For the next forty five minutes I watched with intense interest as Lord Digby Jones chivvied, prodded and pushed successful textiles manufacturer Hawick Knitwear to step out of its bubble and start selling its high-quality products on the international market. Director general of the CBI until 2006, then the Minister of State for Trade and Investment until 2008, he is now a Business Ambassador for the Government’s UK Trade and Investment department.
When you come in here, that to me is manufacturing, you know. You’re
taking ordinary raw materials and by the end of it you have got
something that is a sweater. I love it, I just love making things.”
Walking into the company’s production facility, I smiled as he said with complete sincerity: “When you come in here, that to me is manufacturing, you know. You’re taking ordinary raw materials and by the end of it you have got something that is a sweater. I love it, I just love making things.”
Throughout the episode he touched on trends and issues that bear startling contrast to our own manufacturing industry, such as over commoditisation and competition from foreign imports. He eventually manages to get the company over its own ‘mental blocks’ and sees it successfully start an expansion phase into Japan—where there is high demand for the ‘Made in Britain’ label.
He concludes: “Globalisation ain’t going away […] It’s up to these guys, do they reach out, take that opportunity, and never let it go? Turning it into something where the jobs here are so safe, where the skills can be increased, where the kids feel they have got a future, that’s their challenge.”
His message is simple: a high-value, top-quality product, made in Britain, is a brand itself. So, perhaps we in the sign industry should start exploiting it.
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