Thoughts about Made in ........

Link to a log of events starting in Jan 2009

I've always thought that manufacturing is what a place does. Nowadays it seems that other places make most of our things and we distribute, trade and use them. To me that's disappointing. It's good to see cars, trains, planes and other devices and think that's good and originated by our great designers and made in the UK. Not designed / made overseas and bolted together in the UK. Although there is good merit in the assembly jobs as well.

In the 1980's prime industries like coal and steel were closed and in the last 10 years our power, water, transport and a mixture of businesses like Pilkingtons Glass, British Oxygen, Blue Circle, ICI, Rolls Royce (cars), Bentley, Rover, Aston Martin, Leyland, Scottish & Newcastle, Marconi, Rowntrees, P&O, BAA, Scottish Power, Manchester United are foreign owned. These companies are therefore paying wages, taxes and investing but returning their profits to their home countries where most shareholders and decision makers are likely to reside. All companies want to base employment in the cheapest place but there is a feeling that foreign companies will find it easier to close overseas factories. The other downside can be the loss of national prestige, you can't spend prestige but it does give a psychological lift.

Globalisation is name given to this fluidity and it is said to be a good thing by those who govern us, academics and those who directly profit. I quite admire the French approach in that they have strategic industries that won't be sold although recently a steel factory was sold in hostile circumstances. It's hard to judge who is right from my humble position, you can only have a sort of intuitive feeling that it's going too far, but then worry that maybe you don't want to be too nationalist as it can lead to other things. I'm pro-EU, not pro Euro, but they are another debate.

There are big UK companies that employ engineers and scientists like BAE SYSTEMS, Rolls Royce (Engines), BT, BP, BA, BG, Glaxo, AstraZeneca, BAT, Vodafone. There are significant manufacturing companies e.g. Jaguar, Land Rover who are British in all but ownership. The large financial services companies with prestige, usually, like RBS, Barclays, Lloyds, HBOS are still British.

The Gross Domestic Product of the UK in 2006 was almost £1300bn, although I've seen other figures, and had only 13% in manufacturing and 31% in financial services. This sounds like there is little manufacturing yet I recently (2009) read in one illustrious newspaper that Britain is the 6th biggest manufacturing economy in the world.

Made in Preston is a reflection of the times in that the stories about things we made here grossly exceed stories of what we make now. China, Japan, Germany are countries that have exceeded in manufacture, the latter two more in development as well. The USA is decreasing its basic manufacturing but has many high technology businesses and innovative services like Microsoft, EBAY, YouTube, Google, Amazon which have high esteem.

If I had a few million pounds I'd start a manufacturing business to keep some skills alive. Then you'd say that in todays markets high standards of technology prevent the old hands on approach so what would you make and how many would it employ. Could it be a sort of trophy like the new steam locomotive Tornado or would you end up trying to design a computer application. Unfortunately being retired I've only a few pounds so it's a bit theoretical and probably a sign of my age as few seem particularly concerned.