The great wit and raconteur, Noël Coward once wrote a song entitled ‘Bad times are just around the corner’. It would make a fitting signature tune for the harbingers of doom in the surface finishing industry, many of whom have been humming the tune metaphorically for as long as I can remember.
They bemoan the decline in the traditional, sub-contracted electroplating sector. Indeed, there has been a steep decline in the numbers and sizes of these companies in the current decade. I speak as the head of a company that has, until recently, relied on the wet treatments sector for its bread and butter.
However, the reasons for this apparent contraction are much more complex than the anecdotal evidence would suggest. In fact, I would argue that, on the contrary, there has been a steady increase in special surface engineering activities in recent years.
Surface finishing has always been a dynamic and flexible part of manufacturing. Equipment, chemicals and processes are constantly evolving to meet industry demands. Influencing factors are qualitative, legislative and environmental to name just a few.
The restructuring of many UK based manufacturers into global players has resulted in a large percentage of primary manufacturing activities moving to developing countries such as India, China and Eastern Europe. So it is natural that the sub-contractors and their suppliers in those areas are benefiting from the organic growth taking place.
Conversely, what we are seeing in our home market is the re-emergence of ‘start-to-finish’ manufacturing that encompasses some or all of the procedures that were previously out-sourced. In our own business we are seeing an increased demand for items such as shot blasting equipment, mass finishing machinery and heat treatment plants.
The re-instatement of these processes gives manufacturers much more control over their production cycles. Modern conveyor systems allow for finishing stages to be integrated into fully automated production lines, some with CNC controls, which are far more efficient than older manual systems.
We are also seeing a trend for high volume component manufacturers in India, China etc. bringing raw, unfinished products into UK factories for in-house ‘re-finishing’. This is particularly true when the skills of UK surface finishing engineers are superior to their counterparts in those countries.
The UK has also witnessed a renaissance in new ‘clean’ industries, for which metal finishing makes a vital contribution. There may be a decline in the old, metal-bashing industries, but this is more than made up for by the growth in sectors such as aerospace, medical equipment, electronics, specialist automotive and value-added component manufacture.
This intrinsic dynamism provides vital opportunities for OEM finishing equipment manufacturers, chemical suppliers and technical consultants right across the board. In my company, we are benefiting because there are much more frequent changes in the structures of production plants, with more relocation and refurbishment of machinery, both within these shores and overseas.
Bad times may be just around the corner for some. However, for those with the skills, flexibility and foresight to see the opportunities that these changes present, the future looks much more positive.
