An Olympic Torch, Apprenticeships, Stand-Out Service and More Discussed at Breakfast Morning

By Made In Group
schedule28th Jul 21

Industry leaders from the Midlands and Yorkshire both came together for the third cross-region "Backing Britain" Virtual Breakfast Morning with Made in Group. 

Leading manufacturing businesses - In-Comm Training, Alucast Ltd and Balmoral Tanks - all provided short talks for their fellow members in the (Zoom) room.

Title as a “Backing Britain 3.0 Virtual Breakfast Morning”, this event began at 9am with a short introduction from Made in Group CEO - Jason Pitt. Jason gave members an update on upcoming events throughout the Midlands and Yorkshire region.

All attendees, who were comprised of members of Made in the Midlands and Made in Yorkshire - were given the chance to give a short introduction to them and their company.

 

The importance of investing in employees and upskilling

Gareth Jones, Managing Director at In-Comm Training, offered members an overview of the work that his company do as one of the UK’s leading providers of apprenticeships, training and business services.

Gareth provided many interesting statistics, such as what percentage of industry companies would say that the impact of Covid-19 has prevented them from taking on apprentices in the last 6 months? 64% of the companies within this data said “Yes”.

However, it was positive to hear that - when asked ‘Have you continued to train your employees during the pandemic?’’ - 72% of these industry companies yes and have invested in this way. Ultimately, it was clear from Gareth’s talk that the need to invest in employees and upskill is vital for UK manufacturers.



From the world’s fastest car to the Olympic torch

Chairman of Alucast Ltd, Tony Sartorius, was the next speaker following on from Gareth. Alucast - who provide the likes of Aluminium casting and machining solutions - was formed in the late sixties and is based in the heart of the industrial West Midlands

Tony spoke about various important and well-known projects that Alucast and himself have been involved in, such as a project involving what was the fastest car in the world at the time, and also making parts for the Olympic torch - which “Maybe 7 billion people around the world saw” back in 2012.

During the talk, Tony also spoke about the investment program at Alucast, where they developed and progressed their machining capabilities. The official opening of the machine shop at Wednesbury was in 2019, but they have continued to invest since. And Lord Mike Whitby, who will be well-known to many Made in the Midlands members particularly, was even said to be there for this opening!

Agreeing with the sentiments of Gareth Jones’ talk before, Tony also encouraged other manufacturers to get involved with companies like In-Comm and ultimately take on apprentices. 



Stand-out service is not easy to copy

Allan Joyce, Managing Director at Yorkshire-based Balmoral Tanks, was the final speaker of this event. Allan began with a short background of himself and the company, highlighting that he “isn’t made in Yorkshire”, but he’s originally from Scotland, and his since gone on to work in Rotherham where Balmoral Tanks are based. 

With various competitors, Allan emphasised that Balmoral Tanks have to find ways to have people asking why they should choose their services above others?

Quality is one answer, but you need to add more, emphasised Allan. So one big factor which  what differentiates them is said to be a standout “service” - meaning they have to add value which truly resonates with customers.

Allan went on to say that “Service is not easy to copy, it requires significant commitment”, and ultimately, it’s about a company “culture”. Alongside this, effective people management is at the heart of what Alucast does to engage employees and be successful in the industry.

 

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