The Made in Group held their panel discussion on how manufacturers are rising to the ventilator challenge, how reshoring can benefit businesses along with dealing with finance during these unprecedented times. The discussion also focused on post-COVID-19 in which members seemed positive for the sector.
Held today 2:30 pm via Zoom on the backend of the Made Platform, members gathered to watch a panel discussion from some of Made’s manufacturing heroes. Hosted by Made in Group’s Yasmin Banner, Digital Content Specialist, and Charles Addison, CEO of the Made in Group, the discussion included panellists Phil Stanley, Managing Director of Three-Way Pressings, Marie Cooper, CEO of CBE+, and Jaspaul Bains, Foreign Finance Strategist from Rational FX.
As a member who has recently reshored their business, Phil joined the discussion to talk about how reshoring has benefited his company. With the disruption in the supply chain due to COVID-19, Phil decided to recreate one of his products usually imported from China. This has seen many benefits including producing the product at a lower cost. Phil said:
“We have been able to reshore some of the business due to our investment in CNC machines, now with more in place we are able to produce more products and ones we would have imported before. This has allowed us to be in control of our batch quantities and create specialist parts.”
CBE+ recently joined the ventilator challenge, as CEO Marie Cooper joined the discussion to shed more light on how this work came about and what practices have been put in place in order to continue business as usual. Marie said:
“The work for the ventilator challenge came about through connections we made with other members from the Made in Group. We met contacts from Boneham Turner through our best practice event last year. They were aware of what capabilities are and therefore got in touch to see if we wanted to get involved.”
“We have been able to continue the work we do along with the ventilator challenge because of a dedicated workforce and the country’s need for manufacturing. A Lot of what we do goes into other critical markets therefore it was important that we continued.”
As a finance expert, Jas from Rational FX joined the discussion to offer manufacturers finance advice during difficult times and what they could do to thrive after the pandemic. Jas said:
“In my opinion, my advice to manufacturers would be that the pound is at its lowest and when we come out of this pandemic there will be a positive stimulus. Therefore if you hedge the currency now, you are likely to make money post-COVID-19.”
However, the overall tone of the discussion highlighted the positivity within the manufacturing regardless of current circumstances, with comments on how the sector is communicating with each other more than ever and the possibility to localise businesses after the pandemic.
You can watch the discussion back by logging into the backend of your microsite and heading to virtual meetings.