Manufacturing firms need to concentrate on core competencies – MAN

THE head of a West Midlands-based manufacturing collective has said firms need to concentrate on their core competencies in order to improve productivity issues.

Steve Gaston, Business Development Director of the nine-strong Midlands Assembly Network (MAN), said a growing number of companies were choosing to outsource some of their manufacturing capabilities in a bid to reduce costs, improve efficiencies and open up capacity.

More than £3m of new projects have been taken on across the collective in the last 12 months, with a number of members working together to deliver added value and new production solutions for clients in automotive, aerospace, oil and gas and renewables.

He said there were another six opportunities currently in the MAN pipeline as more businesses looked at new ways of boosting their productivity.

“The ‘puzzle’ is probably the industry topic of the year and a lot has already been written about how to solve it…investment in automation, investment in skills, investment in systems,” said Gaston, who has been involved in manufacturing for nearly 35 years.

“These are all very valid. However, there has been little discussion about outsourcing, where you source a supplier to deliver your non-core manufacturing operations.”

“As long as the right strategic partner is chosen, this offers numerous benefits…less unnecessary stock and reduction in work in progress, better cash flow and significantly reduced lead times. It also gives you greater flexibility for volatile volume requirements.”

He said the strength of MAN was that it had specialised knowledge across all engineering and manufacturing disciplines and the group’s nine companies were financially strong and invested in world class processes.

“It’s no surprise we are seeing existing and new customers outsource more of their non-core operations to us. It makes perfect sense,” added Gaston.

MAN is a collective of eight sub-contract manufacturers and a specialist design consultancy who work together to win work at home and overseas.

The group, which features Advanced Chemical Etching, Alucast, Barkley Plastics, Brandauer, Grove Design, Mec Com, Muller Holdings, PP Electrical Systems and SMT Developments, employs more than 700 people in 12 factories and this year will exceed the £70m combined turnover barrier.

It offers every mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering process, including automation, castings, control systems, etching, fabrication, injection moulding, PCB development and precision pressings.

Paul Bethell, Managing Director of Muller Holdings, added: “As a group, we have a proven track record of managing complex assemblies and supply chains – both at home and for customers in more than 20 different countries.

“MAN has the capability to take on outsourced operations as individual companies, as partnerships of two, three or four firms and we are even in advanced discussions with a renewables customer to sign a deal that will involve the entire group.

“In essence we are taking the risk out of the equation and, judging by the upturn in orders, it’s a service industry is crying out for.”

MAN is also working alongside associate partner Warwick Manufacturing Group to achieve even greater productivity gains.