FREIGHT BRITAIN: UK FOOD MANUFACTURERS PULL FORWARD ON LOCAL MACHINE INVESTMENNT

As a British company using domestic suppliers to source materials and design, engineer, install and support machines locally, contaminant and checkweighing specialists Fortress Technology examines the competitive and cost advantages behind this accelerated reshoring drive.
TodayÂ’s food manufacturing world is in a very different place to how it was 20 years, and indeed 20 months ago. With the pandemic highlighting the fragility of international supply chains, Fortress Managing Director Phil Brown has observed a definite shift in attitudes towards reshoring. With Asia and EMEA once considered the go-to-hubs for distributors of machinery components, materials and builds, rising wage costs, together with other export overheads, lengthy shipping delays, quality and IP issues has significantly influenced this reshoring reversal.
For engineering companies like Fortress that continued to ‘deliver the goods’ even during the worst of the pandemic, having an established British R&D centre and manufacturing base has turned out to big plus. Rather than having a sprawling global supply chain, even when the largest economies closed their borders, Fortress continued to fulfil orders, attract new customers and maintain its agility.
Having traded off and championed the Made in Britain badge since the company was founded, Phil now reports a steady increase in live enquires for food-grade x-ray and metal detection solutions from food factories seeking a swift turnaround. Emerging less scathed than many of its market peers, Fortress – currently the only known UK manufacturer of all three food inspection disciplines - has been able to mitigate the rising costs of shipping and air freights, passing these cost savings directly onto customers.
“Even before Brexit, the weak pound and ongoing tariff negotiations prompted many UK food manufacturers to price up their import versus domestic sourcing options. A number made the conscious and pragmatic decision to source their food safety equipment domestically citing the need for greater resilience and proximity to the engineering support team,” notes Phil.
Premium engineered products, faster bespoke builds and the ability to convey requests face-to-face with customers in their native language, are among the other reasons why over 48 percent of companies are currently anticipating increasing their proportion of work commissioned to UK subcontractors moving forward.
Balancing responsible sourcing and sustainability is another big motivation. Moving machinery across continents adds hugely to the carbon footprint. With commercial customers and their consumers demanding even higher sustainability credentials, every stage of the journey from sourcing materials ethically to build and installation must now be considered.
With 90 percent of Fortress inspection machines sold to food factories, the companyÂ’s Lifespan Guarantee helps to keep sustainability stakeholders happy.