UK MANUFACTURING SHAPING UP SURPRISINGLY WELL AGAINST GERMANY

UK companies, particularly those in the automotive sector, are on average selling into more national export markets than German firms.

That was one of the more surprising facts revealed at Business & Innovation Magazine’s third Manufacturing Live event, held at Corin Group in Cirencester, sponsored by national accountants and advisers, Crowe.

The information was revealed during a keynote speech by Dr Mark Swift, Chief Technical Officer at the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and Head of SME Programmes at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG).

Corin, a global orthopaedic company which designs and manufactures hip, knee and ankle replacements, welcomed more than 50 delegates from the region’s engineering and manufacturing community to hear from the company’s Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Lettin alongside Dr Mark Swift.

Drawing on a recent report published by The Enterprise Research Centre, a leading UK research organisation into the innovation and productivity of small and

Dr Swift highlighted the surprising fact that UK firms planned further ahead than some other European companies for capital items such as production equipment, computer hardware and software.

However German automotive firms have the edge on similar UK businesses in their engagement with customers. The report noted that German firms were much more likely to hold regular review meetings with customers (85 per cent) compared to UK firms (48 per cent).

Dr Swift said: “To successfully compete, companies must collaborate, find complementary partners to help them move up the food chain, protect existing business and open up new opportunities.”

Jonathan Lettin introduced Corin Group. Founded in Cirencester in 1985, Corin now employs more than 350 people at its headquarters and manufacturing facility in the town, and approaching 800 people worldwide.

Last year the company doubled the size of its headquarters and manufacturing facility following five years of growth.

In the last two years, Corin has expanded through acquisition as well as organically. In 2014, the company bought Australian company Optimized Ortho which uses advanced computational modelling to simulate how a patient’s hip joint moves through a range of daily activities.

Earlier this year, Corin acquired US-based OMNI Orthopaedics, a pioneer in robotic-assisted total knee replacement which has ambitious growth plans.

Corin is making increased headway in the USA, has gained significant market share in Australia and considers Japan a particularly promising market. France, Germany and the UK are long-standing European markets.

Corin’s manufacturing facility is a tour de force

Corin Group commits substantial sums to research and development and has invested heavily in new machinery and robotics, significantly improving productivity.

This investment seems to have inspired the workforce. Many of Corin’s staff have worked for the company for many years and were happy to discuss their job roles and expertise at length with delegates during the tour.

Delegates were impressed at the attention to quality detail which ran throughout the facility. The clean room and testing facilities were particularly inspiring.

Corin Group represents manufacturing in the 21st century, a world away from old perceptions, and its ambition to grow is tangible.

Jonathan Lettin added: “We have the technology, we have a really, really good implant range and we are in all the important geographies. We have doubled the business every two to three years over the last six and we manufacture all our products in the UK.”

Business & Innovation Magazine organises regular Manufacturing Live events, bringing production engineers and heads of manufacturing from companies of all sizes across the region together at a host manufacturing business. This encourages collaboration between businesses geographically close but which may not have met before, to support wider innovation.