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Build a quality future
Page 100
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• Quality is the current "buzzword" in business and this means better bodybuilding will be necessary, Professor Garel Rhys, of Cardiff University, told the Bodybuilder Conference in Solihull.
Prof Rhys, who holds the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chair in Motor Industry Economics, was addressing the Vehicle Builders and Repairers Association conference last month.
He forecast what the industry may expect in the 1990s — notably, in Britain and the Continent, more movement of goods in an integrated EEC market from 1992, and more work and opportunities for better profits among bodybuilders.
He expects bodybuilders to be able to sell standardised products in larger numbers and that this will lead to greater profitability for the better firms.
As in the transport market generally, however, he suggests that competition will lead to more mergers — and bankruptcies.
While in the UK in the short term there is "stock exchange madness," he suggests that the long-term future looks good — with more freight for commercial vehicles. Heavy lorry manufacturers, however, he says, will probably face a Japanese challenge in Europe in the 1990s.
Dr Norman Famworth, product liability manager at Leyland Daf, dealing with the Consumer Protection Act 1987, asked: "Who is a producer?"
The answer, he said, is the manufacturer of all finished products, importers of materials and suppliers where the manufacturer is not known, any of whom can be claimed against if a product is defective — an important change in the law.
The bodybuilder, he said, is a component producer in law. The difficult area is how the body is mounted on a chassis and is it unsuitable for that chassis?
In order to reduce risks, he suggested, on: 1, Design — work in accord with a manufacturer's drawings and seek approval if altering a chassis; 2, Purchase — deal with approved suppliers and obtain a legal overview on a purchase order; 3, Manufacture and quality — use materials in a flow sequence for identification and keep records; 4, Instructions and labels — review where risks can arise; 5, Advertising and sales — remember that there is no idiotproof product; 6, Document retention — keep them for 10 years.
Colin Burton, manager of the Mercedes-Benz Transport Consultancy, reviewing marketing trends in bodybuilding, said marketing is non existent or of low priority in many bodybuilders.
Whereas there are only nine existing European commercial vehicle manufacturers left, he remarked: "There are so many of you." His advice was, therefore, to give a distinctive message and get it across by • West Yorkshire-based components group Towstar is promoting this new image in the New Year, when new car components will be added to the range available from its six branches. Expansion is planned. The new logo presents "An updated image for a forward thinking company." advertising in the trade press.
He asked: "How many of you still use literature featuring Bedford Trucks, for example?"
Grenville Hawley, from the Road Transport Industry Training Board, stressed the need for skills — "Don't prune training as the first step to retaining viability" — in all departments and revealed that the RTITB is introducing 40 extra modules for management training next year.
VBRA director Gordon Mellor said higher standards are now expected from bodybuilder members and spoke of the new guarantee scheme, which starts: The bodybuilder hereby guarantees: a) the body and fittings against any defects arising out of faulty materials or workmanship for a period of twelve months from the date of delivery.