News Article
North East manufacturers will have the chance next month to learn the latest productivity techniques that have cemented Japan’s status as one of the world’s economic superpowers.
A regional delegation of business leaders and productivity experts has just returned from a two-week long fact-finding trip, examining the latest lean manufacturing techniques applied at Toyota, Honda and Nissan car plants, their suppliers and at a chemicals plant.
These measures have helped Japan maintain its status as the world’s third largest economic power with a $4.6 trillion economy.
The delegation will pass on their experiences at the cutting edge of Japanese industry to dozens of regional firms at two conferences next month – the first at the Wynyard Rooms, Billingham, on Tuesday February 6th followed by an event at Newcastle Racecourse, Gosforth, on Wednesday February 14th.
Both events will begin at 8.30am and finish by 12.30pm with arrival from 7.30am for breakfast. An open panel discussion will help answer questions from regional firms.
Manufacturers wishing to book a free place at either conference should register online at www.nepa-info.co.uk/page/events or contact Sarah McNaughton on Tel: 0191 516 4400 or e-mail sarah.mcnaughton@rtcnorth.co.uk.
The North East Productivity Alliance (NEPA) and the Manufacturing Advisory Service North East (MAS NE) are jointly staging the events with the aim of helping embed the latest lean manufacturing techniques into North East firms.
They led a regional delegation including representatives from SCA, SSL, sanofi-aventis, TMD Friction, Corus, United Biscuits and Greggs on a tour of ten firms including the Toyota, Honda and Nissan plants in Tokyo and Nagoya, to see lean manufacturing in action.
Andy Hill, Manufacturing Manager Energy Business at Corus in Hartlepool, said: “One of the key areas to tackle for our businesses is the global competition that we face – securing the region’s manufacturing future requires us to get our cost base down based on best practice, producing more with the same number of people rather than less with less people.”
Paul Trickett, Greggs Balliol Park General Manager, said: “The North East firms which visited Japan are fairly new to change management whereas Japanese industry has been doing this for decades. Even now, the Japanese have the attitude that there is always something to improve upon. We have much to learn.“
Mike Clark, Operations Director of Hartlepool-based TMD Friction UK Limited, said: “As a society Japan values manufacturing. If North East firms adopt their productivity principles properly, our manufacturing sector can only grow as the principles are based on growth and quality.”
Dr Colin Herron, Head of NEPA’s Best Practice Dissemination programme, said: “ We travelled to Japan to find out how a high wage economy is still prospering in the highly competitive manufacturing sector with low cost competitors such as China, Vietnam and Korea as near neighbours.
“We found out it is a single-minded determination to compete, allied to the application of simple lean manufacturing techniques, that helps keep them at the forefront of the world’s leading economies.”
MAS North East Project Director Cameron Ross said: “The only way we can ensure a future for manufacturing in the North East is by matching the quality of our production with ever more efficient manufacturing processes.
“Those interested in learning how to best compete with low wage economies should attend these events.”
Areas covered at the events will include
• management techniques
• training
• business culture
• continuous improvement
• dispelling myths
Ends.
For further information please contact:
Gordon Arnott, Senior Press Officer, One North East.
Tel:(0191) 229 6309 Fax:(0191) 229 6234 Mobile: 07713 317883
e-mail: gordon.arnott@onenortheast.co.uk
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