I am writing this column at the very start of
2009. Companies are going into administration or announcing large job
cuts on a daily basis. For the first time for some years there is bad
news from manufacturing as I hear about the problems at Wedgwood, Jaguar
and Nissan.
There is no doubt that
this is going to be a very tough year. So why, paradoxically, do I feel
an air of confidence about the prospects for our industry? Let me give
you some optimistic predictions to try and lighten the gloom.
First
and foremost is the old spirit of British innovation. The recent
anniversaries celebrating the lives of great figures such as Charles
Darwin and Isambard Kingdom Brunel are good examples of how Britons have
always been at the forefront of science and technology.
You
only have to look at more recent examples such as Tim Berners Lee, the
founder of the internet, and the great inventor James Dyson to know that
UK pioneering innovators are alive and well.
In recent years the UK
has mainly withdrawn from volume manufacturing (the largely
foreign-owned automotive industry being a notable exception). I do not
need to go into the reasons why. Instead we have concentrated on design
engineering and specialist niche product development.
Surface
Finishing has always been a key area in such activities. From
micro-chips to pre-fabricated buildings, all require new and original
methods of plating, coating, anodising and other specialist surface
treatment processes.
British
surface technology expertise, supported admirably by Great British
institutions such as the SEA and IMF, has never been in greater demand.
Our universities are world leaders in the development of new,
eco-friendly coating and finishing processes.
This
expertise is sowing the seeds of a remarkable and fast-growing crop of
new, specialist product finishing companies. Many are independent whilst
some are in-house divisions of larger manufacturers. It is those that
are at the cutting edge of the latest technologies that will enjoy most
success.
At Riley Surface World we
are dealing daily with enquiries from companies applying specialist
coatings to plastics, aluminium and other lightweight materials.
Anodising still continues to be a very popular process due to its
versatility and depth of applications. And the UK is still very much at the forefront of this kind of activity.
I
believe that the true potential of this unrivalled resource will really
begin to blossom during this recession. One of the few reasons to
celebrate the current downturn is that the UK is finally
becoming competitive again. The fall in sterling and other price
reductions are not just for the benefit of those rich foreigners who
arrive in their droves to shop at Selfridges and Harrods.
Multi-nationals are increasingly looking to the UK for all or part of their surface finishing resources.
In
the surface finishing industry, we are beginning to see, in the
infamous words of former chancellor Norman Lamont, ‘The green shoots of
recovery’. Nearly every day we talk to young entrepreneurs with
requirements for finishing equipment. The market for conventional
wet-finishing plants has almost disappeared. In its place there is
greater diversity, innovation and specialisation. Much of this is driven
by environmental legislation and the needs of the internet generation.
So
good luck to everybody as we enter the most challenging market that we
have seen for over twenty years. Remember the words of another
politician of the recent past: ‘There is no reverse gear.’
