Do we manufacture anything anymore?

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Just purchased some parts for Mrs Opti's Corsa.

GM 93176114.......Brake pads.......MADE IN INDIA....
GM 9195981.........Brake discs.......MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC..

So what went wrong?

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

[cem_devecioglu]

Just purchased some parts for Mrs Opti's Corsa.

GM 93176114.......Brake pads.......MADE IN INDIA....
GM 9195981.........Brake discs.......MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC..

So what went wrong?

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

nothing wrong with British workers..  only the boss see that they dont work cheap anymore.. and decide to change the workers

[Abiton]

We make a hell of a lot of bits for F1 cars, and motorsport generally. 

OK so it's not large quantity manufacturing, but we make a few bob doing it, and our skill levels are still enviable in some of these areas.

Glass = half-full. 

[omega3000]

Just purchased some parts for Mrs Opti's Corsa.

GM 93176114.......Brake pads.......MADE IN INDIA....
GM 9195981.........Brake discs.......MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC..

So what went wrong?

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

Made from recycled skoda's 

[freecall666]

we still make steal, but soon not make milk.....

[aaronjb]

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

Would you like the £20 brake pads made in India, or the £150 brake pads made in England? Oh and there's an eight week lead time on the English ones on account of the strike, Sir.

[2woody]

Just purchased some parts for Mrs Opti's Corsa.

GM 93176114.......Brake pads.......MADE IN INDIA....
GM 9195981.........Brake discs.......MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC..

So what went wrong?

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

it's quite simple....

we want employees rights, the right to strike, unemployment benefit, housing benefit, Health & Safety at Work, Trade Unions, etc.

None of these things are free - and all affect our competitiveness

[Kevin Wood]

it's quite simple....

we want employees rights, the right to strike, unemployment benefit, housing benefit, Health & Safety at Work, Trade Unions, etc.

None of these things are free - and all affect our competitiveness

Yep, and that's before you consider all the EU carbon reduction targets, etc. So, we buy stuff cheaper from people who emit as much carbon as they please.. Because that won't affect our environment, will it?

[freecall666]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084287/ Made in Britain....

[mantahatch]

Just purchased some parts for Mrs Opti's Corsa.

GM 93176114.......Brake pads.......MADE IN INDIA....
GM 9195981.........Brake discs.......MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC..

So what went wrong?

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

Made from recycled skoda's 

Well there certainly not making new skodas from the old ones. Work colleague ordered new octavia in April, expected delivery is October or November, now that is customer service I would walk away from.

[cem_devecioglu]

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world.

Would you like the £20 brake pads made in India, or the £150 brake pads made in England? Oh and there's an eight week lead time on the English ones on account of the strike, Sir.

with proper machines and serial production they will cost less than a tenner..  and Brits will pay 25£ on their own production..and more money will stay in your country, bringing new jobs 

[cem_devecioglu]

on the other hand if you continue to pay for import services and material , your debit interests will reach to a level that one day you cant pay them    

[Sir Tigger KC]

I think I read somewhere recently, that more cars are being manufactured in the UK now than ever before.... 

[Dishevelled Den]

//.........

Yep, and that's before you consider all the EU carbon reduction targets, etc. So, we buy stuff cheaper from people who emit as much carbon as they please.. Because that won't affect our environment, will it?

Yes, if it were not so bloody frustrating and wrong-headed, it would be eloquence in itself.

Looking at the absurd situation, now becoming evident to the masses, can we consider this to result from the laws of unintended consequence - or is there a more sinister determination behind many of these rules emanating from Europe?

One would hope that the earnest desire of the enlightened few to 'make the "First World" polluter pay' isn't being acted upon to such an extent that the inevitable result will be a forced realignment of the manufacturing powerbase to those countries previously not industrialised to the same extent and also considered, by the hair-shirt brigade, to have been disadvantaged by the 'West's previously dominant position in manufacturing.

[Dishevelled Den]

I think I read somewhere recently, that more cars are being manufactured in the UK now than ever before.... 

Yes there does indeed seem to have been a turn-around in this sector - although it would be interesting to analyse a break-down of just how beneficial this trend has been to British suppliers.

Of course all the profits would seem to go (naturally) to the foreign owners of these assembly plants but it would be churlish to dispute that there must be some benefit to the workforce in these factories and to the local economies surrounding each.

Margaret Thatcher's 'Big Bang' and rampant privatisation may well have sown the seeds of this change - but the tender crops springing forth  were helped well on their way by outdated management procedures allowed to linger by a lacklustre cadre of employers devoid of imagination aided and abetted (unintentionally perhaps) by a militant trades union movement more orientated towards navel gazing and extortion than developing true rights and conditions for their members based on a realistic and constructive relationship with employers.