By Made in Britain CEO, John Pearce
First things first, as we approach the festive season (and some much-needed rest and relaxation), I want to acknowledge to all our members, what has been yet another very challenging 12 months for manufacturing. Making sense of all the seemingly endless economic shocks and numerous social changes, can sometimes feel like a full-time job – for all of us. Made in Britain continues to be the platform where we can tell an alternative story– one of solutions, innovation and responsible growth in 2023 and optimism for the new year. After eight MiB Christmases celebrated (and looking forward to my ninth) I know that the UK manufacturing sector has resilience and longevity in its DNA, and that is what matters more than anything else.
There are dozens of Made in Britain members with heritage of 100 years or more and a wealth of family-run firms across our community – from fifth-generation family business HMG Paints in Manchester, to Hampshire-based Crest Pumps, which has been run by three generations of the Dashwood family. “When you’re a Made in Britain member, you’re proving to the world that you genuinely care about your product and you’re working to deliver the best quality product every single time,” said Managing Director James Dashwood.
66% of businesses, 50% of consumers know Made in Britain mark
Demand, from both the UK public and businesses, for British products remained very high this year. Accordingly, awareness of and support for Made in Britain has continued to rise. Our fourth annual Buying British Survey, conducted in January 2023, found that the Made in Britain official collective mark, introduced less than a decade ago, is now recognised by a huge 66 percent of British businesses and 50 percent of the public.
This is because Made in Britain members display the mark on their products, packaging and marketing materials, signposting businesses and consumers to British-made products. It has become a renowned and trusted symbol of manufacturing quality, high standards and truly British provenance.
Members making impact, driving innovation
We were delighted to celebrate several outstanding UK makers with the second year of the Made in Britain Impact Awards, for which we gathered an esteemed panel of judges to recognise achievements in British manufacturing. Adaptavate, which topped this year’s Innovation of the Year category, has developed Breathaboard – a scalable, carbon sequestering alternative to plasterboard, recognised by construction industry professionals as a revolutionary innovation that could help to address the waste, resource security and health of the construction sector.
Another of our award winners – PUNCH Flybrid, the winner of the Green Growth category – is a pioneering engineering company delivering carbon reduction via flywheel energy storage technology originally developed for Formula 1. Impact Award judge Mary-Keane Dawson said the company “literally blew us away with their superb business that showcases British ingenuity, risk taking, an iterative approach, mixed in with a whole bunch of business pragmatism.”
Highlighting the official mark for British manufacturing
In Autumn 2023, we further built up mark recognition with one of this year’s key initiatives: exhibiting at all three major UK-wide political Party Conferences for the first time. I attended the events together with members of the board of Non-executive Directors, including board chairman Prof. Chris Harrop OBE.
Our aim – raising awareness of the official mark for British manufacturing with as many MPs, counsellors, business people and trade bodies as possible – was a resounding success, with more than 300 delegate interactions across the the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat events. We achieved a rare consensus across the political spectrum – with delegates at all three Party Conferences consistently expressing their support for the mark, as well as their interest in how our organisation supports, promotes and represents our network of members.
Made in Britain’s executive team led panel discussions at industry conferences throughout the year. Highlights included our first Made in Britain event in Northern Ireland; building on our collaboration with DBT for an International Trade Week event at member company Fracino; showcasing British manufacturing with Little Soap Company’s Emma Heathcote-James at Spring Fair; and our inaugural session at the UK’s premier defence event DSEI.
The Northern Ireland trip was a personal highlight of the year. I was delighted to welcome new members such as Ulster Weavers, and also to take the stage with members Alan Lowry of Environmental Street Furniture (ESF) and Martin Mellon of C-Tec (CT1) at the Manufacturing and Supply Chain Conference in Belfast. “The only way for Northern Ireland manufacturing is up. We have the people, the products and the ambition to fulfil the promise of becoming a world-class centre for innovation, investment and collaboration across other disciplines,” Lowry said.
Sharing manufacturing success stories
2023 saw us amplifying more member stories than ever before. Our dedicated Press and PR team achieved more than 75 pieces of coverage across the year – that’s more than six Made in Britain messages landed every month. Meanwhile, our online Member News channel has received a record number of articles (>1,000) from our community during 2023 – talking about the products they are creating and launching, the innovations they are pioneering and the expansion they are achieving, both on home shores and around the world. It’s been a joy to see.
We also work to foster collaborations across the Made in Britain community. This year saw Royal Warrant holder Wrought Iron Brass Bed Company team up with fellow Made in Britain member Baavet to expand its Sandringham Wool Collection. “Our values of authenticity and fairness required us to work with a fellow British manufacturer who shared the same standards,” said Wrought Iron Brass Bed Company founder Amanda Oldfield.
We look forward to increasing mark recognition yet further in 2024. Our aim for the coming years is for everyone in the UK to recognise it as a signpost to products made by British businesses that deserve our trust. Ultimately, the more people – across the UK and throughout the world – that recognise the official mark for British manufacturing, the more our members will be successful at selling UK-made goods both on the domestic market and abroad.
On behalf of the whole team at Made in Britain, I wish all our members, colleagues and partners an excellent festive season and a Happy New Year!
By Made in Britain 11 months ago | By Made in Britain