 |
| ASSA ABLOY’s heavily invested-in factories are award winning in terms of operation & innovation |
A recent survey, carried out by the EEF, of 400 manufacturing firms suggests that the positive run of output in British manufacturing is set to continue in 2015, with early orders indicating a move back into positive territory.
With five product factories across the UK that deliver locks, window hardware, high security doors and hi-tech key and asset management solutions, ASSA ABLOY has always been a stalwart of British manufacturing.
The recent trend for ‘reshoring,’ which has seen one in six companies move production back to the UK between 2011 and 2014, the revival in UK manufacturing is not a surprise to manufacturers who have always valued the flexibility and speed of response afforded by a UK production centre.
ASSA ABLOY demonstrates product quality, skills and innovation
Whilst many companies were initially enticed by the reduced overheads of emerging economies, as these markets come to maturity this is equally having the opposite effect, but cost is not the only reason for UK manufacturing to be ‘back in fashion.’ Product quality, skills and innovation, ease of customer communication and shorter, more responsive supply chains are the real benefits of British manufacturing, something ASSA ABLOY has been demonstrating throughout its history.
Employing over 1000 people in the UK its heavily invested-in factories are award winning in terms of operational excellence and innovation at both regional and national level. Ensuring that whilst its traditional products remain an important part of its legacy in the heart of the lock-making country, it also invests in innovation to expand into wider markets and deliver efficiencies that make its UK production sustainable and reliable.
"I am extremely proud of the manufacturing footprint we have retained in the UK that enables us to think carefully about the quality and the continuity of the supply" |
Ensures stock is flexible to meet customer specification
Helping to overcome any production cost issues the manufacturing and supply chain strategy is to source globally, where appropriate, ensuring competitive product prices but to configure products locally, this ensures that stock is as flexible as possible to meet customer specification and keep lead times as short as possible.
However, a number of ASSA ABLOY’s products and solutions are manufactured 100% in the UK, including UNION’s C-Series range that is made from raw materials, through to dispatch in the UK. This has guaranteed that the same high quality materials and craftsmanship has been delivered since the products were developed and launched in 1958.
ASSA ABLOY’s Portobello site assembles master key systems
ASSA ABLOY’s Portobello site in Willenhall also assembles all of the manufacturer’s master key systems and many thousands of multi-point locks and strikes a week.
Lee Philp, Head of Operations for ASSA ABLOY UK, said: “I am extremely proud of the manufacturing footprint we have retained in the UK that enables us to think carefully about the quality and the continuity of the supply of our products to customers.”
“In our own lives we all demand better service and the end users of our products are no different, which is why the service we provide to our distribution and locksmith partners is always at the forefront of my mind. At ASSA ABLOY we aim to offer proactive and professional communication and be easy to do business with. Fundamentally, we provide the ‘right product’ at the ‘right price’, ‘when’ and ‘where’ our customers need it.”
“I have led many factory tours over the years and virtually all of the attendees are surprised by how much we still do in the UK. I invite all our customers to visit our sites to see UK lock manufacturing in action and to buy British where they can.”
