How will reshoring help UK Manufacturers?

A new movement is beginning to take shape in the UK that is urging more manufacturing firms to come together to collaborate, share practice and find practical solutions for developing domestic supply chains. The movement aims to further promote ‘reshoring’, a much-mentioned word used in the manufacturing industry to describe activities that encourages the manufacture and sourcing of goods within the UK. Their hope is that more manufacturing and machinery requirements will be created in the UK.

According to an article recently published in the September 2020 edition of Machine Magazine, talk of reshoring emerged in 2009, when Make UK (then EEF) released a survey that showed that about one in seven companies with production in a low labour cost economy had returned some of that activity to the UK in the previous two years. Discussions about reshoring gained more publicity in 2020 as a result of the uncertainty caused by Brexit and the supply shortages that are being experienced due to the coronavirus pandemic which has led to overseas manufacturing closures and backlogs caused by the quarantine of imported goods.

Whilst existing organisations, such as Reshoring UK and IARMA have been promoting reshoring for many years, a new movement has been launched called UK Manufacturing Unite by a reshoring group of companies.

Following the collective success of the Ventilator Challenge UK, UK Manufacturing Unite has been launched to provide a free collaboration run by manufacturers, for manufacturers, with the aim of bringing the manufacturing community together by simply asking, ‘what do you need help with?’

Commenting, Merritts Director, James Merritt said, “We specialise in moving the heavy machinery used by companies in the majority of manufacturing sectors across the whole of the UK. We therefore welcome any initiative that promotes the manufacture and sourcing of goods within the UK, as this also benefits companies like ourselves who rely on the activities of this supply chain. Whether UK manufacturers are increasing production capacity by installing new heavy machinery,  carrying out internal machinery moves, or relocating production to streamline efficiencies, we can help move machinery in a safe and timely manner.”

If you are a UK manufacturer and would like to get involved, UK manufacturing Unite is encouraging manufacturers to register to provide services to other manufactories by adding their company profile to their website. You can also follow them on Twitter, and LinkedIn to get the latest news and updates on reshoring.