I would like to wish every member of Made in Britain a very happy and prosperous new year, 2024. There are currently more than 2,000 members of our organisation, employing many more thousands of skilled people, doing meaningful work - all unified by their licensed use of the official Made in Britain collective mark. This is the place where successful manufacturers come together to reach even greater heights of ambition, with social and environmental responsibility always to the fore.
A Made in Britain colleague of mine was making light of how hard it is these days to make predictions of any kind, as I was reminding him of my effort once per year to look forward to what the new year 2024 will bring for our sector. “There’s only two kinds of forecasts, John – lucky and wrong!” I’m feeling blessed and fortunate at this time of year, so here goes.
Looking back at the last few years of ‘start-the-year’ projections, and recalling the multiple economic, health-related and geo-political crises taking the whole manufacturing sector by surprise, it goes without saying that 2024 will be burdened with the ongoing and inescapable blanket of uncertainty. Will hyperinflation of raw materials re-emerge? Will shipping costs spike yet again? Will demand for trade and retail goods be affected by, what often feels like, a stagnant economy waiting for some kind of lift-off moment?
Being self-assured and re-assuring in all our messages to customers, then making realistic plans to cope with a potential rise in demand that may come are just two actions that can work in favour of any business aiming to be part of the new, regenerative economy that we so urgently need. Let’s hope the economic lift-off we need is coming this year, and that it is propelled by cleaner, more sustainable fuel. This year has to be 'the beginning of the end' for the most polluting power and energy sources.
The Member News channel at Made in Britain is where I go every day to see what business success looks like. Our members posted more than 1,000 good news stories across 2023 – launches, innovations, and growth. Check out this year's Impact Award winners for some outstanding examples. Made in Britain’s Member News is fast becoming the most reliable place to read about successful making and selling. We’ll do even more to promote #MIBNews this year, so more of the great British public can be as reassured as we all are about our readiness for growth – sustainable, responsible growth.
One certainty we can all rely on is the results of the official 2024 Buying British Survey by Made in Britain. Last year we celebrated in lots of ways across all our communications channels, the outstanding achievement of reaching 50% recognition of the mark with consumers and more than 65% with people in business. Everything we do as a trade association and everything our members do to apply the mark helps to move those two numbers upwards every year.
There’s a very simple, virtuous circle in motion every day at Made in Britain. The more our members promote the official mark and use it to identify their goods, the more people associate the mark with proximity, responsibility, and transparency. Ultimately, we would love for anyone who sees the mark on a product to trust that the business that has made that item, would be happy to receive them at their factory and show them how it is made. Setting the ambitious target even higher every year is part of the manufacturing mindset we are all very proud of. Our members deliver on that promise every time they use the mark.
The chosen date and eventual results of a general election in 2024 are just impossible to project, for the chief executive of a manufacturing trade association. I can, however, forecast how happy I will be to attend the major political party conferences again this year in the autumn, as myself and the non-executive board of Made in Britain did in 2023. Both personally and professionally, promoting the organisation and interacting with more than 300 different people in political and business leadership was an honour and privilege – made greater by the universal approval and support for what we’re doing and the illustration of the new Made in Britain Heat-map and our first-ever official Manufacturing Report. You can request the Made in Britain 2023 Manufacturing Report from info@madeinbritain.org. Members can simply download it from your dashboard after logging in.
Our manifesto and message of clean, responsible manufacturing growth landed perfectly with everyone we met in Bournemouth, Manchester and Liverpool last year. Wherever there are decision-makers gathered to debate the future of a responsible society and economy, we will take the opportunity to represent our members in new, exciting and ambitious ways, promoting them as a group to leadership. In 2024, Made in Britain will increase our contact with and influence upon policymakers to make sure they know where to buy goods that are made much closer to where they’re needed. We look forward to growth across the UK, including in Northern Ireland, where we launched the Made in Britain Northern Ireland mark in 2023.
As with most recent years, we know 2024 won’t be easy – trying to make a profit from manufacturing never has been. But there are more reasons to believe that being in the Made in Britain community will help your business get ready for the changes that we know are coming this year. As the economy races to go greener, and faster and as leadership in business and politics realise the merits of procuring locally made goods, our sector has to be ready to face up to and supersede all other sectors and be first to take on the greatest of all challenges – sustainable manufacturing growth towards a more equal and responsible economy.
Everything I have learned about SME and larger manufacturing at Made in Britain tells me this is the most vital business sector to deliver a cleaner, better future for the UK and everyone who lives here. My forward look is always as optimistic because I see every day at Made in Britain that manufacturing is making a massive difference every day of the year, and every year of this crucially important decade. Uniting our community, supporting them with the mark and representing them as accurately as I can will be my manifesto and mission for growth in 2024.
We are the official mark and the welcoming home for everyone who believes in the future of responsible and sustainable British manufacturing.
Wishing every member of Made in Britain a very happy and prosperous new year, 2024!
Image courtesy of DLR Elastomer Engineering
By Made in Britain 11 months ago | By Made in Britain