West Lancs Auto Electrics http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:58:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 The Closure of Bosch http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com/2010/02/05/the-closure-of-bosch/ http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com/2010/02/05/the-closure-of-bosch/#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:56:15 +0000 Martyn http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com/?p=440 The new year of 2010 was supposed to be filled with optimism for the UK economy. The United Kingdom has just been through the toughest recession that they have ever seen and things finally felt like they were changing, perhaps a sense of optimism was emerging out of the gloomy economic mist. House prices were beginning to thaw, banks were starting to help the smaller business sector again and then, out of left field, a painful reminder that the United Kingdom is still not quite out of the red, Bosch, one of Germany’s largest automotive manufacturers announced it is pulling out of South Wales.

The result of this massive economic set back is a straight 900 job loss to the people of South Wales. The automotive company Bosch blames the move on the recession and the poor trading environment that the automotive retail market is experiencing as a result of the global recession. There was much deliberation with this move from Bosch, it had been heavily rumoured that Bosch were considering downsizing the plant to around 300 staff members and keeping the plant running on a much smaller scale.

There were also rumours Bosch’s intentions would be to focus specifically on the manufacturing of Bosch Starter Motors and Bosch Alternators, however all this has just been speculation. In any event the final board decision has been to pull out of the United Kingdom completely and shift the operation over to Hungary where they will continue to develop the Bosch Alternators and Bosch Starter Motors. The primary reason for this according to Plant Director Mr.Wilmott is due to the labour costs are over 50% cheaper than those in South Wales.

The disappointment in the area and among the workers, without surprises is high, however Union bosses have conceded that cut backs were inevitable and many areas of the operation at Bosch were over staffed. Union boss David Lewis stated that there should have been some other alternatives at a site this size and perhaps a compromise was a possible middle ground.

The question posed by many has been why did Bosch feel they needed a full scale pull out? The simple reason is that Bosch were set to make a 45% drop in sales from the year before, the first time in 6 years. The automotive market has been badly affected in the recession and in any event from a bottom line business perspective for Bosch, it might have been the only ‘good’ move they could have made.

Stefan Asenkerschbaumer, the President of the Bosch Starter Motors division stated “I deeply regret that we could not find a solution for the Cardiff plant”. Mr Asenkerschbaumer had rejected the proposal and plan to downsize the operation to the 300 staff in a previous month. What is safe to say is that it certainly is a bitter blow for the United Kingdom economy moreover it is a bitter blow for the people of South Wales.

]]> http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com/2010/02/05/the-closure-of-bosch/feed/ 0 I would like to say thanks for a excellent service http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com/2009/12/03/i-would-like-to-say-thanks-for-a-excellent-service/ http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com/2009/12/03/i-would-like-to-say-thanks-for-a-excellent-service/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:40:01 +0000 Martyn http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com/?p=193 I would like to say thanks for a excellent service from yourselves the service you provide is spot on from ordering to receiving the goods. I had a problem with the wrong unit being sent to me I emailed you then you rang straight back and bent over backwards to resolve the problem not many companies like that nowadays this email is to say a big thanks to all the staff and I would not hesitate to recommend your company to anyone.

A big thanks again from Gary and all the best for the future.

]]> http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com/2009/12/03/i-would-like-to-say-thanks-for-a-excellent-service/feed/ 0 Many thanks for such efficient service http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com/2009/12/03/many-thanks-for-such-efficient-service/ http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com/2009/12/03/many-thanks-for-such-efficient-service/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:27:04 +0000 Martyn http://www.westlancsautoelectrics.com/?p=189 Many thanks for such efficient service and such reasonable cost. May I single out avid for particular praise, his technical advice and help was directly responsible for me finding the electrical fault on the boat. Interestingly, nothing to do with the starter, which you reused to take back (Tight northern Gits!!)

Many thanks again
Sincerely
Jim

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