Like most of us, if not the vast majority I have bought and continue to buy Peco products.

I have certainly warmed to them in recent times on account of them producing in house, here in England.  Their M.D. said something like he could see no benefit from having goods produced the other side of the World.

SO many companies were quick to move production of a plethora of goods to Asian producers, saying they could no longer afford to have goods made in the U.K.
Peco however has remained a U.K. producer, providing ongoing employment for Devon locals.

As an aside, M&S closed contracts with a whole load of British garment manufacturers, which led to considerable job losses, my late Mother was one of them. M&S have plenty of men's casual shirts around the £40 price tag...made in for example Vietnam.  I have to wonder what they pay for a shirt to be manufactured there, just a few quid I imagine.

Getting back to our model railways, with the increased production costs in China, and transportation, surely many aspects of production could be returned to the U.K.?    If Peco can do it then surely others can?

I imagine as their profit margins decrease some will start to think about scurrying back to the U.K.

I think this topic has been discussed many times and the belief that manufacturers will rush back to the UK is complete dream world.

The products made in OUR hobby in the UK N gauge are let's be truthful 'lacking much required detail' the peco wagons have undergone a chassis redevelopment which is to be released very shortly but they are still a country mile off Graham Farish and Revolution for detail.

Union Mills are producing bulletproof locos but not exquisite out of the box, I'm sure the lack of skilled minature labour in this market is the driving force behind keeping manufacturers in China where the skills, expertise and tooling is, getting that lot into the UK is no easy task!!

Britain was expensive to manufacture in last year, when we have every industry struggling with current energy prices the hope of setting up a factory to produce 2 or 3 thousand tiny scale models to turn a profit are just not possible.

This topic was started with disbelief that a farish model would cost nearly £400, make that in the UK and see what price tag gets dropped on it then!

Unfortunate but a sign of the times

Quote from: trkilliman on September 15, 2022, 10:05:17 AM

Getting back to our model railways, with the increased production costs in China, and transportation, surely many aspects of production could be returned to the U.K.?    If Peco can do it then surely others can?

I imagine as their profit margins decrease some will start to think about scurrying back to the U.K.

@trkilliman and all
it's not long now until the NGF Virtual Exhibition, it is worth listening to our interview with PECO on various subjects, which may help in answering a few of the statements raised in this thread.

I have quite a few Farish wagons, quite a few Peco wagons, a small number of Revolution and Dapol wagons and just one Sonic wagon. While people sometimes  comment on my locos nobody has ever said "oh those Revolution wagons are fantastic " or "those Peco wagons let the whole train down". That's why nowadays I tend to choose the cheaper Peco wagons (circa £10 each) ahead of other brands (£18 to £25 for a similar wagon).

On the other hand I have just bought some Farish conflats at £21.20 rather than the Peco ones at £13.78. The Farish wagons were exactly what I wanted and I am happy to pay the extra for something that is exactly right for me. They are very good models and I didn't even wince at the price.

I would guess the UK is the last place our models would be manufactured in by those currently made in China, and am sure the likes of India or Vietnam would be looked at before this country

Quote from: Chris Morris on September 15, 2022, 01:08:27 PM
On the other hand I have just bought some Farish conflats at £21.20 rather than the Peco ones at £13.78. The Farish wagons were exactly what I wanted.

This is the thing. If you want it and can afford it, you will buy it.

Apropos of nothing, I just bought a Farish 3-plank wagon for £7 on EBay, £11 inc P&P. I wanted it as a match truck for my forthcoming NGS Cowans Sheldon crane. It was the right design of wagon in the photo that I found of the crane I have pre-ordered. They are over £15 new. I got it cheap. Happy bunny!