Rod Taylor of the Seaward Group explains why his companies continue to succeed despite the poor overall results of UK electronics
Despite the UK electronics sector remaining in the doldrums for much of the last decade, one company in a traditional manufacturing heartland continues to grow.
County Durham-based Seaward Group designs and manufactures specialist test instruments for customers in the electrical, electronics, medical devices and other sectors. Two sister companies operate in related markets.
Clare Instruments, based in Brighton, makes production line test equipment, while Rigel Medical makes testers to ensure the safety and functional accuracy of patient connected electromedical equipment.
Each Seaward company competes successfully against much larger multinational companies in markets that not only demand competitive pricing, but constant technical innovation.
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Rod Taylor
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It would be impossible for a company the size of Seaward to compete effectively across all parts of the electrical and electronic test instrumentation market. The march of modern technology means that product differentiation between manufacturers in most traditional test and measurement areas is very small and the choice for customers invariably comes down to price – and that is where those based in relatively low cost manufacturing areas have an obvious advantage.
Seaward made a strategic decision some years ago to concentrate on niche market areas where it had technological leadership and where customers valued the sort of innovation that in turn had efficiency and productivity benefits for them.
As a result of this approach it has been able to resist the temptation to shift its manufacturing overseas and the company continues to operate production centres in Durham and Brighton, as well as sales centres in the US and France.
In productivity terms the company regards itself as a ‘high mix, low volume’ manufacturer and is able to share technology benefits across the group, with some shared central resources in terms of marketing and R&D helping to generate an overall better return on investment.
In other areas, Seaward has moved to fill gaps in internal design and product development resources by setting up knowledge transfer partnerships with local universities and establishing case studentships on specific research projects. These special links have enabled it to maintain a lead in its various sectors.
Proximity to the market place and retaining close contact with customers have been fundamental to success as an innovative manufacturer. Narrowing the focus on core areas of specialist expertise means that more resources can be devoted to product development, rather than them being wasted on peripheral products or technologies.
Plus closer links with customers means problems can be identified and needs responded to quickly with technical solutions and product features that in turn give an advantage over the competition.
In Seaward’s particular markets, the commitment to large production quantities and long lead times which are required by offshore manufacturing would considerably reduce flexibility and significantly affect the competitive position.
Rod Taylor is managing director of the Seaward Group