Hundreds of jobs have been brought back to the West Midlands as firms win business back from Eastern Europe and the Far East.
Rising shipping and labour costs in China are helping manufacturers in the region to secure business previously sent offshore.
About 1,500 manufacturing jobs which moved offshore to cut production costs have been brought back to the 海角视频 since 2011, and more are expected to follow with costs, quality and reducing lead times cited as reasons.
The international success has led to a surge in investment from engineering firms in the region 鈥 representing significant progress with finance hard to come by in recent years.
Among those to benefit are Birmingham firm Barkley Plastics, which has won business back from China, the Czech Republic and Germany in the past year.
Business development engineer Matt Harwood said: 鈥淏arkley has had quite a lot of work which was previously done overseas come back in the past year.
鈥淲e have had work for Marks & Spender that was originally made in the Far East 鈥 earphone and desktop tidies 鈥 which we now design and produce.
鈥淲e have also had products like an avian bird deflector 鈥 which goes on telephone lines 鈥 which was supposed to go to the Far East but because of our knowledge and accessibility they are doing it here.
鈥淎nd we have had a few automotive products 鈥 like a light guard for Nissan, which would have been made in Japan but we are doing it here.鈥
Barkley is on course to see its turnover grow to about 拢6 million this year, up from 拢5 million last year.
It was hit hard by the recession, which saw its workforce reduce from 200 to 90, but has seen that increase to 100 in recent times and has had to take 10 agency staff on to complete reshored contracts.
Mr Harwood added: 鈥淚t has happened in our sector quite a lot, and it is the same in injection moulding 鈥 there is a lot more interest in buying in the 海角视频 than going to the Far East.
鈥淭he prices in the Far East aren鈥檛 a lot cheaper than they used to be.鈥
海角视频 Trade & Investment recently joined forces with the Manufacturing Advisory Service to launch Reshore 海角视频, a push to encourage reshoring.
Competitive corporate tax rates and a strong regulatory environment are helping to secure more business.
Reshore 海角视频 will provide a matching and location service, access to advice and support and a named individual to help each company.
MAS鈥檚 role is to help support small and medium sized businesses to be globally competitive and to ensure there is capacity in the 海角视频 supply chain to take advantage of the reshoring opportunities. 海角视频TI will use its global networks to attract foreign companies to invest.
Elsewhere in the 海角视频, the likes of model train manufacturer Hornby, food manufacturer Symingtons and Vent Axia have all returned work to this country.
Advanced manufacturing firm RDM Group is currently responsible for producing the rechargeable integrated torch that is fitted as an approved accessory to Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles. Part of this work was previously carried out in China, but due to issues with logistics, control over manufacture and cost, this has now been brought back to the 海角视频 for manufacture.
The firm recently invested 拢400,000 in a new advanced engineering and vehicle build centre as part of plans to bring work back to the region from the Far East.
The Coventry-based firm is creating 25 new jobs on the back of the investment, and is targeting a 拢25 million turnover.
The 20,000 sq ft facility on the Bilton Industrial Estate will see it fit out with two CNC machines, three injection moulding machines, a laser engraver and a dedicated area for vehicle conversions and builds.
Group chairman David Keene told the Post: 鈥淭he investment in the Advanced Engineering Centre gives us a fantastic platform to take in-house a lot of the work we鈥檇 subcontracted previously, a considerable amount of which was going out to the Far East.
鈥淭his means we have greater control over quality and we can avoid some of the logistical issues we鈥檇 faced over the last twelve months, both benefits that we can immediately pass on to our customer base.
鈥淚ncreasingly, we are working on niche projects that require greater involvement at the design stage and a flexibility to be respond to clients within a few hours. All the indicators suggest that our approach is proving successful and this will no doubt lead to further opportunities within our local supply chain.
鈥淐an the 海角视频 become the reshoring nation? I don鈥檛 see no reason why not. We have the technical capabilities, we have the innovation and, thanks to market changes, we are now equally competitive.
鈥淗owever, it鈥檚 not easy and 海角视频 firms have a role to play in making sure we are set up to take advantage of this trend.鈥
Tipton-based Cab Automotive, which produces interior components including seats, arm rests and dashboard consoles, has invested to buy its 200,000 sq ft factory in Tipton on the back of new growth.
Contracts with BMW and Renault have helped the firm, which was born out of the MG Rover collapse, to its fastest-ever growth.
The firm has now secured 拢7 million of new contracts to supply parts for the new BMW Mini and the seat foams for the Renault van. These latest successes will help it push turnover towards the 拢40 million level and create jobs. Finance director Richard McCulloch said he worked with the Manufacturing Advisory Service to secure 拢1 million from the Regional Growth Fund towards the 拢4.5 million cost of buying the factory.
McCulloch said: 鈥淲e鈥檝e gone from 拢20 million in 2012 to a predicted 拢40 million by the end of this year, with plenty of new opportunities in the pipeline. Managing this growth was one thing, but at the same time we were told by our landlord that there was a chance our facility could be sold. The only solution was to buy the land, as that would give us the platform and security to plan for the next decade.鈥
He added: 鈥淲ithout the strategic and financial support we received we may have had to look outside the region for our next base, which wouldn鈥檛 have been ideal from a skills point of view. Thankfully, we are here to stay in the Black Country and will hopefully be in a position to create more local jobs shortly.鈥
Cab Automotive has spent more than 拢4 million on capital equipment, a foam production line, new machines for wrapping BMW Mini arm rests and a new water jet cutter.
It already supplies the likes of Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin, Nissan, Toyota and McLaren Automotive and another recent contract win will see the company design and manufacture a bespoke rear passenger iPad tray for the Bentley Mulsanne. Rachel Eade, MAS automotive sector lead, said it was heartening to see an automotive supplier experience dramatic expansion after overcoming the volatility of the sector and the global downturn in 2009.
She said: 鈥淭he company is now on the verge of moving from a SME into a larger manufacturer. Importantly, it is staying in the West Midlands, creating skilled jobs and, where possible, sourcing from the local supply chain.鈥
Mr McCulloch and chairman Brian Miles formed Cab Automotive in 2005 out of MG Rover鈥檚 demise. The company created 56 jobs and took over Lear鈥檚 factory on the Vaughan Trading Estate, starting life supplying up to 拢3 million of components into Jaguar and Land Rover sites across the 海角视频.
