During my time supplying specialist metals into the manufacturing sector, I have noticed several things regarding the supply chain local to me in South Yorkshire.
1 Large Manufacturing companies often have difficult onboarding processes.
This makes it difficult for smaller SMES or new market entrants to be able to supply them.
2 Manufacturing companies are often unaware of supply options on their doorstep.
This leads to them using supply chain companies located outside of their locality or sourcing materials abroad, instead of utilising the local supply chain.
3 Supply chain companies often overlook local manufacturing companies and concentrate on ones further afield to make nominal savings.
So, this year I decided to do something about this.
Sustainability is key to modern manufacturing, so an Exhibition that brought together the Supply Chain community with the Manufacturing community right here in South Yorkshire and to promote collaboration and business between them.
In recent years there has been a resurgence and boom in manufacturing companies calling South Yorkshire home. New developments, such as the AMRC in Rotherham, has attracted large international companies including McLaren, Boeing, and Rolls-Royce. 2023 has also seen the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, allocate £80 million of funding to the area to help with growth, so it doesn’t look like this resurgence is going to stop any time soon.
Manufacturing companies would like to utilize more local suppliers to them but did not always know what was available to them. I also saw that small material suppliers, machinists, heat treaters etc were also not very good at approaching local manufacturing companies (maybe due a fear of what I mentioned in point 1) and shouting about what they did and how they could support the local manufacturing sector.
We at Corrosion Resistant Materials LTD have decided to take the lead in this conversation locally and in conjunction with Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce have created the very first Manufacturing Supply Chain Exhibition.
The Exhibition will take place on the 10th of October 2023 at The Rigby Suite, Barnsley Metrodome and will see around 30 South Yorkshire Supply Chain Companies come together. Exhibitors, all based in South Yorkshire, will cover key areas such as materials (metals and plastics), heat treatment, testing, forging, casting, machining, packaging, transport, testing, equipment, and training.
On the day, hundreds of local manufacturing companies will be able to come along and find new local suppliers and subcontractors. The main aim is to bring the notion of ‘buy local’ and to show that by collaborating with other local companies, we can all grow the local South Yorkshire Economy together.
It will also show that South Yorkshire is an amazing place to invest in and to set up your manufacturing site, as everything you need to make your business a success is right on your doorstep.
There will also be plenty of opportunity also to Network, gather new contacts and hear about the latest developments in the Sector which directly effects South Yorkshire from key note speakers.
Together, we can put South Yorkshire on the Manufacturing Map and show what an amazing and important sector it is.
