Member Article

Manufacturing investment should lead consumer habits, says North East boss

Investment in manufacturing should provide the platform to change habits which will boost the environment and the economy, not telling consumers how to act, warns the boss of the business bringing washing machine production back to the UK.

Pamela Petty, managing director of Ebac, said the advice from Professor David MacKay, chief scientific adviser to the energy department, that British families should stop buying new goods, is tackling the UK’s economic and environmental needs from the wrong direction.

Rather than expecting consumers simply to change their habits to benefit the economy and environment, as Prof MacKay suggests, Mrs Petty says investment in making products which last will drive both agendas.

Prof MacKay claimed that householders buying goods such as washing machines and throwing them away, rather than having them repaired, were hampering efforts to reduce energy consumption.

Mrs Petty said: “What this country really needs is people making more of the products it consumes. We need to make affordable goods, which last a long time and are seen as reliable, strengthening the public’s belief in buying quality from British manufacturers.

“It doesn’t make sense to suggest the British public should stop buying new things. Yes, spending less is a good thing, but that can be done more effectively if we make reliable products, rather than constantly patching up old goods. More reliable manufacturing removes much of the need for making a decision between replacing and repairing a product and will help both the environment and create jobs.”

Ebac is in the process of creating a washing machine manufacturing facility, part-funded through the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, which will create 200 jobs in County Durham. More than three million washing machines are currently bought in the UK every year, all of which are imported.

The company is also re-launching Norfrost chest freezer manufacturing, having bought the brand and equipment in 2013.

Mrs Petty said: “The jobs would come in both manufacturing and, to some extent, repair shops, because even with the best goods, you can’t always ensure that every component part will last a lifetime.

“There is a time to repair and a time to buy new, but manufacturing reliable goods gives the best opportunity for home owners to buy a product which lasts a long time with minimum need for repair.

“When a reliable product does eventually come to the end of its life, there is certainly scope for the component parts to be recycled, as Professor MacKay suggests, but you can’t expect home owners to be constantly patching up old machines, many of which no longer meet modern environmental standards.”

The £7 million cost of establishing Ebac’s facility in Newton Aycliffe includes £1 million from the Regional Growth Fund.

Mrs Petty said: “As for the environment, there are significant advantages to UK-made products, in that the carbon footprint of a product is reduced by the lack of shipping. With washing machines, the majority of products are shipped from countries such as Italy, and then distributed throughout the UK.

“This way, we cut out that first element completely. Additionally, new products will inevitably be more environmentally friendly than older models, due to changing legislation.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ebac Group .