Spotlight on James Teague, managing director of the Empty Box Company

17th Jul 2008

1. What excites you about your day-to-day work? We started the business with a £1,000 overdraft, which was extremely hard to secure, and developed a product that was difficult to market and had some very tough first few years. After 20 years, I still get a buzz from what we have achieved and that I have the ability to improve and grow our business and that the bank manager now pays for lunch!

2. In a typical day, what is guaranteed to put a smile on your face? Having a laugh with my staff and talking to delighted customers. What has been your greatest achievement in the last year? We have set up an additional manufacturing facility in West Devon. We had to rebuild an agricultural barn, which now looks like a barn on the outside and a modern workshop inside. I have relocated here with my family and am ‘managing’ our main site from 200 miles away. The whole process has been extremely stressful and expensive. However, the outcome has been a great step forward for the business as we have more than doubled our capacity. It has also enabled the team of 12 staff at the site in Surrey to take on more responsibility and I am delighted that all of them have risen to the challenge. I have learned a great deal about my management weakness as a result of them achieving so much without me - and not one of them has left!

3. On a day-to-day basis, what do you find frustrating about your work?

Red tape!

4. What inspired you to work in manufacturing?

We came up with an idea that no-one could or would make in a time when British manufacturing was still prolific and perhaps somewhat complacent. Having established this, the only way forward was to develop a process ourselves, which we did. So, in a way, we fell into manufacturing but being able to control and develop manufacturing processes without the worry and reliance of a third party has paid dividends even through the years of outsourcing to the Far East.

5. What makes your company stand out from the rest? How do you beat the competition? As a company, we pride ourselves on having a high quality product that is handmade in the UK – a unique selling point these days. We don’t cut corners and we are constantly reinforcing our brand and developing our profile in the marketplace. My father-in-law once said: ‘Quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten’. This rings true but we pride ourselves also on being able to produce a high quality product with a competitive price tag – something that competitors who have tried cannot match.

6. What hopes / concerns do you have about the future of manufacturing in the UK?

My major concern for the UK manufacturing industry is the temptation to outsource manufacturing to the Far East. Cost savings are almost always due to low labour costs but this comes at a price both to the environment and to customer satisfaction. I am afraid that having goods manufactured in China, for example, is something that we try to conceal and is not celebrated by the general public. Medium-term, we have no control on the future of others manufacturing for us and should the proverbial rug be pulled will we have the infrastructure to move manufacturing to another country or back to the UK? I doubt it. On the plus side, I do sense the zeitgeist is percolating through into our businesses and managers are beginning to see the positives of manufacturing in the UK where we can be proud and in complete control. We can offer more bespoke product ranges that customers are prepared to pay for AND we have a very lean industry with a competitive edge in terms of cost as fuel prices and international inflation continue to rise.

7. What piece of advice would you give to any manufacturing newcomers?

Quality, control and flexibility Who is your hero? My hero is my wife and business partner who keeps my feet on the ground!

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