WINTER 15
important.” Manufacturing schedules have tightened and there isn’t much local now. “We do some heat treatment ourselves but also go to the Midlands. The quantity of supply isn’t available in the North East. One local company we do use is limited in what it can offer. I’d like to see quality a focus in the supply chain. Goods delivered on time and at the right price isn’t enough if quality isn’t right. Working in top-end defence, we especially suffer from that.” Cameron Ross came to Manufacturing Advisory Service (now part of Business Growth Service) with an engineering background, including 10 years with Nissan. The Government has asked MAS to help people get into supply chains, and also to help people with supply chain issues. Presently MAS is working on an offshore growth programme. “When the London Array offshore wind
project was built, over 90% of the components weren’t British. The Government has said that’s wrong and we must do something about it. So a lot of effort is going into trying to make people supply chain capable and aware of how to get into it.” The nuclear sector and one or two other areas may also be looked at, subject to the outcome of the General Election in May. MAS is regularly asked for help in tracing local firms capable of supplying, and also hears from larger companies with supply chain issues. Kevin Gaul explained how Tharsus at Blyth, an assembly and test organisation, reduces clients’ risk of designing something original that ends up impossible to manufacture. “We totally depend on our supply chain,” he says. “We also use a limited amount of labour to deter customers from taking the actual manufacturing overseas. We struggle to find suitable suppliers – certainly in advanced
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technology areas – other than in far flung corners of the world.” Andrew Upton who with Seaward Group at Peterlee, manufacturer of electrical test equipment, has worked in the USA for four years, told how the supply chain goes through cycles of outsourcing then bringing back in. Seaward struggles for supply chain support during innovation. “It’s a case of trying to persuade them of benefits later. It also has difficulty in recruiting engineers. “We do our own R&D and develop engineers from scratch. Maybe we could take advantage of good skillsets abroad.” Stephen Learney says Haskell at Washington, maker of pneumatically driven, high-pressure liquid pumps, gas boosters, air pressure amplifiers, and high pressure systems, reckons there will always be gaps in his firm’s needs from the supply chain. >>
BUSINESS QUARTER | WINTER 15