Speaking at SPARK Lincoln

 I am thrilled to have been invited to speak on the Keys to Success of British Manufacturing at the preview evening to SPARK 2023. You can find out more about SPARK by following this LINK

As Chief Executive at the Cathedral up to 2014, I was much involved in the first SPARK over ten years ago. It is wonderful that so many school students are visiting on Friday 7 July. It is great credit to the organisers. I am so looking forward to seeing all the exhibits.

Lincolnshire has played a major role in the history of British manufacturing as I tell in a piece accessed through this LINK

Keys to success. That’s an interesting one. The keys to LACK of success are easier: short-termism on the parts of the city, government and all too many boards of directors.

There then those keys we try not to talk about and which I refer to as elephants in the room. But having got these out of the way, there is much to value.

We are great inventors. Just think of the steam engines and its multitude of applications.

We can then turn to polythene and Perspex which resulted from ICI’s commitment to pure research.

We are great adapters. Frank Whittle’s jet engine was genius, but so was its development as the gas turbine by the team at Rustons in Lincoln.

We are great improvers. Oliver Lucas was only too happy to take licences on others people’s inventions knowing that his company could manufacture them more efficiently.

Am I allowed to agonise over semi-conductors? Plessey were up there with the leaders. AEI in Lincoln still produce power semi-conductors as Dynex, but they could have embraced mass production had it not been for the caution of the GEC board.

The Chamber of Commerce made an excellent video of the event