brown has observed a definite shift in attitudes towards reshoring . With Asia and EMEA once considered the go-to-hubs for distributors of machinery components , materials and builds , rising wage costs , together with other export overheads , lengthy shipping delays , quality and IP issues has significantly influenced this reshoring reversal .
For engineering companies like Fortress and Sparc that continued to ‘ deliver the goods ’ even during the worst of the pandemic , having an established British R & D centre and manufacturing base has turned out to big plus . Rather than having a sprawling global supply chain , even when the largest economies closed their borders , Fortress continued to fulfil orders , attract new customers and maintain its agility . The companies even persisted with the successful development and launch of their new
4 FDPP - www . fdpp . co . uk collaborative product range – the award winning Raptor checkweighing , combination and x-ray machines .
CLOSER TO CUSTOMERS Having traded off and championed the Made in Britain badge since both companies were founded , Phil now reports a steady increase in live enquires for food-grade x-ray and metal detection solutions from food factories seeking a swift turnaround . Emerging less scathed than many of its market peers , both companies – currently the only known UK manufacturers of all three food inspection disciplines - have been able to mitigate the rising costs of shipping and air freights , passing these cost savings directly onto customers .
“ Even before Brexit , the weak pound and ongoing tariff negotiations prompted many UK food manufacturers to price up their import versus domestic sourcing options . A number made the conscious and pragmatic decision to source their food safety equipment domestically citing the need for greater resilience and proximity to the engineering support team ,” notes Phil .
Absorbing the additional 20 percent in import tariffs from the start of 2020 provided further impetus for UK food manufacturers to strategically accelerate their equipment reshoring plans . An issue that several new Fortress customers bemoaned before switching their business to the Banbury-based company . “ Uncertainty is really fuelling this trend and certainly now has a bearing on machinery investments . The risk of delays , the HGV driver crisis and diversion of cargo ships away from congested UK ports has further amplified the challenges ,” adds Phil
Premium engineered products , faster bespoke builds and the ability to convey requests face-to-face with customers in their native language , are among the other reasons why over 48 percent of companies are currently anticipating increasing their proportion of work commissioned to UK subcontractors moving forwardi .