Made in Britain

I believe a brighter future lies ahead for UK firms that have traditionally struggled to compete against the manufacturing dominance of Asian producers. Why? Because of our unique ability to tap into the UKs proven plastics recycling infrastructure, plus our national pride in post-Olympic, Great British products.

It was not always thus. For the past 15 years or so, China has been the default choice to make plastic-rich products for UK retailers and manufacturers. Indeed many retail product buyers know of no alternative to Far Eastern manufacturing partners. Major factors behind this Made in China mindset were low-cost local labour, cheap industrial property and electrical power and low custom duties which more than offset any marginal extra transport costs and longer delivery lead times.

Yet with the local Chinese economic boom moving into a more mature phase, the cost of doing business has risen. And recently the Chinese government has made the cost and administrative burden of importing waste plastics much higher.

During 2012 we saw several examples of certain product types returning to the UK as importers reviewed the balance of benefits versus costs for the traditional Far Eastern production model.

Products

Ive noted several examples of products with high plastic content and relatively low labour requirement coming back to the UK, such as the award-winning Trunki pull-along childs suitcase. This 100% recyclable product was completely re-engineered with new plastic parts, making assembly here faster and simpler.

In the UK there has been a growing awareness across branded producers and retailers of the need to offer consumers a more sustainable product, one using raw materials that have been recycled in the UKs well-developed plastics recycling chain; this has often been used as the story behind the product itself.

Axion is playing its part by supplying its UK-sourced 100% recycled polymers derived from waste fridge and end-of-life vehicle plastics to leading domestic manufacturers for a variety of applications.

Meanwhile the 2012 Olympic Games heralded a return of national pride, creating another opportunity to offer customers the Made in Britain label. Many middle England consumers understand this simple link between spending money in the shops on products that support UK businesses and create local jobs, instead of exporting all of our hard-earned wealth to boost some Far Eastern economic dragon.

So if UK plastic producers can engage with the type of open-minded, forward-thinking product buyers who have seen the above market opportunity, they have a great chance to deliver a double-whammy of product benefits: raw materials which have been recycled, then moulded back into new plastic-rich products in UK factories using UK-developed processes on machines using UK-designed moulds.

Export

Almost by definition, any plastic product manufacturer still in business in the UK today must be a survivor to have bucked-the-trend of the wholesale export of our manufacturing base to the Far East in the past two decades. Those that remain are experts in lean manufacturing, rapid design and prototyping, employing the latest in high-efficiency polymer converting machinery and challenge the concept of low cost only being possible in Far Eastern locations.

Products can be positively labelled at point-of-sale with Recycled in the GB or Made in GB. Plus the short supply chain from recycler into moulder and then onto the store shelves allows greatly reduced lead times from purchase order to delivery date, with obvious benefits.

With this in mind, I can only envisage a growing trend to bring production back to these shores. This makes complete sense, generating economic and environmental benefits for all. I challenge purchasing managers to break with their normal habits when seeking quotations for next years wonder product and to re-visit the concept of getting high-quality goods Made in GB, using plastic raw materials that have also been Recycled in GB. I am sure many of them will be pleasantly surprised by the benefits this can deliver to their businesses.