A move in the right direction

Manufacturing goes beyond making things in a factory. For us, assembly comes at the very end of a long period of research, design and development.

The moment when finished goods roll off the production line is the culmination of years of hard work — of concepts, hundreds of prototypes and testing, as well as the odd bout of heated debate.

In 2002 we were presented with a difficult decision. We were unable to get permission to extend our Malmesbury factory, and increasingly our suppliers were based in the far east. And so we were forced to move production to Malaysia. It was a hard choice — and not one we took lightly — but it was the right one.

The answer to rapidly expanding Asian Tiger economies is not to give up on manufacturing and retreat into a service-industry shell. Nine out of the 10 largest companies in the world are in heavy industry. To survive we have to be smarter than our competitors. We need better technology and better engineering. This means investing in research and development.