Call to raise exports and take advantage of slump in pound

SCOTTISH manufacturers have been urged to ramp up their export business to take advantage of the fall in the value of sterling since the Brexit vote.

Nick Shields, director of Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS), said the depreciation of the pound versus the dollar and the euro since June 23 is providing a short-term boost for manufacturers which sell their goods overseas.

However, he noted that the reversal in the pound’s fortunes since the UK controversially voted to leave the EU amounts to a “zero sum game” for Scottish manufacturers which rely on importing components.

Mr Shields was speaking ahead of the forthcoming SMAS conference, which takes place at the Westerwood Hotel in Cumbernauld on September 7 and 8.

The conference, which is expected to attract around 400 delegates, allows Scottish manufacturers to share best practice, explore ways to reduce costs, and gain an insight into innovations which may improve their businesses.

Commenting on the impact of the Brexit vote, Mr Shields said: “Never has there been a time to be more competitive. The short-term result is [that] it makes our exported products cheaper, which is good for companies who have all their supply chains here in Scotland. Our food and drink companies can benefit from that.

“Other business who may import components, it’s maybe a bit of a zero sum game for them. For businesses [which are] primarily export-oriented there has never been a better time to be as productive as you possibly can. That’s what our conference is all about.”

Mr Shields, whose organisation is an offshoot of Scottish Enterprise, said a “real mixture” of small and large companies will attend the conference, representing a broad range of sectors. These will include Stewart Milne Timber Systems, Macphie of Glenbervie and Lamond and Murray, a small engineering company based in Dalgety Bay.

The speaker line-up includes Sarah Jardine, operations director of retinal scanner specialist Optos (now owned by Nikon), Rolls-Royce global manufacturing director Hamid Mughal, and James Woudhuysen, forecaster and visiting professor of London South Bank University.