Made in Britain
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Kendhni
Topic author - Ex Team Member
- Posts: 6520
- Joined: January 2013
Made in Britain
Did anybody else see the Top Gear episode last night where they got together many of the vehicles manufactured in Britain and filled the street ... from lawnmowers to luxury cars to buses to heavy goods vehicles ... it was a very impressive line up and shows there is still a lot of vehicle manufacturing going on in the UK ... much more than I knew about.
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Dark Knight
- Deputy Captain
- Posts: 5119
- Joined: January 2013
- Location: East Hull
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Frank Manning
- First Officer
- Posts: 1979
- Joined: August 2013
- Location: Poole Dorset.
Re: Made in Britain
More interesting still was the programme about how the German car industry succeeded and ours failed through the 1970's and 80's. I have never seen such an accurate BBC presentation detailing our shortcomings. It told the blunt truth; we have a good workforce but they were badly led both by Unions and Management. We are still successful car makers, but now the owners are German and Japanese and the workers are shown some respect.
As someone who worked in engineering I saw both sides, and attitudes. In those days the differences were obvious to anyone with half a brain.
As someone who worked in engineering I saw both sides, and attitudes. In those days the differences were obvious to anyone with half a brain.
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Quizzical Bob
- Senior First Officer
- Posts: 3951
- Joined: January 2013
Re: Made in Britain
I blame Joe Lucas. The electrics on British cars were awful. The first time I saw a Bosch distributor and the two ballraces I cried.
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Manoverboard
- Ex Team Member
- Posts: 13014
- Joined: January 2013
- Location: Dorset
Re: Made in Britain
Missed that one ... was it all manufacturing or were they just output from assembly plants ?
Keep smiling, it's good for your well being
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Frank Manning
- First Officer
- Posts: 1979
- Joined: August 2013
- Location: Poole Dorset.
Re: Made in Britain
It was mostly about the motor industry, and I have to add that it put its finger right on why Germany is now a powerhouse and we are so feeble in manufacturing. When I was a subcontractor in the oil and gas industry for companies such as Siemens, Lurgi, Beirsdorf etc. They were amazing to deal with, and they all had plans for 5 and 10 years ahead which the entire company subscribed to from top to bottom.
Interestingly it said that in Germany engineers are respected in society whereas in the UK they are looked down on by less skilled and yet white collar jobs. I worked for 20 years in a UK company where there were different canteens for levels of management nicknamed 'The Trough', the 'Silver Trough' and the 'Golden Trough'. No prizes for guessing which was for which. I moved to a Swiss company and on the first day the Managing Director came to me and said "Mind if I join you?". It typified the different attitudes between UK management and continental especially German, Dutch, Austrian, Swedish etc.
Sorry boys and girls this is one of my two hobby horses...the other is safety at sea.
Interestingly it said that in Germany engineers are respected in society whereas in the UK they are looked down on by less skilled and yet white collar jobs. I worked for 20 years in a UK company where there were different canteens for levels of management nicknamed 'The Trough', the 'Silver Trough' and the 'Golden Trough'. No prizes for guessing which was for which. I moved to a Swiss company and on the first day the Managing Director came to me and said "Mind if I join you?". It typified the different attitudes between UK management and continental especially German, Dutch, Austrian, Swedish etc.
Sorry boys and girls this is one of my two hobby horses...the other is safety at sea.