Sony UK Technology Centre is a division of Sony Europe Limited. Headed up by Steve Dalton OBE - Institute of Directors, Director of the Year, South Wales winner (2012) - the Sony UK Technology Centre is the manufacturing and customer service centre for Sony in the UK and hosts 28 related start-up companies. Opened by Her Majesty the Queen in 1992, the Sony UK Technology Centre is a 30,000 m² building based in Pencoed, Bridgend. The Sony UK Technology Centre has developed an excellent manufacturing reputation, which has been recognized through the receipt of four Queen’s Awards for Export, as well as the Queen’s Award for the Environment. The centre is certified to both ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environment) and is a previous winner of the British Quality Award. The site also received Britain’s Best Factory Award in 2013. The Sony UK Technology Centre is a socially aware business that seeks to minimize its impact on the environment, supports its local community through charity work and sponsorship, and has the welfare of its staff at the heart of its operation.
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As Pencoed team told as, Japan isn’t always the cheapest place to manufacture and due to strategy, Sony likes to manufacture and source it parts close to home, as it improves its response times for customers as the need to rely on Japan is decreased. 38% of the parts in Pencoed’s production line are sourced from Europe, however most of the electronic parts come from Asia as this is the silicon hub. The factory actually produces some products up to 25% more efficiently than Japan, which comes down to a number of factors such as wage rates. The location of Sony’s main manufacturing plants goes in circles and Pencoed could see more or less business in future and just achieves a fallout rate of just 0.2% for products.
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