LIVE from LiftEx2023 voxpop
In a series of videos from LiftEx2023 in Liverpool in November, Jenny Eagle, reporter for LEEA chats to members about the challenges they face and what they’re looking forward to most in 2024.
Cost, supply chain issues, copyright, post Brexit/Covid aftermath and encouraging the next generation to work in the industry are just some of the challenges the lifting engineering industry faces next year.
Some of the members we spoke to at LiftEx2023 included: Ben Burgess, director, William Hackett, Carly Collins, marketing manager, Dynamic Load Monitoring (DLM), Richard Howes, director, Bridger Howes, Ben Newman, sales, Talurit UK, Steve Bloomer, sales manager, Foster Cranes, and Ella Cheetham, MD, Lifting Gear Products.
According to Burgess, the political landscape will be difficult going into next year and how that affects the economy, as well as the big construction companies and other major contractors.
“It will be interesting to see what happens,” he said. “There is still some uncertainty post-Covid but we will focus on our customers, supply chain integration and providing good products at a fair price.”
For Collins at DLM, she said the main challenge was brand awareness and showing people what they do and how their load cell products work. The company hit its financial record target last year and is looking to expand, employing more people in the sales department.
According to Howes, the ongoing battle was how the lifting industry can ‘sell itself’ and attract young people into the industry.
Newman said the biggest challenge was increasing costs, and the industry has got to adapt. He was looking forward to increasing Talurit UK’s customer base in 2024.
“Price and availability of products are the two main obstacles, especially after Brexit,” said Bloomer from Foster Cranes.
“Sustainability is a priority for the next generation, and the future of lifting, we hope to become zero battery powered eventually.”
Cheetham said cheaper products coming in from the Far East, particularly polyester sling price points are devalued through imports, making it difficult to manufacture in the UK and maintain a competitive edge.
“It’s a big problem we’re facing, which is encouraging offshore manufacturing in other countries. Also, bringing younger people into the industry, because cost points are being driven down through imports it’s hard to pay people competitive wages, pulling people away from skilled jobs. We’re in this vicious circle currently with pricing, and younger people don’t see it as an attractive industry to come into. Those two things will affect us going forward.”
To find out more about LiftEx2023 visit our website at https://liftex.org/liftex-liverpool-2023
