Omega Owners Forum

Chat Area => General Car Chat => Topic started by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 27 July 2012, 10:59:22

Title: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 27 July 2012, 10:59:22
Just purchased some parts for Mrs Opti's Corsa.

GM 93176114.......Brake pads.......MADE IN INDIA.... :-\
GM 9195981.........Brake discs.......MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC.. :-\

So what went wrong?

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. :'(
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: cem_devecioglu on 27 July 2012, 11:06:53
Just purchased some parts for Mrs Opti's Corsa.

GM 93176114.......Brake pads.......MADE IN INDIA.... :-\
GM 9195981.........Brake discs.......MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC.. :-\

So what went wrong?

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. :'(

nothing wrong with British workers..  only the boss see that they dont work cheap anymore.. and decide to change the workers :-\
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Abiton on 27 July 2012, 11:07:09
We make a hell of a lot of bits for F1 cars, and motorsport generally.  :y

OK so it's not large quantity manufacturing, but we make a few bob doing it, and our skill levels are still enviable in some of these areas.

Glass = half-full.  :)
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: omega3000 on 27 July 2012, 11:22:50
Just purchased some parts for Mrs Opti's Corsa.

GM 93176114.......Brake pads.......MADE IN INDIA.... :-\
GM 9195981.........Brake discs.......MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC.. :-\

So what went wrong?

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. :'(

Made from recycled skoda's  ;D
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: freecall666 on 27 July 2012, 11:23:51
we still make steal, but soon not make milk.....
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: aaronjb on 27 July 2012, 11:25:25
Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. :'(

Would you like the £20 brake pads made in India, or the £150 brake pads made in England? Oh and there's an eight week lead time on the English ones on account of the strike, Sir.
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: 2woody on 27 July 2012, 11:48:35
Just purchased some parts for Mrs Opti's Corsa.

GM 93176114.......Brake pads.......MADE IN INDIA.... :-\
GM 9195981.........Brake discs.......MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC.. :-\

So what went wrong?

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. :'(

it's quite simple....

we want employees rights, the right to strike, unemployment benefit, housing benefit, Health & Safety at Work, Trade Unions, etc.

None of these things are free - and all affect our competitiveness
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Kevin Wood on 27 July 2012, 11:51:19
it's quite simple....

we want employees rights, the right to strike, unemployment benefit, housing benefit, Health & Safety at Work, Trade Unions, etc.

None of these things are free - and all affect our competitiveness

Yep, and that's before you consider all the EU carbon reduction targets, etc. So, we buy stuff cheaper from people who emit as much carbon as they please.. Because that won't affect our environment, will it? ::)
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: freecall666 on 27 July 2012, 12:11:03
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084287/ Made in Britain....
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: mantahatch on 27 July 2012, 12:26:08
Just purchased some parts for Mrs Opti's Corsa.

GM 93176114.......Brake pads.......MADE IN INDIA.... :-\
GM 9195981.........Brake discs.......MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC.. :-\

So what went wrong?

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. :'(

Made from recycled skoda's  ;D

Well there certainly not making new skodas from the old ones. Work colleague ordered new octavia in April, expected delivery is October or November, now that is customer service I would walk away from.
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: cem_devecioglu on 27 July 2012, 12:46:12
Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. :'(

Would you like the £20 brake pads made in India, or the £150 brake pads made in England? Oh and there's an eight week lead time on the English ones on account of the strike, Sir.

with proper machines and serial production they will cost less than a tenner..  and Brits will pay 25£ on their own production..and more money will stay in your country, bringing new jobs  ;)
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: cem_devecioglu on 27 July 2012, 12:48:27
on the other hand if you continue to pay for import services and material , your debit interests will reach to a level that one day you cant pay them :-\   
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Sir Tigger KC on 27 July 2012, 13:58:08
I think I read somewhere recently, that more cars are being manufactured in the UK now than ever before....  :-\
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Dishevelled Den on 27 July 2012, 14:21:56

//.........

Yep, and that's before you consider all the EU carbon reduction targets, etc. So, we buy stuff cheaper from people who emit as much carbon as they please.. Because that won't affect our environment, will it? ::)




Yes, if it were not so bloody frustrating and wrong-headed, it would be eloquence in itself.

Looking at the absurd situation, now becoming evident to the masses, can we consider this to result from the laws of unintended consequence - or is there a more sinister determination behind many of these rules emanating from Europe?

One would hope that the earnest desire of the enlightened few to ‘make the “First World” polluter pay’ isn’t being acted upon to such an extent that the inevitable result will be a forced realignment of the manufacturing powerbase to those countries previously not industrialised to the same extent and also considered, by the hair-shirt brigade, to have been disadvantaged by the ‘West’s previously dominant position in manufacturing.


Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Dishevelled Den on 27 July 2012, 14:49:24
I think I read somewhere recently, that more cars are being manufactured in the UK now than ever before....  :-\

Yes there does indeed seem to have been a turn-around in this sector - although it would be interesting to analyse a break-down of just how beneficial this trend has been to British suppliers.

Of course all the profits would seem to go (naturally) to the foreign owners of these assembly plants but it would be churlish to dispute that there must be some benefit to the workforce in these factories and to the local economies surrounding each.

Margaret Thatcher’s ‘Big Bang’ and rampant privatisation may well have sown the seeds of this change - but the tender crops springing forth  were helped well on their way by outdated management procedures allowed to linger by a lacklustre cadre of employers devoid of imagination aided and abetted (unintentionally perhaps) by a militant trades union movement more orientated towards navel gazing and extortion than developing true rights and conditions for their members based on a realistic and constructive relationship with employers.
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: albitz on 27 July 2012, 17:47:37
The cars being "manufactured are made for foreign owned companies and afaik, assembled mostly from imported parts,so although beneficial to the economy,not as much as you might think.
Its only right that a modern,civilised, (formerly) wealthy country should have sensible levels of pey,health & safety,employment rights,benifits etc. but we have (yet again) thrown the baby out with the bathwater and made it very difficult for British business to be competitive. I listened to a debate/phone in on the radio recently where many listeners called in to say how strongly they believed the Govt. should legislate for workers to have time of with pay to grieve the loss of a pet !! I had to check it wasnt the 1st of April ffs.
Its now common (and possibly a legal requirement ?) for people who become sick during holidays from work,to claim sick pay and have the days they were sick added back on to their holiday entitlement - fackin ludicrous imo. ::)
And as Kevin mentioned,we are tied and trussed up by EU  red tape,which for some reason seems to apply much more in this country than most others.
We are still quite succesful at high end engineering,and hi tech stuff though. F1 and motorsport technology and manufacturing in general is centred in the UK,and Cambridge seems to be becoming our silicon valley,with companies such as ARM technologies doing very well indeed,so its not all doom & gloom.
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: the alarming man on 27 July 2012, 18:35:41
Just purchased some parts for Mrs Opti's Corsa.

GM 93176114.......Brake pads.......MADE IN INDIA.... :-\
GM 9195981.........Brake discs.......MADE IN CZECH REPUBLIC.. :-\

So what went wrong?

Britain was once the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. :'(

Made from recycled skoda's  ;D

Well there certainly not making new skodas from the old ones. Work colleague ordered new octavia in April, expected delivery is October or November, now that is customer service I would walk away from.

ah yes but that is because every man and his dog wants one...i.e taxi drivers,plod,paramedics
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Field Marshal Dr. Opti on 27 July 2012, 19:50:43
The cars being "manufactured are made for foreign owned companies and afaik, assembled mostly from imported parts,so although beneficial to the economy,not as much as you might think.
Its only right that a modern,civilised, (formerly) wealthy country should have sensible levels of pey,health & safety,employment rights,benifits etc. but we have (yet again) thrown the baby out with the bathwater and made it very difficult for British business to be competitive. I listened to a debate/phone in on the radio recently where many listeners called in to say how strongly they believed the Govt. should legislate for workers to have time of with pay to grieve the loss of a pet !! I had to check it wasnt the 1st of April ffs.
Its now common (and possibly a legal requirement ?) for people who become sick during holidays from work,to claim sick pay and have the days they were sick added back on to their holiday entitlement - fackin ludicrous imo. ::)
And as Kevin mentioned,we are tied and trussed up by EU  red tape,which for some reason seems to apply much more in this country than most others.
We are still quite succesful at high end engineering,and hi tech stuff though. F1 and motorsport technology and manufacturing in general is centred in the UK,and Cambridge seems to be becoming our silicon valley,with companies such as ARM technologies doing very well indeed,so its not all doom & gloom.



In his best John McEnroe voice........"You can not be serious, man". ;)
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: albitz on 27 July 2012, 20:00:32
Im perfectly serious.This is where we have brought ourselves to,with this whole "sense of entitlement" gone mad attitude. ::)
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: aaronjb on 27 July 2012, 20:56:57
Im perfectly serious.This is where we have brought ourselves to,with this whole "sense of entitlement" gone mad attitude. ::)

A bit like the fact that you can now claim your time off 'back' if you get ill while on holiday.. with a doctors note, anyway.

All the time I've been working we just called that "bad luck" and you sucked it up..
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Abiton on 28 July 2012, 08:12:50
Oh, and this lot make a few useful bits and pieces here.  http://www.rolls-royce.com/

:y
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: SIR Philbutt on 28 July 2012, 22:34:18
Found this about the "unnoticed" motor industry out performing the city at the moment

Albeit they are not owned by UK money they want to be here and invest here :y

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, exports of cars jumped 14 per cent last year to 1,194,000.
There are more manufacturers in Britain than anywhere else in Europe: seven major car-makers, 11 bus and coach producers, and at least 25 niche vehicle manufacturers. There are also eight of the 12 Formula One teams, many in a cluster of specialist firms in an area around Oxford known as ‘Motorsport Valley’.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2180079/A-roaring-British-success-From-rabble-record-breakers-Unnoticed-strike-ravaged-car-industry-triumphantly-defying-recession-proof-industry-CAN-world.html#ixzz21xHrl7Yq (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2180079/A-roaring-British-success-From-rabble-record-breakers-Unnoticed-strike-ravaged-car-industry-triumphantly-defying-recession-proof-industry-CAN-world.html#ixzz21xHrl7Yq)
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Vamps on 29 July 2012, 01:04:12
Im perfectly serious.This is where we have brought ourselves to,with this whole "sense of entitlement" gone mad attitude. ::)

A bit like the fact that you can now claim your time off 'back' if you get ill while on holiday.. with a doctors note, anyway.
All the time I've been working we just called that "bad luck" and you sucked it up..

Indeed you can, now I have some rather long standing medical conditions and I tend to take holiday rather than sick days, to a certain extent, just to keep my sickness record down, this way I keep working and do not end up on incapacity benefit as I can keep the balance going against any long term sickness. Doing this has given me a year clear......I am not ready for retirement..... :) :)
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Vamps on 29 July 2012, 01:06:35
Im perfectly serious.This is where we have brought ourselves to,with this whole "sense of entitlement" gone mad attitude. ::)

A bit like the fact that you can now claim your time off 'back' if you get ill while on holiday.. with a doctors note, anyway.

All the time I've been working we just called that "bad luck" and you sucked it up..
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Vamps on 29 July 2012, 01:06:55
Im perfectly serious.This is where we have brought ourselves to,with this whole "sense of entitlement" gone mad attitude. ::)

A bit like the fact that you can now claim your time off 'back' if you get ill while on holiday.. with a doctors note, anyway.

All the time I've been working we just called that "bad luck" and you sucked it up..
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Vamps on 29 July 2012, 01:07:20
Im perfectly serious.This is where we have brought ourselves to,with this whole "sense of entitlement" gone mad attitude. ::)

A bit like the fact that you can now claim your time off 'back' if you get ill while on holiday.. with a doctors note, anyway.

All the time I've been working we just called that "bad luck" and you sucked it up..
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: Vamps on 29 July 2012, 01:30:22
Not sure what happened but do not seem to be able to delete repeated posts, site seems to lock on me..... :-\ :-\ :'(
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: 2woody on 30 July 2012, 21:16:24
what's the largest BRITISH-OWNED motor manufacturer then ?

I'm thinking that it might be Morgan
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: albitz on 30 July 2012, 21:19:15
I think your probably correct,which is a sad state of affairs really.It would never happen in France,Germany or the U.S.  :(
Title: Re: Do we manufacture anything anymore?
Post by: ngrainqey on 30 July 2012, 21:37:53
aerospace tooling, we still manufacture tools for bae and rolls royce over here at my work :)
we even get orders off rolls royce germany :P

also theres manufacturing such as the wings and engines in the uk
alex