South-Coast based injection moulders BEC Group continue to help businesses in strengthening their supply chains by returning to UK based manufacturing.
At a time when margins are tight and competition fierce, having control over each aspect of production is crucial in manufacturing. With products off shored to the Far East in droves from the 1980s onwards, control, communication and quality have in some cases suffered. From the 2010s this trend began to reverse as businesses required shorter lead times and more control over their production.
Waves of change
A Brexit deal and a global pandemic in 2020 pushed companies the world over to re-consider the lengths of their fractious supply chains, and how they could have goods delivered quickly during long lockdowns. For many UK manufacturers, having months-long lead times coupled with the increased costs of shipping goods was a disaster. Deglobalisation became the name of the game for many.
Reshoring in 2024
Post-pandemic, the tide of reshoring continues. The motivations for some businesses are the same; long, fragile supply chains and communication issues from different time zones, languages and cultures can also prove difficult. In 2024 however, BEC have found that quality improvement is now the biggest factor motivating the move. Customers that have come to BEC to reshore their injection moulding and tooling have described high volumes of non-conformance, quickly worn-out aluminium tooling and a lack of quality assurance with previous moulders.
The BEC perspective
At BEC, enquiries from companies looking to bring back their manufacturing to the UK still make up a large proportion of our new business. We strive to provide not only great tooling and mouldings for these customers, but also to deliver a great service throughout.
Communication is one of the most important aspects of our relationship with customers. From day one, we like to get to know you, and understand your products, projects and company. You have a dedicated account manager for any queries, and a direct line to a toolmaker to discuss your design and timelines. If you encounter any issues throughout the process, or post-production we are happy to help resolve this however we can. Our co-located toolroom and mouldshop make modifications or repairs quick to carry out.
When paying for tooling produced abroad, this will often be labelled as a “contribution to tooling”, this hints at the fact that the tooling is not really yours, and often you will noy be allowed to move it to another moulder. Even if you do get this tooling back, there is no guarantee of quality, particularly if produced from aluminium. At BEC, once you’ve paid for your tooling, it’s yours to use or move as you wish. All BEC tools are made from P20 steel.
“At BEC, we’re passionate about UK manufacturing. Whether a customer has had a bad experience with a moulder abroad, or if they’re finding their lead times for shipping make business impossible, we’re here to help. We can assist customers with totally new tooling or establish a dual-supply system to give them the breathing room they need. Reshoring production has transformed many of our client’s businesses, allowing them better control, communication and quality throughout the manufacturing process.” Katie Reed, Commercial Director at BEC Group.
