The Manufacturer's Lunch

In the absence of a formal manufacturing group in the local area, last week, Bishop Fleming were delighted to host a round table discussion with key individuals from prominent local manufacturing companies over a rather lovely lunch at The Pig at Coombe. They all came together to share some of the highs and lows of the last 18 months and to discuss the next set of challenges and opportunities.

Despite it being the first meeting for most, the rather convivial atmosphere of the Pig, the excitement of actually being out and the immediate discovery of much common ground, the conversation flowed.

The discussions covered a wide range of topics and we have summarised some of the key themes which emerged amongst all guests. The following gives a flavour of some of the discussions.

The pandemic –  challenges and opportunities

There was no chance of holding any sort of conversation without Covid being discussed. The past 18 months in every business has been dominated by the effects of the pandemic this was the obvious place to start our discussion.

The businesses in the room had experienced a variety of impacts as a result of the pandemic. Some, such as Harrier LLC (photographic fulfilment business based in Newton Abbot) saw an enormous surge in demand for their products as individuals stuck at home got on with making photobooks and finally printing off years’ worth of holiday snaps.  

Others, such as Bowa Medical Products saw the market for their surgical instruments dry up overnight as all NHS surgeries were put on stop.  For both ends of the spectrum the unprecedented change in demand caused huge pressures for the businesses.  

The operational challenges faced by all these businesses of making workplaces Covid safe in those early months have almost been forgotten and new practices have become the norm.  This all makes a stark contrast to those of us in our cosy little office based businesses who really have had life easy todate bar the initial panic to get everyone home-working ready.  

There is a clear feeling that the next wave / the next pandemic cannot and will not have the same impact. Businesses are ready.

 
Staffing concerns

This seems to be an enormous issue across the board.  In addition to the staffing issues caused by pinged staff having to self-isolate, many of the businesses have struggled to recruit and retain new staff during the period.

A key point of agreement was the lack of available staff with the appropriate level of skills and/or experience in Devon. There seems to be a small pool of candidates to choose from and the perception amongst businesses in attendance was that there is little external appetite to change this position.

For a number of the businesses, furlough has been a vital source of funding, allowing them to retrain key staff during times of little or no activity. However, the decisions about which staff to furlough has in some cases created conflict within the workforce, particularly between those on furlough and those required to work across the whole of the last 18 months.
 
More recently, several of the businesses have seen a definite impact on the mental health of their teams with many anxious to return to the office and others struggling to operate efficiently from a home environment. 
Innovation

As is so often misquoted (apparently Plato never said these exact words) “Necessity is the mother of invention”.  One of the upsides for everyone across the board is that they have all been forced to innovate by the crisis and all believe that the steps taken will have an enduring benefit. 

In some instances, the businesses had implemented new working practices which included an introduction of hybrid working policies and increased use of technology to enable the smooth running of the business. 

However, others have taken the opportunity to invest more in research and development and in some cases have entered new markets and won new contracts as a result of these efforts. The general consensus was that despite the challenges the pandemic has created, it has allowed time for evaluation, re-assessment and re-focus.

The impact of Brexit on business

Alongside the pandemic, the second area of focus was inevitably the impact of Brexit which, unsurprisingly, has been felt across the board.

Bowa Medical export products to the EU and particularly Republic of Ireland. Nikki Palfrey of Bowa Medical explained that in some instances it had taken several weeks to deliver these goods, even to Northern Ireland. 

Stephen Jones agreed, noting that it was easier and quicker for Harrier to ship goods to Northern Ireland from their operation in the Czech Republic that it was from their UK base despite the additional distance. 

Difficulties in the supply of materials and component elements used in manufacturing processes was the other side to the same coin – again Harrier, as a result of supply shortages, has been forced to change its manufacturing process and Paul Jacobs of South West Metal Finishing also noted difficulty in obtaining certain key supplies from the EU.

Most of the businesses agreed that the largest impact to date has been the extended lead times for materials and the availability of haulage companies to deliver finished products to customers. 

Toni Miszewski of Antech Limited, bemoaned the fact their business had been required to apply for UKCA marks in order to demonstrate compliance with product safety regulations. Toni explained that at present, this standard was no different to the European CE mark which they had already got and therefore, the costs incurred were of no benefit to the business. These certification and compliance expenses are yet another seemingly needless administrative cost of Brexit to our manufacturing businesses. 

Employment, training and skills 

All the businesses present recognised the importance of having a sufficiently skilled workforce. We spent some time discussing the availability of apprentices specifically those with an engineering focus. 

All agreed that there is a significant shortfall in skills within Exeter, Torbay and Somerset and that the engagement from education providers and support from local authorities varies considerably within the area.

Paul Jacobs noted that South West Metal finishing has previously explored using apprentices but has found that some local education providers cannot assist. In his view, engineering is not seen as an area of focus in Exeter with focus being given to other apprenticeship areas.  Paul also noted that at the Company’s other sites in Wiltshire, there is much more support available.

Emma Wood of MK Test Systems agreed. In her view, there as little support available and questioned whether this is due to a perceived lack of manufacturing in the Exeter area. Comparisons were made with Plymouth where far more support and resources are available to manufacturing businesses.

Nikki Palfrey and Chris Graham of BOWA Medical Products said that Torbay council have been regularly engaging and proactively providing support to the business which had proven invaluable. 

Toni Miszewski advocated the earlier introduction of potential engineers to manufacturing. All of the businesses present agreed that they would be happy to provide tours of their facilities to local schools in order to explain more about the opportunities available. He noted Antech had resolved the shortage of local staff by recruiting internationally and sponsoring Visa applications to do so. 

Future prospects

Our final topic looked beyond the near future at the prospects of the Companies.

Toni Mizewski, whose company Antech is involved in the oil and gas sectors, discussed the Government’s plan to turn the UK into a net zero carbon nation by 2050. He noted that this commitment would require some significant changes in the way we all operate and that this would inevitably impact upon the activities of manufacturing businesses.

The general mood was one of cautious optimism for the coming years. Although it was recognised that there are still a number of unknown factors, not least what impact COVID will have this winter, the agreement was that the UK is beginning to learn to live with COVID.

There were a number of success stories amongst the businesses in attendance and the final wish of the group was for a return to normality, albeit, not necessarily the normality of February 2020. 

Commentary

Inevitably, COVID and Brexit represented key parts of our discussions with the businesses in attendance. However, it was pleasing to see that despite all the difficulties created by the pandemic, all of the businesses have survived, a number have thrived and all have emerged from the last 18 months feeling strong, leaner and better equipped for the future.  

In contrast, the feelings towards Brexit were ones of frustration. Thus far the businesses have seen little to no benefit as a result of the change and are having to learn to adapt to issues created, be this additional paperwork, delivery lead times, shortage of supply or even additional costs incurred. 

More locally, it is worrying that all of the businesses commented on the difficulty in attracting new staff and retaining the current workforce and keeping young talent in the area. There is a significant manufacturing base in Exeter, Torbay and South Somerset yet many of the businesses present felt more could be done by local authorities to not only support them but to attract more new business to the area which in turn makes it a more attractive place to live and work for the talent they wish to bring in.

It’s clear that there is an appetite amongst the business community to invest in new staff and in the training and development required and we would like to see closer working with local councils and the LEP to better engage with these companies to facilitate it.   During our next round table event we hope to invite attendees from local authorities and/or education providers to explore how we can all work together to promote the manufacturing sector in the local area.

If you’re interested in attending manufacturing events in the future, please contact Isobel Savage or Mark Munro at Bishop Fleming Exeter.