Slow boat to China

Ever since manufacturing migrated to the Far East, design engineers have comforted themselves with a simple notion: Chinese designers can only copy things, and cannot come up with designs of their own – so design work will always remain in the UK. Like all confident predictions, this one also seems to be way off beam. Graeme Paterson, managing director of Brightworks – a design consultancy based near Bristol – will tell delegates at this month’s PDM conference in Telford that design work has already begun to move to China. “We’ve been involved in the Far East market for a number of years, but until now it’s all been about manufacturing,” he told Eureka. He first became aware of what was happening when a client failed to re-book some design business. Paterson discovered that the company had gone to an agency with strong links in the Far East. “The point at which clients want to move to the Far East gets earlier in the process,” he says. For this reason, Brightworks has followed suit: it has formed a partnership with a Hong Kong design company, which Paterson believes will help his company to win more bids. One difficulty is the fact that the line between design and manufacturing is getting blurred. “Lots of UK prototyping companies now get their models made in the Far East,” he says. “I’m also bombarded with offers from the Far East, from companies offering to perform my R&D – such as prototyping or FEA services.” The good news is that the shift is likely to be slow, and take a long time to get established. “But we should be aware of it happening and plan ahead,” says Paterson. He is confident that – as with manufacturing – not all design work will move to Asia. “Anything large scale will see amplified savings by moving to the Far East,” he says. For this reason, he says, specialised design projects are most likely to be carried out in the UK. “Anything that is particularly tricky to develop stands more chance of staying here,” he says. “Cultural, language and geographical barriers can all add to cost and hassle.” He points to an ongoing project that is not inherently difficult, but must be sealed to IP67. “The seals must be designed and produced just right,” says Paterson. “The product may end up being manufactured in the UK – it’s more expensive, but the client is most concerned to get it right.” Another part of the answer – which his company has adopted – is to use a new approach. “I don’t think it’s enough to be innovative,” says Paterson. “You also have to be entrepreneurial – nimble in the way you work – and creative. That’s what we’re trying to adopt in our company.” For now, the process is one of gradual erosion rather than a tidal wave – although Far Eastern companies have the usual advantage up their sleeves. “I don’t know about the quality, but Far East companies are proposing an alternative service at a lower cost,” says Paterson. “We need to try and work with that – there’s no way you can fight it.” ******* Graeme Paterson will take part in the Plastics Design Debate at PDM (Plastics Design & Moulding) in Telford later this month. The debate, on 27 September, also includes designers Craig Wightman, Chris Lefteri and Bruce Renfrew. A second session on the same day, called ‘Putting good design into practice’, includes contributions from Gus Desbarats of Alloy and Matt Horsup of Minima Design. PDM is held in Telford International Centre on 26-28 September.