Contract electronics specialist launches MANifesto as wait for Industrial Strategy goes on

A Stevenage contract electronics manufacturer has joined forces with seven other SMEs to launch their own MANifesto to address the ongoing lack of a coherent industrial strategy in the UK.

Nemco, which is part of the Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN), has responded to the Government’s faltering strategic vision for industry by delivering their own blueprint for making the country globally competitive.

Bosses at the Wedgwood Way-based firm believe the four pillars of Investment, People, International Trade and Sustainability & Net Zero should form the overarching approach and will form the guiding principles for the individual businesses inside the eight-strong collective.

They’re now calling on the powers in Whitehall to do their bit to facilitate growth by providing tailored support and in removing some of the bureaucratic barriers currently in place.

Dave Pearce, founder of Nemco, commented: “UK manufacturing has come through Brexit and Covid-19 in remarkably good shape, but this is more to do with our innovation, our technical expertise and our quality than it has to do with a clear Industrial Strategy.

“We got tired of waiting for Government to develop a vision like they benefit from in other countries, so decided to create our own MANifesto that will guide the future development of the eight firms in the MAN group and, in our opinion, the sector as a whole.”

He continued: “These four pillars have been developed in partnership with members and focus on People (developing skills, attracting the next generation of engineers and ensuring safe and supportive workplaces) and boosting International Trade through easier access to funded export support, a Government commitment to boost reshoring and ringfencing infrastructure spend so the UK benefits.”

The third pillar of the MANifesto is a commitment to Investment, and this covers specialist assistance to accelerate automation, digitalisation and technology, not to mention more funding support for R&D/product development and dedicated assistance to aid energy intensive industries to upgrade equipment.

Sustainability and Net Zero is the final element of the vision and arguably the biggest talking point in business at the moment.

There are two main strands to this pillar, including supporting UK manufacturing to commercialise greener products and technologies and the potential for a specialist fund to make factories more sustainable and to accelerate decarbonisation.

David Duric, Sales Director at Nemco, went on to add: “This isn’t eight manufacturers coming out with a begging bowl for Government to fill, in fact it’s the opposite. 

“We believe the MANifesto outlines clear, short and long-term objectives and many of these we can achieve on our own. We’re just asking for a level playing field to compete on and some simple enablers to ensure our competitiveness. 

“In fact, we’d love nothing more than Ministers to get in touch and work with us on developing some of our pillars into something more sustainable for industry as a whole.”

Nemco, which was formed in 1985 by Dave Pearce and currently employs 130 people at its 60,000 sq ft facility, has identified significant opportunities in the automotive, aerospace, renewable energy and EV sectors and is planning to make significant inroads in the years ahead.

The company has made several strategic appointments in recent months and joined the Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN) in Summer 2022.

This will see it tap into best practice, learning and development opportunities and, importantly, access to new opportunities that will arise from being part of the group.

For further information, please visit https://www.man-group.co.uk/assembly-proposition/manifesto/or follow Manufacturing Assembly Network on LinkedIn.

The MANifesto in full. It calls for:

People

1. Direct funding for technical apprenticeships, graduates and upskilling existing staff that reaches all part of the supply chain, in order to futureproof skills for years to come and encourage lifelong learning
2. Leveraging of links with academia to attract and deliver more young people into manufacturing and develop the leaders of tomorrow
3. A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, increasing engagement with under-represented groups, including but not limited to ethnic minorities, women and those who are less able
4. Balanced wellbeing in the workplace and ensuring there is mental health support for all

International Trade

1. A Government commitment to support reshoring by encouraging inward investment and subsidising export activity designed to bring work back
2. UK Government infrastructure spend to be ring-fenced for the UK
3. Increased supply chain security by strategic investment in capability building and attracting global OEM and tier 1 activity
4. Easier access to funded support that grows international trade

Investment

1. Specialist assistance to accelerate the implementation of automation, digitalisation and technology
2. Development of tailored, straightforward, easy to access manufacturing support programmes to replace EU-funded initiatives
3. National level R&D investment and product development support, backed up by flexible funding that is free of red tape
4. More freedom and funding to support investment in R&D and new product development
5. Funded support to aid energy intensive industries to upgrade to high efficiency equipment, and the development of a long-term energy security policy

Sustainability & Net Zero

1. New ways of supporting UK manufacturing innovation to create greener products and technologies for all sectors
2. Access to investment to make factories greener and support to accelerate industrial decarbonisation
3. A national business energy efficiency programme to help UK manufacturers beat the energy crisis and decarbonise.