CBM president calls for passion and purpose

Barry Yeomans has just taken office at the Black Country-based Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM), and is determined to make a difference during the next two years. In his first public statement as president, Barry said: "We need to create a bigger voice for our manufacturing sector, and one way is to align ourselves with other like-minded organisations, and there are many. I'm not talking about mergers or formal alliances, but we do need to ensure that we are united in presenting the case for manufacturing and engineering, at a local, regional and national level. "Whilst it is really difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to make an impact overseas, we need to strive to achieve significant growth which is more likely to be gained via exports. Organic growth from domestic markets is still limited, so almost all new business must come from exports," he said. "Our industry has always turned out great engineers, and has a long and proud track record of innovation, but I think the sector needs to demonstrate its self-belief, and to make more noise about the considerable skills which it already has. We must champion the greater cause of manufacturing; to reverse the view held by so many people in Britain that manufacturing is dying. Our industry has to work harder at helping to create the business environment of the future. "We need to believe in what our manufacturers and engineers can achieve, but we also need to understand where we are going, and how we intend to get there. It's great to have passion, but it needs to be allied to purpose, if we are to make a difference. "