FEATURE INTERCONNECTION
TAKING THE INITIATIVE IN THE FACE OF UNCERTAINTY
Roy Phillips, managing director at Intelliconnect (Europe) questions the defence supply chain certainty and how a show of solidarity is what is required to keep business momentum going
W
e live in an uncertain world and now after recent events, in an uncertain
country. Brexit, divisive elections, hung parliaments have all created a nation of unrest and a business community which is less confident than it has been for many years. Uncertainty is the most insidious and dangerous condition for businesses, large and small, to contend with. It causes reduced levels of investment, reduced growth, fear, inaction and ultimately, if not addressed, recession. The Institute of Directors survey conducted in the aftermath of the 8th June election, showed that 92% of members polled agreed that current short term uncertainty was a concern for the UK economy and 76% said that it was a concern for their primary organisation. This is a little bit scary. 92% of our
business leaders are worried about the future of the UK economy and most of them are also worried about their own Companies. What are these Captains of Industry going to say when asked to sign off a new factory or an expensive piece of machinery or a major recruitment drive? UK manufacturers in the electronics sector, however, have everything to be confident and “certain”about. But the one area of certainty in our
increasingly foggy, confused and unsure world is Defence. An ever increasing reliance on Cyber Security, surveillance, covert operations, communications, remote monitoring and remotely operated vehicles (ROV) provides our industry with an enormous opportunity. This allied to the weak pound means that imports are significantly more expensive than they were a year ago, it means that the opportunities become that much more credible and achievable. Additionally, of course, the weak pound also means that our exports are significantly cheaper than they were.
There are an increasing number of
‘conventional’ Defence/Security projects relating to naval communications and radar, land based vehicles, future soldier, UAV’s, submarines, nuclear and aviation security amongst many others, which are
14 JULY/AUGUST 2017 | ELECTRONICS Figure 1:
Intelliconnect Achieves SC21 Bronze Signatory Status
current, on-going and planned in the near future.
RISING TO THE CHALLENGE The real key for manufacturers, assemblers and subcontractors is that the ‘prime’ defence contractors (those Companies dealing directly with the MoD), give a fair crack of the whip to UK businesses in their tendering process. The size of the supply base is increasing year on year and many previously unavailable components, services, equipment and skills have been re-introduced through re-shoring or through new start-ups. Despite initiatives like SC21 (Supply
Chain 21st Century), a Government/ Industry initiative designed to improve the performance of the UK supply chain, many of the primes pay lip service and hide behind ‘Supplier Reduction Programmes’ to avoid even engaging in dialogue with potential UK manufacturers. So, UK manufacturers, our challenge is to ensure that Prime UK defence/contractors engage with and give support to UK manufacturers so that we can move forward in a ‘strong and stable’ fashion and get rid of the uncertainty which blights us right now. Intelliconnect (Europe) is a UK based
specialist manufacturer of RF and waterproof connectors and cable harness assemblies and is accredited to Bronze Signatory Status to the SC21, Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space industry, Supply Chain Programme. Recently announced by the company is its new Taurus range of industry standard coaxial connectors and adaptors. Typical applications include medical, telecoms, satcoms, instrumentation military, aerospace, space, general microwave communications, rail traction, oil and gas and marine systems.
KEEPING UP WITH THE DEMAND The new low cost connectors can be found and specified on the recently updated Intelliconnect website which offers visitors easier navigation and improved search facilities and a new “Quote Basket” facility allowing customers to automatically request a quotation for selected products. The latest brochure featuring all
Intelliconnect products may also be downloaded from the homepage. The new online cable selector enables customers to build a custom cable assembly on the website and send it to Intelliconnect for a quotation by return.
“Our new Taurus range of low cost RF connectors opens up new markets for us and allows us to compete for price sensitive standard product business,” says Roy Philips, Managing Director of Intelliconnect Europe. “The new products support our very successful custom connector designs which we can turn around in just seven weeks. The Taurus Range of RF connectors are available ex- stock and makes us a one stop shop for our customers. This wide new range of products combined with our recent award of Bronze Signatory Status to the SC21, Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space industry Supply Chain Programme, will enable the company to grow rapidly over the next few years.”
Intelliconnect (Europe)
www.intelliconnect.co.uk T: 01245 347145
/ ELECTRONICS
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