"It looks all right to me"

London – Skills shortages, it seems, are seriously impacting the quality of products and services available from some companies in the UK, and their ability to compete with overseas companies.

I chatted recently to a senior engineer at a north of England metal castings manufacturer, who related his unhappy experiences when a piece of equipment failed to work at the plant.

When the local supplier came in to check and fix the problem his conclusion was “it looks all right to me.”

This sort of attitude is increasingly leading the metals company to source from overseas, said the engineer, citing how one important component is now being imported from a company in Bulgaria.

Asked if there might be long delays in resolving a problem with parts sourced from so far away, he replied that there simply were never any problems.

Indeed, he added, his engineers and technicians now actively insist on him using this overseas manufacturer rather than rely on local suppliers.