The UK-based Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) hosted an open meeting on 1 November to discuss issues related to the rising tide of extremely low price lifting equipment being imported into the UK, writes Anthony Nicolson.
Held in Manchester, the meeting attracted representatives from a cross-section of manufacturers, importers and distributors. Product quality and pressure on the traditional UK supply chain emerged as key themes. Increasingly, it was agreed, the well-established ties that link manufacturers, sole importing agents and a network of local sales and service specialists were being challenged by a new style of commercial operation. Typically these are importing equipment from China and other east Asian countries, and selling direct to the end-user. Concern was expressed that many were offering sub-standard products, with little or no service and support.
Speakers such as Trevor Fennell, general manager of lifting equipment manufacturer Tractel (UK), and Paul Kelly, general manager of Pfaff-Silberblau’s UK subsidiary, emphasised their commitment to the existing supply chain and the important role played by local lifting tackle specialists. Fennell and Kelly both stressed the need to promote the benefits inherent in purchasing quality equipment from well-established manufacturers, such as reliability and after-sales support, rather than further eroding price levels.
Rossendale Group managing director Simon Bamford argued that companies which import and supply direct to end-users were not necessarily undermining standards of quality or service. Sourcing products from low-wage countries was nothing new, he said, and many ‘traditional’ distributors were also going down this route. The issue of safety had to be distinguished from changes to the supply chain. For those companies that decide to cut out the middleman, Bamford asserted, the key to maintaining standards was to choose suppliers carefully and thoroughly examine and test equipment prior to sale.
On the issue of quality, it was widely agreed that basic material content was the most common weakness of Chinese-made equipment. Cliff Hemmings of Harris-Walton Lifting Gear circulated the results of material analysis on a Chinese-made eyebolt undertaken by the metallurgy specialists at a local university. It exposed serious flaws and a high risk of cracking under shock loading or cold operating conditions. Reflecting on the findings, Fennell said that consistency of material from one production run to another was a serious problem with some of the goods that are being imported into the UK from east Asia.
Differing views notwithstanding, the picture emerged of an industry that has no choice but to deal with both low-cost imports and alternative supply chain models as a fact of life. Whatever their chosen strategy, for many well-established lifting equipment companies future survival will ultimately depend on the ability to stress to customers their obligations under prevailing health and safety legislation, and the long-term value of dealing with organisations committed to high standards of expert advice and after-sales service.
