What happens when a major automotive manufacturer closes its doors, putting its many suppliers in the region at risk? The story told by Rachel Eade in England's Birmingham Press is not the one you might expect.
Eade describes what happened to the many automotive suppliers of MG Rover when it ceased production. With the help of Eade's employer Accelerate, a firm funded by the Chamber of Commerce to help the West Midlands automotive supply sector, these companies diversified into new automotive and other markets both domestically and overseas. Some moved into entirely new sectors that required similar levels of manufacturing performance and quality - aerospace, marine and medical being three of the favorites. As a result, the number of companies that went under was far fewer than expected.
One thing is for certain, you can't stand still in the global car industry and I think this is what our supply chain has learned and we are still right up there amongst the best in the world when it comes to quality, world-class processes and innovation," writes Eades. "If you take a look at the orders books of many suppliers you will see a tale of diversification and risk spread out around a number of sectors - it is very rare now for manufacturers to see themselves purely as automotive experts."
