UK manufacturing decline not unexpected

Black Country Chambef of Commerce member Paul Cadman was commenting on the UK Index of Production figures that recorded that Black Country manufacturers experienced a seven per cent drop in overseas sales and a 31 per cent drop in domestic sales comparing results from Q3 and Q4 2015.

The national index of production figures show manufacturing output in November was down 0.4 per cent on the month, and down 1.2 per cent on the year and total industrial production was down 0.7 per cent on the month, but up 0.9 per cent on the year.

Mr Cadman said: "The decline recorded in the manufacturing sector in November was disappointing, but not surprising."

He said it reinforced the findings of the chamber's quarterly economic survey, which showed that the sector was battling both acute headwinds from global export markets and major structural issues at home.

"While the UK economy will continue to rely on its vibrant services sector to drive growth, manufacturing remains a critically important part of the national economy and even more significant in the Midlands.

"Although we cannot change the challenging global environment there is still work to do to support our manufacturing sector in areas such as access to finance, energy costs and capital allowances to make it more competitive globally," said Mr Cadman.

"The Black Country has been experiencing better than average growth, but unlike other parts of the UK, performance is much more reliant on manufacturing.

"The Spending Review and the focus on cutting public spending means that businesses will no longer find it as easy to access grants.

"Although we may be in a period of uncertainty, I would urge our manufacturers to seek out professional business support wherever they can, to ensure that their processes are lean, to identify new market opportunities for their world class products and to help them introduce high performance work practices.

"We know it is going to cost small businesses more money to change but like bringing in young apprentices to refresh the workforce, investment in performance is an investment in the future success of your company," he added.

Futura, one of the Black Country's best kept industrial secrets, enjoyed the best 12 months in its 28-year history last year after seeing sales soar past the £25 million mark.

Futura Group, which offers bespoke design, technical recruitment and prototyping through its five companies, has secured a host of new contracts with car makers including Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover, VW Group and McLaren.

More than £3m of new orders were secured lasst year and this has already led to the creation of 50 new jobs in the UK, a number of which are apprentices and graduates.

"There are numerous facets to Futura, but all businesses across the group have the same ethos that focuses on innovation, nurturing creativity and encouraging people be the best they can be," explained Paul Cadman, group managing director.

"The recent growth has been driven by the development of our studios, with the design departments of all of the UK's major automotive OEMs taking full advantage of Futura's model creation capabilities.

"We have built a team with the skill set and knowledge to cover all aspects of product design and we can provide every service that a customer may require in their development plan, including CAD engineering, 5-axis CNC, 3D printing, clay, digital and hard modelling.

"Everyone is looking to create models that are lighter, produce less emissions yet still offer even better comfort and performance.

"We can help OEMs cost effectively explore possible solutions to these aims," he explained.

Backed by significant funding from the Regional Growth Fund and Green Bridge, Futura Group has invested more than £2m on creating two state-of-the-art facilities in the Black Country and Warwickshire.

This means the company can call upon five design studios, two workshops, 3 paint booths, a 5-axis large bed CNC machine and dedicated trim and body departments.

It has also recently launched its own training academy that will take on and train up to 25 apprentices and graduates every year.

Paul, who was recently named in The Manufacturer's Top 100, continued:

"Another big development has been the launch of Abacus Technologies, which provides tooling solutions for the design and modelling sector.

"We are the only firm in the UK who can offer customers access to RAMPF technology. This is basically made-to-measure products and services for close contour models, such as pastes, large-volume/1:1 castings and prototyping systems."

"In addition to the design business, the group is also made up of Futura Recruitment (a specialist agency for training and finding technical automotive staff) and Clark Abel.

"The latter is a luxury bespoke design company providing clients with the ability to personalise their car, yacht, private jet or individual piece of home or office furniture."

"Adding value and innovation in design are the UK's biggest selling points and we have to do everything we can to build on this competitive advantage."

Paul concluded: "This means investing in the latest technology and ensuring we develop the most skilled designers and engineers in the world…with this in mind we have just committed to training 20 CAD specialists by 2017."

Futura, which employs 290 across the group, aims to turn over £28m in 2016, with a specific focus on growing exports. business that currently accounts for 20% of sales.