Support British Manufacturing

If like me you tuned in to Panorama on BBC1 last night, you will have no doubt seen our friends at attachment manufacturers Northerntrack Ltd talking openly about the struggle they and many small businesses have been having during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Northerntrack Ltd have been in business for 30 years producing a wide range of attachments and work tools and even bespoke designs for excavators in the demolition, construction and associated industries in the UK from their base in Leeds, most of which are sporting their distinctive purple livery.

Now I’m definitely a man who wears his heart on his sleeve, and I’m not ashamed to say that I shed a tear as I watched Andy and his wife Sue have a supportive cuddle as they talked about the tough times they have been experiencing with the small business loan scenario of which they were initially turned down for. There was better news at the end of programme though, as they reported that they had since been accepted for a loan to keep the business going.

Something we all need to think about when the Corona virus has eventually passed by, will be to focus on spending money with our British companies. Its often said we don’t manufacture anything in the UK anymore, that is simply not the case, there are still many businesses like Northerntrack, designing, fabricating and selling British made products here at home and we really should be supporting them. Of course, Northerntrack are not alone, there are many other UK firms doing similar fabrication, Digbits, Keen Attachments and Strickland MFG to name a few.

On a personal note, Andy and Sue are some of the nicest people you will meet in our industry, and I wish them all the very best for the future, lets hope the wheels of industry get turning again real soon and we see the purple goods coming out the door once more!