British manufacturing association Made in Britain staged a metals industry panel debate on innovation at the UK Metals Expo. The debate 'Metal Matters: UK Manufacturers Driving Growth through Innovation' took place on 14th September at the NEC. Made in Britain invited key industry experts to share their vision, including Mark Moody, Sales and Marketing Director at UK standard parts and components manufacturer and supplier, WDS Components Ltd.
The debate explored the UK metal industry innovation in materials, supply chain, and product design. The panel discussed industry challenges including rising steel prices and a reduction in global supply. This is an area where UK manufacturers can have an advantage.
"A growing number of our standard parts and components are designed and manufactured at our Leeds facility. Our emphasis on manufacturing has never changed; WDS has always manufactured high-quality engineering parts and components, and this is now set to increase with growing pressures and global supply issues. Manufacturing in-house has given us much greater control over pricing and has enabled us to remain very competitive," says Mark.
Manufacturing innovation at our Yorkshire plant has included recent expansion with three additional CNC machines, to increase capacity and improve quality. This has also coincided with increased recruitment, particularly for new technical expertise in support of our established skilled engineers. This has raised the quality and productivity of standard parts and components, which has also increased availability.
"We're experiencing growing demand and, as a result of our continuous innovation, we have increased stock holding and reduced lead times to meet these requirements. We have new products coming into our range each and every week. This confidence is demonstrated through our Stock Guarantee offer that gives 10% discount off the order value if a quantity of products cannot be fulfilled by the initial order," says Mark.
"The Stock Guarantee programme, combined with additional planning arrangements, works particularly well for OEMs, but it also provides confidence in supply to every customer. We try to establish closer working relationships with the high volume OEMs because it increases the efficiency of supply and improves the time to market for the development of their products," adds Mark.
"Made in Britain is delighted to bring our expert manufacturing panel to UK Metals Expo, composed of speakers from member companies WDS Components, Beaver Bridges and Furnitubes. Our community is united by the use of the Made in Britain mark -– a sign of high manufacturing standards and truly British provenance -– which our members proudly display on their products and packaging."" Made in Britain CEO John Pearce.
Organisers of the UK Metals Expo, taking place on 14 and 15 September, say that its inaugural event will be the first time that the industry is brought together under one roof. For free registration to the UK Metals Expo, visit the link.
