Gearing up to beat the crunch

If Andrew Burns were unfortunate enough to cut himself on any of the machines in his workshop, it is possible that he would bleed machine oil.

Manufacturing is in his blood, just as it was for his father and grandfather.

The economy of the West Midlands was built on the back of companies like Burns Brothers Ltd, thousands of small and medium-sized businesses turning out millions of metal parts for a range of industries with the motor giants like British Leyland at the forefront of demand.

For almost 60 years this family-run firm played its part in that industrial story, but now times are tough.

There is a poignant opening line on the company website which says: "The Burns family suffered in the 1930s due to the great depression and high unemployment."

'Sticking it out'

Things may not be quite as bad as that now, but in 2009 Burns Brothers is fighting for its survival.

A dozen people used to be employed at its factory in Oldbury. Now it is just Andrew and his business partner Christopher Yates, whose father also worked there.

They make high quality precision parts for a variety of suppliers. Commercial confidentiality means they are not always told exactly where their products will end up, although some are destined for the motor industry.

Put simply, they make the parts like metal fasteners that go into other parts that are put into even larger parts that are supplied to the car makers.

"At the moment we are finding it pretty tough. We're about 70% down on manufacturing volume and we can't see any results from the economy picking up at the moment," says Mr Burns.

"They say the third generation of a family business is supposed to benefit, but at the moment we're finding it very tough and we're doing everything just trying to keep it going and stick it out."

Battered for years by cheaper products from China and the Far East he says the manufacturing sector in the West Midlands is losing vital skills that will be almost impossible to replace.

Picking up

But just a few hundreds yards away and one step up in the motor supply chain there is cause for optimism.

Based in a modern industrial unit, Stephens Gaskets supplies a range of washers, shims and gaskets - some of which end up in axles supplied to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

When I spoke to the managing director Rex Baynton in December he was pessimistic about the future with the extended holiday shutdown at JLR only adding to his woes.

"There is light at the end of the tunnel"

But after almost nine months, one of his automotive customers has begun ordering parts again.

And despite the recent collapse of the Birmingham van maker LDV, Mr Baynton says orders linked to commercial vehicles have also picked up.

Stephens Gaskets have also found new customers in the classic car sector.

"We think that things are looking up, it would appear that the customers who were suffering very badly at the turn of last year and the early part of this year are starting to manufacture again," Mr Baynton adds.

Slow and steady

But from those with an overview of the car supply business in this part of the country there is a note of caution.

Accelerate is an organisation supporting the motor supply trade in the region.

Operations manager Rachel Eade says the scrappage scheme has helped and there are lots of enquiries about possible new orders.

"But the reality is most of that business is for next year and it's still very, very tough out there and cash flow is very tight," she adds.

"This week we've seen three companies go into administration and 100 jobs lost.

But she does add that "there is light at the end of the tunnel".

"We've had the news about the new Jaguar launch and the scrappage scheme has given new sales - particularly at the lower end of the market," Ms Eade says.

"If that continues at a steady pace there will be new orders placed - but it's slow and we will be looking into 2010."

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