The government's inability to think collectively is crippling our industry, according to Gerry Stapley, managing director of Eaton-Williams and president of HEVAC.
We are being urged to cut carbon, and rightly so. But regular hikes in fuel costs are hitting businesses and consumers alike, and doing little to reduce emissions.
It is high time the government took a holistic approach when setting policies.
The rising cost of crude oil has implications for us all. A few pennies on the pumps have a negligible effect on luxury car drivers, but seriously dent the wallet of the average person. And these hikes affect the factory floor of manufacturers up and down the country.
Instead of penalising, the government should be fostering manufacturing in a bid to reduce carbon footprints.
When a penny or two is put on fuel, the haulage industry is forced to pass the costs on, which in turn affects distribution and the cost of raw materials. This translates to an increase in prices across the board from food to textiles and services. This bumps up prices on the high street and takes an ever-increasing chunk out of workers' salaries, which the government is keen to cap to prevent further inflation.
Companies that still manufacture in the UK, such as Eaton-Williams, based in Edenbridge, Kent, are put under strain. The majority of the company's staff commute from surrounding villages. The public-transport infrastructure is lacking, and no train or bus schedule accommodates overtime or shift patterns.
The same applies to Eaton-Williams' plant in Stoke-on-Trent, where public transport is marginally better but useless for night shifts. As a result, car parks in both locations are full.
Increased fuel prices hit its employees in the wallet, and they then expect a salary increase to cover the cost. And the increases add to the company's own fuel costs for its lorries, company cars for sales and service engineers, heating and lighting bills not mention the many raw materials it needs to buy in to manufacture its products.
Some years ago, Eaton-Williams decided to play its part. All company cars were switched to diesel, and employees were encouraged to select vehicles with lower CO2 emissions. It also implemented a company policy to recycle wherever possible, and set out a strategy to improve the quality of its manufacturing and make all its products as energy efficient as current technology permits.
These changes are bearing fruit but Eaton-Williams, like other manufacturer, has to battle against fuel costs that have a knock on and catastrophic effect on business.
Over time, margins become eroded, belts are tightened and the company is run as leanly and safely as possible to support the business while remaining competitive. It is a challenge - so much so that many companies now manufacture abroad, where costs are significantly lower and requirements for energy efficiency and carbon cutting are less demanding.
And foreign regulations, including health and safety, can be less stringent, which reduces costs even further. Their goods are then shipped back to the UK for distribution, which means more carbon.
This is a ludicrous state of affairs. If the government was truly concerned about reducing emissions, it would be actively encouraging and helping manufacturers to manufacture in the UK. Goods could then be produced closer to where they are needed. This would giving a spread of employment, and avoid shipping products around the globe to save a few pounds.
British manufacturers are continually under pressure to perform against the odds. And it is becoming increasingly difficult when competing on an uneven playing field. British manufacturers have to contend with raft after raft of government legislation and EC directives, which this country is good at implementing to the nth degree.
Eaton-Williams' US parent is flabbergasted at the hurdles the UK business has to jump to remain in business and competitive.
No politician stands back and looks objectively to see how all the differing legislation, regulations, council directives, transport initiatives (low-emissions zone, £200 per day) etc impact this country as a whole and make UK Inc a very costly place to manufacture.
It is difficult to retain cogent engineering and manufacturing, absorb all the extra costs while having the government beating our heads and asking for more energy savings, while at the same time expecting us to compete with countries not facing the same dilemmas.
The government needs to take a more holistic approach and set out a realistic road map for the country instead of the current piece-meal approach. We would all benefit, save vast sums of money, achieve significant energy reductions with much less pain and keep more manufacturers in Britain.
www.eaton-williams.com