Beware 'recovery' position
24 Sep 2009
What do Burger King, Microsoft, General Electric and Hewlett-Packard have in common? The answer, as many will have guessed, is that they are among a surprisingly large number of blue chip companies founded in times of deep recession - underlining the huge potential payback of investing in new products and ideas even during hard times.
After more than a year of unprecedented economic gloom, it is encouraging to see improving economic trends, such as the CBI data showing that the UK’s GDP is now growing - if only by 0.3% - and the 81% rise in new mortgage approvals reported this week.
The downside of this ‘good news’ is that it can promote a belief that better times are just round the corner and so reduce a company’s appetite for vital change at a time of fundamental shifts in the markets they serve.
Meanwhile, there is still uncertainty over the strength and direction of the recovery, as Francis Griffiths, National Instruments’ vice president Europe, points out in our news section.
“Companies still face a tough environment,” the NI executive warns. “Scientists and engineers will have to focus on lean innovation and on increasing productivity, as the economy is likely to be down for some time.”
Whatever happens over the next 12 months or so, the current recession is likely to prove a major turning point for many companies in the UK process sector.
Please email your views to the editor: patrick.raleigh@centaur.co.uk
