The torrid impact of recession on the UK automotive industry was the theme taken up by Birkby’s Plastics chief exec Ian Parker at the MAS Manufacturing Convention.

Following the temporary closures of UK car plants, he described how the business went from shipping 140,000 components a day to just over 60,000 and how the assets, valued at over £4million when he was brought in to lead the management buy out (hence the term ‘BIMBO’) were priced at just over £400K only a few months later.

Parker also described how the business emerged chastened from the eye of the perfect storm: “Few of us had ever experienced a recession that came on so swiftly, so suddenly and with so few signs of impact on another sector first.”

Lessons learned? First rule: stop burning cash! Critical skill sets were ring-fenced but Birkby’s had no choice other than to cut 250 jobs and it is only now beginning to build its workforce up again. Taking control of communications – with customers, employees and pensions trustees – was also critical, along with a set of audited accounts when bidding for new business both within the automotive industry and outside.

With the Honda Jazz now in production, a new press paid for with support from Yorkshire Forward and new business within the railway industry, the Liversedge company is now looking to a future beyond survival.

Tags: Communications, Events, Speakers

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