The UK machinery market presents a mixed picture in the second quarter, with a certain amount of distortion in sales due to many end-users taking holidays. However, the majority of contacts indicate that order and sales levels are exceeding expectations.
One manufacturer said he had noticed significant growth in demand from a number of key sectors in the UK in recent weeks: ‘I am quite diverse, I supply fencing manufacturers, carcassing sawmills, pallet makers, garden manufacturers etc, and it all seems to be on the lift,’ he said.
A wood machine tooling supplier reported that March was a good month for him and that April was also ‘looking quite prosperous’. However, his company sells a lot of tooling to government establishments and the ‘year-end’ effect, caused by the end of the financial year and the subsequent lull in orders until new budgets were approved, had impacted slightly on business, he added.
Some people have been surprised by a recent upsurge in interest in moulding machines, to the extent that one contact said he was actively considering making moulders in future: ‘It is certainly something that we are now evaluating.’
Another, whose firm used to make panel saws, edgebanders and drilling machines but has since specialised within the industry and narrowed its range considerably, believes it is now more important than ever for companies to focus on one area of business and rid themselves of other distractions.
‘I still see people going around with a portfolio of products as long as your arm but those days are fast-disappearing,’ he said. ‘You only have to look at the manufacturers in Italy, more so now than Germany, where small companies make one particular type of machinery and nothing else – and they sell all over the world because they are specialists.’
A supplier of spares to the US wood machinery market said his business was only now recovering from a catastrophic drop in orders following September’s terrorist attacks.
Alternative view On the other side of the coin, another contact said he had noticed a ‘softening’ in the UK machinery market and a downturn in demand. ‘You can foresee what is coming along,’ he said. ‘I think the downturn will continue in May and could get worse in June.’
A wood machine maintenance contractor made the point that he had managed to cut his firm’s costs by sourcing castings and other products from overseas. Despite the extension of lead times out to three months on some products as a result, the savings were proving to be worthwhile, he believed.
But while there have been many instances of UK manufacturers successfully cutting costs by sourcing products abroad, or even transplanting their production wholesale to take advantage of cheaper wages, some people in the wood machine industry question whether such radical moves really improve efficiency.
‘I am staggered as to how narrow-minded people are about manufacturing in this country,’ said one contact. While some countries may be able to offer foreign manufacturers low wage costs, they are often lacking in the technology necessary to become truly competitive with the UK, he added.
‘With certain products we have designed ourselves and had made in this country over the last 12 months, we are now busily setting up agents in mainland Europe to sell them for us. It isn’t that difficult. We are also doing a joint project with an Italian company which is going to produce our design under licence in Italy. It is a different approach and it seems to be working for us.’
