Every best-selling children's ride-on Trunki suitcase sold in Britain will be designed in Bristol and made in England by the end of this year. Magmatic, the Bristol company set up by Trunki creator Rob Law, is bringing home its production from China to the UK from mid-April. Fittingly the first British made Trunki scheduled to roll off the production line will be the licenced Team GB and London 2012 Trunki.
Rob, who famously persisted after being rejected by the millionaires on TV's Dragon's Den six years ago, now sells Trunki in 62 countries and turned over £6m last year, clearing a profit of £1m. But his firm employs just 23 people at its Bristol HQ while every Trunki sold here is manufactured in China. Not for much longer, however, because Rob says that despite it being more expensive to manufacture in the UK than in China, other benefits outweigh cost. He has cut a deal with Inject Plastics of Totnes, Devon to take over production, thereby reducing order lead times from 120 days to 30, allowing the sales team to react to market demands and give a promise of ‘NOOS’ (never out of stock)
His other top 10 advantages of UK production are:
- Controlling costs; prices in China are constantly rising due to inflation, rising labour costs and currency appreciation. With the cost of plastic the same the world over UK pricing is only exposed to one pricing fluctuation.
- Reduced Risk; external factors affecting UK importers include changes in ocean freight rates (which often double during peak season), changes in import duty rates and the on-going volatility in the foreign exchange markets.
- Free up cash flow; slashing UK stock holding and reducing the need for trade financing.
- Cut carbon footprint; reducing Trunki sea and road miles and using a factory which is more environmentally friendly than the coal powered factories in China
- Cradle to grave end of life product (that can’t be “reused”) can be sent back to factory, melted down and made into new a Trunki.
- Design innovation; with no language barrier or time difference to overcome the Magmatic design team can really push boundaries with materials to create limitless desirable products.
- Wider product range; shorter production runs allow more exclusives to support retailers
- Maintain market position; as a leading children’s travel brand with the buy British angle, the company will raise the barrier for potential competitors.
- Re-balancing the economy; being part of the move away from the reliance on the finance sector
Rob is delighted with his new MK5 Trunki which has been redesigned specifically for UK manufacturing. He said: "This is where the UK can really stand head and shoulders above China, creating really innovative and well-engineered products that are more sustainable, drive better business performance and build stronger brand value; I’m thrilled to be bringing it back home.”
Setting up production has required a £500,000 investment with the cost of the British made tooling some six times greater than that of the existing tooling in China. investment was also required to completely re-engineer the parts to ensure cost effective Western assembly. Vastly improving efficiency as well as making it cost effective to produce all plastic parts in the UK, the re-engineering has also enabled Rob to produce a much greener product. By eliminating the 25 metal components and all adhesives – just two types of plastic are left to recycle at the end of the product life.
He says the downside has been “zero” government support to help with the move back to UK.
"After months of researching and getting passed around numerous government departments I couldn't find a single grant to help!" he said. "I was more than a little bit astounded after hearing Cameron and Osborne preaching that the UK should be doing more manufacturing. This lack of grant support coupled with the scheduled reductions in the Annual Investment and Writing Down Allowances in April 2012 will undoubtedly affect our ability to bring more of our products back to the UK for production in the future.”
He believes the government should encourage UK manufacturing via tangible financial support;
“Although UK manufacture is less labour intensive than the past due to robotics and the adoption of lean manufacturing techniques our investment has already and will continue to create jobs within the UK. It is also bringing cash into the economy as well as contributing to the reduction of the UK economy’s dependence on the finance sector,” he said.
The next goal for Magmatic is to set up a recognised educational programme to provide UK schools and colleges with structured tours of the factory in Devon and its head office in Bristol to inspire the next generation of engineers, designers and entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile the company's current manufacturing hubs in China and the US will continue to supply local markets.
