CHAIRMAN’S VIEW
3 AWORLD-CLASS ARRAY OF
SUPPLIERS AND MANUFACTURERS
WELCOME to another issue of Welding World magazine. Like many of you, fresh back from the MACH 2014 exhibition in April, I am in awe of the vast array of solutions, technology and services which are on offer to support manufacturing. Over 30 members of The Association of Welding Distribution exhibited
at MACH 2014, demonstrating their latest offerings to support metal fabrication. Visiting the welding zone alone took me half a day to truly appreciate the products on show. Each exhibitor presented a unique proposition, showcasing a solution for every welding situation. Likewise, it was satisfying to see how many products continue to be manufactured in the UK and how quality is still a constituent part of the offering. This was echoed in the Chairman’s report which I presented at the AWD’s
Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the NEC during MACH week. Here, we saw how the UK is still a world leader in manufacturing, with unique and world-class end-products. The examples I gave covered the UK, ranging from Scotland, where world-class wind turbines and equipment for the off-shore sector are being produced, to world-class bus manufacturing in Northern Ireland (some are even exported to China). Then there is car production in the North East and several high-profile car production sites in the North West and the Midlands. The north Midlands hosts so-called ‘yellow goods’ construction equipment manufacturing, exported globally. Move across to Wales for trailers, then travel to East Anglia where a significant industry of stainless steel specialism exists, supporting everything from bulk trailers to pharmaceutical and chemical equipment. Finally, further south, there are shipbuilding and numerous consumer goods manufacturers etc. There are other examples, which space restricts me from listing. I guess we don’t need reminding that the UK still is a world-class manufacturer. If we look at one of the reasons for the success of these manufactured products, it is clear that the welding distribution network is equally world-class. This was evident at the MACH exhibition from the array of products and services offered by AWD members. The AWD represents a wide range of members, meeting fabricators’ requirements. Over a third of the current membership is made up of regional welding distributors or local engineering-based supply companies. The remaining members are manufacturers, UK-wide distributors, service providers and wholesalers. All of these provide the back-up and support to ensure that the UK not only has a strong and world-class range of manufacturers, but also a strong and world-class array of suppliers to support them. If you want to know more about the AWD’s members and the products and services offered, please visit
www.awd.org.uk. To learn more about membership of the AWD, please see page 4.
Phil Tranter AWD National Chairman
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