Lancashire businesses are well placed to benefit from a growing appetite for local supply chains.
Alan Reid, innovation and growth specialist, highlighted the trend towards onshoring after an event to mark National Manufacturing Day in the county.
He said: “We are seeing more of an appetite to make here in the UK and for buyers to look local for their suppliers.”
The Manufacturing Day event saw 50 business people from across Lancashire take a ‘A Grand Factory Tour’ to encourage networking, open conversations about shared experiences in their sectors and to discuss new ideas they may have.
Delegates got to see some of the county’s manufacturing success stories – major businesses flying the flag on the national and international stage.
National Manufacturing Day is a Make UK event and The Department for Business and Trade,
Innovate UK, RTC North and Boost Business Lancashire joined together to showcase the
efforts of What More UK, Safran Nacelles and Fort Vale Engineering.
Alan Reid, innovation growth specialist at RTC North and part of the Innovate UK EDGE
programme, which works with SMEs to scale their businesses, said Lancashire’s role in
manufacturing for the national economy could not be “under-estimated”.
He said: “The image of dirty and dark engineering factories does remain in many minds, and this is why STEM support programmes are vital to change these perceptions and help build the workforce pipeline for the future.
“It is also fair to say this is changing. There is a growing desire for customers to buy British
where possible and economically acceptable.
“This can be both commercial buyers looking to source from the UK instead of overseas and
consumers also becoming more aware of UK sourced goods.
“We see instances where customers are willing to pay a little more within reason if the products are manufactured in Britain.
“This also extends into local business who had bought from around the UK now saying, ‘can
I find this in the North West or at least in the North of England?’
“Benefits include local economies getting stronger, reduced environmental impacts from transportation, shorter lead times, better responses and growing local partnerships and relationships.”
Houseware manufacturer What More UK, headquartered in Padiham, is a member of Made in Britain and exports to 75 countries as well as every major UK supermarket and another 1,600 independent retailers.
Safran Nacelles is a world leader in aerospace and has been in Burnley for more than 70
years. It employs 650 at its site in the town.
Fort Vale Engineering is another world leader in the precision manufacture of valves and fittings for the transportation of bulk liquids and chemicals.
The business employs around 380 people and has a turnover of around £100m.
The majority of its workforce is made up of skilled engineers, many who have come through its apprenticeship scheme.
A key theme at Safran was how digital transformation is driving operational excellence.
Adam Patterson, strategy director, said: “Easy access to data for everyone, and the ability to
interrogate it and glean insight in a quick and easy format, is a key foundation for our digital
transformation and many of the projects we’re working on will be enhanced by this.
“Using data this way enables everyone in the business to make faster decisions, and to
make them based on real-time accurate data.
It removes ambiguity and accelerates everything we do.”
Speaking after the tour Steve Wilkinson, of business management consultancy RTC
North, said: “Too many people still regard manufacturing as dead or dying, but the
economic stats tell a very different picture.
“Lancashire is operating globally with some of the UK’s and indeed some of the world’s most
prestigious brands.”
Darren Grantham from Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation, added: “It is vital
that manufacturing is seen to be flourishing.”