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Putting the “Great” back in British manufacturing
Mar 3, 2010 Uncategorized Leave a comment
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Hi, I’m Alan Pendlewood, the owner and Managing Director of Pendlewood Ltd.
Alan argues passionately in favour of British goods
Historically, the term “Made in Great Britain” evoked mental images of quality engineering or design – for a time it may has well have read “best in the world”. Sadly, somewhere along the line, this became regarded as a thing of the past and recently I have found myself mulling over two issues:
1) Why this is the case?
2) Can we restore this reputation?
I personally think that the fine reputation of Britain became a victim of a PC-driven campaign that insinuates that anybody having any source of pride in one’s own country is jingoistic and xenophobic. I honestly don’t believe that the standard of design and manufacturing has ever dipped and I think we are still as good as anywhere else in the world.
That is not to say that British design and manufacturing has not evolved and learnt from the influences of abroad. Indeed, I think that foreign design and manufacturer has taught us so much and has really helped us to improve even further and to stay ahead of the pack.
The trouble – in my opinion – has come as a result of both this lack of pride in our own nation and also due to cost-cutting measures, where businesses have slowly but surely moved their manual labour tasks/manufacturing abroad.
But what does all this mean in today’s recession hit Britain? Moving manufacturing abroad has over the past decade, became a sad necessity for many companies to stay in business. However, over the past 18 months with the collapse of the financial markets all across the world, a u-turn has taken place and I am finding that now many UK produced goods are now as competitive price-wise as imported ones. That is certainly the case here at Pendlewood!
As a customer, I still think that buying off UK based manufacturing companies where possible is still the way forward. To me it means a quality experience and I have found that many (new and) existing companies really go that extra mile in order to compete with imported goods.
Another positive is the environmental benefits that ‘buying British’ has. The government has, quite rightly, made it quite clear that one of their main goals is to reduce global warming. Obviously goods that are made in the UK travel a much smaller distance to get to their customers and thus leave a lower carbon footprint. In turn, this means shorter lead times and quicker deliveries which has to be a major plus to any customer.
At Pendlewood we ensure that all enquiries and customers are dealt with by people who really have a passion for what we do. From myself right through to our Office Junior, we all care about you our customers. I have always stated that when you buy Pendlewood you don’t receive a service, you receive an experience, and this is an ethos that is now part of our culture and will stay with this company forever.
So, in closing, I refer back to my two original questions. Firstly, British products still are the best in the world. And secondly, the only way we can restore this reputation is by our very own people placing confidence in British products and making sure we get our pride back. If you are looking to see if these conclusions are a reality, just give Pendlewood a try… I promise that you’ll get world-class British products and service at competitive prices. The “Great British Comeback” starts here!