Coventry's Manufacturing Technology Centre helps business reshore components

Published by

Nicky Godding

A Midlands supplier of commercial vehicle engineering and industrial hardware is re-shoring component production from China with the help of experts from the Coventry-based Manufacturing Technology Centre.

Bloxwich-based Albert Jagger Engineering, which has been producing metal components for more than 70 years, has already re-shored production of almost a quarter of a million fastening components and in the process has, in some cases, reduced costs by up to 50 per cent.

An SME team from the MTC's Manufacturing support Services operation worked with Albert Jagger to revolutionise their factory. The team of 11 MTC engineers produced a new factory layout, introduced new technology including CNC machines and automation, and re-trained staff using virtual and augmented reality.

As a result the firm was able to produce fastening components which had previously been imported from China for between 20 per cent and 50 per cent of the cost. In addition they have slashed stockholding costs by 50 per cent and created space in the factory for future growth.

Magnus McFarlane, lead advisor with the MTC's Transformation team, said: “The management team at Albert Jagger have delivered an amazing transformation - visually, culturally and technologically. Their strategy of re-shoring production is one that a number of UK businesses may be considering, and at Albert Jagger they have created an agile facility and a resilient supply chain.”

Albert Jaggers chief executive Garth Cooper said: "Our work with the MTC has been truly transformational. We've invested in our factory and in new technologies, we have taken on staff and improved the skills of our existing employees. We are already seeing the benefits of our strategy to re-shore and recently secured 200,000 units of product originally outsourced to China."

Albert Jagger supplies products to a range of automotive companies including commercial vehicle manufacturers, agriculture, construction, rail, medical, aerospace and emergency services.

The MTC Manufacturing Support Services team has worked with more than 500 SMEs, and at any one time has more than 150 live projects.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.