Avocet Steel Strip Ltd

It’s no wonder that people find it hard to keep up with technological change.

Consider the 3 laws that govern this change;

Moores law states that computer processor capacity doubles every 2 years – this has been true since 1970.

Whereas Koomeys law tells us that at a fixed computing load the amount of battery needed will reduce by a factor of two within 18 months and finally Kryders law states that the amount of data storable in a given space will double every 2 years.

What this means for individuals is that a graduate starting a career in 2019 will be faced by technology 500,000 times more powerful than the day they started after only 20 years of work. As a year passes so Technology becomes more powerful, smaller in size more pervasive and cheaper.

There is a real fear that human work will be replaced by AI technology. By a machine that neither eats nor sleeps, never tires, operates 24 hours a day, doesn’t take holidays or need to save for a pension. Technology will change our world and change our very perception of what it means to live and work. History though tells us that the past will remain as will the nostalgia for times when life was more simple.

Today, within 5 miles from here it’s still possible to see a steam engine working. Watch flour ground by a watermill, see a blacksmith shoe a horse and watch a craftsman make beautiful stained glass. Over the hills cutlery and knives are still hand made, stone walls are built and a stall in the local market sells vinyl records. The past is not forgotten.

So too with manufacturing industry and the services it requires.

We at Avocet are at the forefront of technological change. Working closely with clean energy R&D and manufacturers to establish a supply chain for the bespoke special metals that they will need. We began as a steel supplier 23 years ago and we know now that in the immediate future steel demand will reduce dramatically especially in the automotive sector. The large steel service centres selling huge tonnages of sheet coil and plate once common in all industrial areas will become as scarce as Corn Merchants today. Steel will still be required for those particular applications that remain. Many will be heritage but some still modern. The need will be for bespoke steel specifications in small to modest volumes.

Our partners already help us to  service this market and what ever the challenges that technological progress presents we know we will be able to help. We have the knowledge, the experience and the will. Like Janus the ancient Roman God we have one face looking to the future and the other to the past. All our customers are important to us, both the new ones and old ones.

Avocet began trading in 1996 and back then steel was still big business. The Midlands was well served by manufacturers of a full range of steel products from plates to beams, sections tubes and strip and many customers to consume their products. Steel did not have to travel far from manufacturer or service centre to reach its final destination.

We began trading in cold rolled precision strip. Mild and carbon steel, zinc, copper and nickel plated. Hot dip tin and tin/lead coated steel, pre-painted and printed. All these products found a market in the heart land of UK manufacture. They turned up in common items from office filing equipment, camera films, picture frames, electrical conduits, televisions and in the moving parts of cars. Competition was intense, prices were keen, volumes were high but there was room for all in this vibrant market.

The 10 years preceding 1996 saw greater structural changes in manufacturing. The gas domestic appliance boom following the installation of the North Sea gas distribution pipelines had come to an end and demand for high volumes of sheet and coil was reducing year on year. That trend has continued to today. Not only are there fewer suppliers there are fewer customers too. However the demands from these customers are more exacting than ever .

Modern steel users demand bespoke precision steel strip in gauges from 8.00mm to 0.05mm with tight tolerances on dimensions chemical analysis and mechanical characteristics. Low carbon mild steels through high strength low alloy steels, medium and high carbon steels capable of being pressed or drawn into the most complex shapes for modern applications in automotive, renewable energy and electronics. Coated steels, electro plated and organic whose added value helps keep unit costs down all have a part to play.

This is where Avocet Precision Metals comes in; through our supply partners in Europe and the rest of the world we can offer solutions in steel to the most demanding questions. In small medium or larger quantities at competitive prices backed by the renowned Avocet Service. We have the heritage but we also have the future in our hands and in our sights.

The howl of despair from manufacturers was almost audible this week as the Government announced its intention to consider a “Managed No Deal” as a solution to the current Parliamentary impasse over the Brexit deal with the EU. “Managed No Deal” is one of those expressions that are supposed to reassure and in fact do the opposite a bit like the safety card in aircraft that advises what to do in the event of a landing on water. Government plans include calling on the army to maintain order, cornering the market in fridges and turning East Kent into a lorry park. The Government is sending 140,000 letters to small and medium sized businesses advising contingency planning by stocking up on essential raw materials for up to 6 months. They assume naively that small businesses can invest 50% of their annual cash flow in stock. Having spent 25 years fine tuning a supply chain. Just in case now replaces just in time. HMG also advocates employing extra skilled staff to deal with the beurocracy of importation paperwork. They imagine that such skilled workers are already trained up and  hanging around in Job Centres clutching their diplomas in customs clearance and waiting for the call.

The undeniable truth is that small businesses are on their own in dealing with Brexit, we have to swim or sink. A No Deal Brexit will inevitably change the structure of industrial supply chains. We have got used to being able to buy anything we need from a large unified European single market, this will now now change. It has been as easy to buy from Bilbao or Budapest as from Birmingham or Bolton. From March 2019 customs checks, tariffs and vat payments will come in.

From end April 2019 we believe that local suppliers will become increasingly important. The pressure on cash flows from having to pay VAT at the border will increase the attractiveness and competiveness  of UK based suppliers. If those suppliers have world wide manufacturing partners and a diverse product range thats all to the good. If those suppliers put quality and customer service to the fore that’s even better. If the suppliers take the responsibility for making importation easy and continue to offer standard credit terms that’s just about perfect. Look no further, Avocet Precision Metals is your partner for the supply of metal products post Brexit – we are prepared.