Publication of the Month

Manufacturing Matters - Presidential Address 2022

Dick Philbrick

I was distracted from a career as an engineer, but not as a manufacturer. I could not help but compare how farmers and their farm workers, in the Suffolk village where I was born, collaborated in hard work with the poor management, lousy productivity and working relations of the shipyard where I trained. There were numerous strikes, sabotage and demarcation disputes between unions, but excellent craft skills in the shipyard. I sought answers to the demise of UK manufacturing in other industries and countries.