Manufacturing collective launches MANifesto as wait for Industrial Strategy goes on
EDITOR ’ S CHOICE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
MAN GROUP
Manufacturing collective launches MANifesto as wait for Industrial Strategy goes on
Eight manufacturing SMEs have responded to the lack of a coherent industrial strategy in the UK by launching their own MANifesto today .
The Manufacturing Assembly Network ( MAN ), which comprises seven sub-contract manufacturers and an engineering design agency , has responded to the Government ’ s faltering strategic vision for industry by delivering their own blueprint for making the country globally competitive .
Bosses believe the four pillars of Investment , People , International Trade and Sustainability & Net Zero should lead the overarching approach and will form the guiding principles for the individual businesses inside the collective .
They ’ re now calling on the powers in Whitehall to do their bit to facilitate growth by providing tailored support and in removing some of the bureaucratic barriers currently in place .
Austin Owens , founder of Grove Design and Co-Chair of MAN , commented : “ UK manufacturing has come through Brexit and Covid-19 in remarkably good shape , but this is more to do with our innovation , our technical expertise and our quality than it has to do with a clear Industrial Strategy .
“ We got tired of waiting for Government to develop a vision like they benefit from in other countries , so decided to create our own MANifesto that will guide the future development of the eight firms and , in our opinion , the sector as a whole .”
He continued : “ These four pillars have been developed in partnership with members and focus on People ( developing skills , attracting the next generation of engineers and ensuring safe and supportive workplaces ) and boosting International Trade through easier access to funded export support , a Government commitment to boost reshoring and ringfencing infrastructure spend so the UK benefits .”
The third pillar of the MANifesto is a commitment to Investment , and this covers specialist assistance to accelerate
MDs and young engineers from the MAN Group launch the MANifesto at WMG in Coventry
automation , digitalisation and technology , not to mention more funding support for R & D / product development and dedicated assistance to aid energy intensive industries to upgrade equipment .
Sustainability and Net Zero is the final element of the vision and arguably the biggest talking point in business at the moment .
There are two main strands to this pillar , including supporting UK manufacturing to commercialise greener products and technologies and the potential for a specialist fund to make factories more sustainable and to accelerate decarbonisation .
Peter Davies , CEO of James Lister & Sons and Co-Chair of MAN Group , went on to add :
“ This isn ’ t eight manufacturers coming out with a begging bowl for Government to fill , in fact it ’ s the opposite .
“ We believe the MANifesto outlines clear , short and long-term objectives and many of these we can achieve on our own . We ’ re just asking for a level playing field to compete on and some simple enablers to ensure our competitiveness .
“ In fact , we ’ d love nothing more than Ministers to get in touch and work with us on developing some of our pillars into something more sustainable for industry as a whole .”
The Manufacturing Assembly Network works together to encourage collaboration , best practice sharing and to promote UK manufacturing .
It is made up of Alucast , Brandauer , Grove Design , James Lister & Sons , KimberMills International , Muller Holdings , Nemco and PP Control & Automation .
Collectively , the group boasts annual sales in excess of £ 95m , employs more than 1000 people and exports products to over 50 countries from its 20 + factories .
MAN can also call upon the R & D and technological expertise of Warwick Manufacturing Group ( WMG ), who has been an associate member since 2014 .
This leverages the best in academia with the best in industry and is an important partnership in helping companies develop new markets and explore new opportunities , as well as providing a ready-made proving ground for WMG ’ s business support offering .
14 PECM Issue 63