NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 COMMENT
Things can only
get better - right?
CHRIS BECK, EDITOR chris.beck@markallengroup.com
As this weird, diffi cult year draws to a close, there may fi nally be
some light at the end of the tunnel. As many as three vaccines
are on the verge of being rolled out across the UK and beyond,
and there are signs that life may be about to return to some sort of
normality again.
The economy, battered and bruised after the worst year on
record, is braced for a recovery; our key workers, from the NHS to
delivery drivers to manufacturers on the front line, will surely get the
recognition they deserve; and businesses up and down the land will be
able to take stock and begin the long road to recovery.
Or, that would be the case if it wasn’t for the on-going saga of Brexit.
The fi rst issue of MM (or, as it was back then, Works Management) that
I was involved in was way back in July 2016, weeks after we had voted
to leave the EU. Little did we know back then that, four and a half
years later, the whole sorry tale would still be rumbling on.
As I write, we’re still no closer to agreeing a deal, and the fates seem
to be conspiring against one ever happening – the double-whammy of
the EU’s negotiating team coming down with COVID at the same time
our own Prime Minister was in isolation was something nobody had
accounted for back in the heady days of the summer of 2016.
Hopefully, the doom-laden stories of motorways being turned into
lorry parks and fruit rotting in fi elds amount to nothing – otherwise,
2021 promises to be every bit as challenging as 2020 has been.
C.Beck
Editor Chris Beck
chris.beck@markallengroup.com
Art Editor Neil Young
Production Manager Chloe Jeakins
chloe.jeakins@markallengroup.com
Circulation Manager Chris Jones
circulation@markallengroup.com
Publisher Paul Fanning
paul.fanning@markallengroup.com
Sales Director James Slade
07860 715084
james.slade@markallengroup.com
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Mission statement
The events of the fi rst half of 2020 have thrown into sharp focus the importance of the
manufacturing sector to the UK – from automotive giants producing parts for ventilators
to gin distilleries developing hand sanitiser, the stories to arise from the pandemic have
been inspirational. Our role at Manufacturing Management has never been clearer: to
support the industry during its recovery, and showcase the exceptional work being done
on shopfl oors up and down the country to get the UK economy back on its feet.
With over 70 years of heritage as Works Management magazine, we aspire to help
our readers realise growth in their sites’ productivity and profi t through the thoughtleading
content we provide in every issue.
ISSN 0374 4795
Printed in the UK by Pensord Press
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