Winds of change

Product and market diversification While, for some companies, the prospect of recession led to them battening down the hatches, others have pushed their R&D into fifth gear and are benefiting from the results. A common approach has been for manufacturers to look to diversify their product offering. With the prospect of decreasing orders from existing customers, long-held aspirations to expand through diversification have come to the fore. Clamason Industries is a good example of a company that has lasted thanks to its ability to diversify. The company began in 1947 specialising in small complex parts for a variety of industries. Responding quickly to the growth in consumer electronics, the company grew strongly during the 1960s and 70s. When a lot of this work migrated to the Far East, the company successfully infiltrated the automotive electronics market and when again that industry began to slow as a result of the financial crisis, Clamason began targeting the medical sector to produce the springs used in the Solostar insulin pen. Supported by MAS, the company increased its capacity to produce the pen by undertaking a synchronisation project that allowed it to install and commission a second line, resulting in annual sales increasing from £800,000 to £1.5 million within the first 12 months. Coupled with the resurgence of the automotive industry - and thanks to its judicious planning - the company is now generating turnover of £11 million. Another precision engineering company that has successfully diversified into the medical sector is Greenway Pepper. The company broke the £1 million mark for the first time in its 25-year history following an intensive three-month prototyping project that led to it securing a £150,000 contract to manufacture aluminium casings for a new DNA profiling machine. Inward investment In the main, manufacturers that have invested in both staff and equipment have benefited. Those companies that have retained enough capital within the business have profited by reskilling their workforce and investing in equipment. A great example of this is Assembly Solutions: the wiring specialist worked closely with MAS to implement projects on total productive maintenance (TPM), overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and standard operating procedure (SOP) - and the projects have enabled the business to successfully install and operate automated machinery, allowing it to compete with companies in the Far East. Identifying growth areas For some companies early access to low carbon supply chains has helped them to continue to prosper. Two examples of companies that have benefited from early infiltration are BGB Innovation Systems and JDR Cables, whose core products are slip ring assemblies and undersea cables respectively. BGB Innovation, which started life manufacturing carbon brush holders, has diversified its product offering over time. The turning point came in the early 1990s when the company began developing a prototype solution to meet the demand for consistent electrical connections between the rotating and static components of wind turbines. Its slip ring solution is now used in many of the major wind turbine developments around the world. Similarly JDR Cables, which traditionally manufactured subsea power cables for the offshore oil and gas industries, identified the growth potential of offshore wind and wave developments early on and began developing custom cables for this market. In a similar vein MAS is currently working with a number of emerging companies that are looking to access the latest low carbon supply chains. These include Piezotag and HtoGo both of which work in the low carbon vehicle sector, as well as Strip Tinning, which manufactures lead-free components for heated window screens in vehicles and now develops photovoltaic ribbons for photovoltaic cells. With so many different approaches to growing and maintaining businesses, it is little wonder that some of the leading indicators of the state of manufacturing are consistently showing growth. UK manufacturing is constantly challenged by new opportunities and threats, but with its commitment to continuous improvement, product innovation and the pursuit of new markets, the industry has shown that it continues to rise up and meet them.