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A search-and-rescue technology supplier in Portsmouth is reshoring its manufacturing operation and planning rapid expansion and job creation over the next few years.
The McMurdo Group’s Portsmouth factory assembles and tests around 50,000 beacons a year for customers in the marine, aviation and defence markets.
The company is reshoring work to the UK following several acquisitions and mergers, which allow it to supply an ‘end-to-end’ satellite search-and-rescue product that includes the supply and set-up of ground stations and systems.
The company expects to start a production line at its Portsmouth facility this month to produce the ‘beacon buoys’ now produced in China, and plans to reshore other manufacturing from sites elsewhere.
McMurdo chief executive Jeremy Harrison said: “We’re going to bring a lot of manufacturing back to the UK, including the buoys and the electronic location transmitters, because there are clear advantages. The labour force is more flexible and reliable and the site’s cheaper.”
The move is further evidence for the much-touted reshoring trend. According to research from manufacturers’ organisation the EEF, one in six British companies has reshored in the past three years. Consultancy PwC estimates that reshoring could create up to 200,000 extra jobs in the UK over the next decade in manufacturing sectors such as electrical equipment and machinery.
McMurdo employs around 100 people in Portsmouth, including engineers in research and development, and exports around 80% of its products. Harrison said the company was growing at 30-40% a year, mainly through broadening its range of products.
Current search-and-rescue satellite systems use an internationally shared network of just eight satellites. This number is set to leap to 73 satellites by 2020, because of projects such as the European Galileo system. The increase will enable better coverage, almost-instant reporting and the opportunity to feed back information to transmitters.
“Innovation is being enabled by improvements to satellite systems and the technology around them,” said Harrison.