It’s no secret with difficult economic times now and for the foreseeable future then we are all going to have to play our part in putting Britain back on the map. As a UK manufacturer we believe with a little forward thinking and some good old fashioned resourcefulness, this can be done.
David Cameron our Prime Minister says we should all join the “big society”, being not totally clear as to what this entails we have come up with our own message. We believe our brief truly can help our little bit of the picture, help our customers, help our suppliers and ultimately help our economy as a whole. We can only imagine if this was to be rolled out to other trades and industries.
So our brief is simple:
In an effort to save money for years now brand owners and retailers have looked to source products from the Far East and China, this has meant a decreasing amount of opportunities have been available for UK manufacturers.
Well here at expac despite this we have survived and what’s more we are in great shape, we are shortly to invest £500,000 in new facilities and methods and our growing customer base is testimony to the fact UK manufacture is a very viable option. The closing price gap between the UK and china, longer lead times than initially envisaged and large MOQ’s are all factors why manufacture in China may not be the long term answer once thought.
So our plan is simple and we have devised a 10 point survival message as to why sourcing in the UK is the right option for all concerned.
1, Buy in Britain and improve the deficiency trade balance
2, Get credit terms helping you to keep cash in your business
3, Order smaller amounts on a just in time basis, again keeping cash in your business
4, Have dedicated account handlers that you can speak to daily in GMT time
5, Create British employment reducing the governments figures
6, Receive high quality product’s with no IP concerns (NDAs that can be honoured)
7, Gain competitive advantage, bring new products to market in weeks as opposed to months or years
8, Be able to visit your manufacturing facility at regular intervals at little cost at your convenience
9, Share in an open book pricing policy that gives total transparency, we believe in building our business through shared gains.
10, Play a part in bringing manufacture back to Britain.
If you agree with our vision or you think UK manufacture may be the answer for your brand, then speak to us. We believe we can all gain by working together to create, to grow, to add value and to ultimately put UK manufacture back in the big picture.
M L Langtree – Managing Director
September 20, 2011 at 8:50 am |
As a partner in Wheelers I thoroughly endorse the ‘Expac’ way, the brand would have died completely if Mark and his team had not offered the services they do. We had to rebrand and restart from a very low base when we took over the Brand in 2008.
Expac’s Small production runs allowed us targetted promotions with specific customers which revitalised our sales and made us ‘special’ and ‘can do’ in their eyes. Just where we need to be to benefit and continue to grow our business. They ask us regularly for support now and we say yes! Thanks Expac.