Whether it’s in his role as managing director of sliding head lathe specialist Star Micronics GB or as president of the MTA, no-one can accuse Bob Hunt of lacking passion and commitment. As Dave Tudor discovered during a recent visit to Star’s Melbourne, Derbyshire facility, leading from the front is his mantra.

First of all with your Star Micronics hat on Bob, how is the business landscape looking for you at the moment? I guess like every other manufacturing company on the planet things have been pretty tough over the past year or so?

2009 was a very difficult year for Star Micronics but on a positive note we came out top in terms of market share in the UK sliding head technology sector. Financially, Star Japan ended the year positively which gives us a solid platform on which to build the business up again, but for me the most important aspect of it all was that I was able to keep my team together.

In my opinion, the team here at Star is the best in the sector and it would have been nothing short of disastrous to lose any of our people. The experience, expertise and talent we have is virtually irreplaceable, certainly in the short term, so maintaining this was my number one priority. I’m pleased to say that the team has remained intact which is absolutely vital to meet the challenges of 2010 head on.

You mentioned during your recent speech at the MTA dinner that you have seen some small improvements in the marketplace? What evidence have you seen firsthand of this?

Star Micronics GB as a business has seen definite signs of improvement. The first three months of 2010 in terms of sales have been significantly better than the collective first six months of 2009. That’s a real physical yardstick and one that bodes well for the coming months. We’re exhibiting at MACH and that’s a six figure commitment so I need to be confident about future business levels to cover the necessary expenditure.

From a more general standpoint, the term ‘cautiously optimistic’ springs to mind. At a recent MTA plenary meeting held at Aston University there were 24 key people from the industry around the table and 70% reported improved confidence and levels of business. This is something I do at the end of every MTA meeting and I find it’s always a pretty good barometer.

As MTA president, have you made any significant changes to the association’s structure since taking over the role?

Well I’ve been in the job for nearly two years now and I have instigated some quite radical changes in terms of both staff profiles and the overall structure. To be quite honest, the structure was very unwieldy and restricted effective communication between individuals and department and most importantly, the members. Today the association is centred around a diamond shaped structure consisting of Graham Dewhurst as director general, Graham Shearsmith as business and events manager, Paul O’ Donnell, our head of external affairs and executive assistant, Randa Orgill.

The Board has also been scaled down to 10 members and now comprises key industry champions but a further recent change is the inclusion of Graham Shearsmith and Paul O’Donnell at Board meetings. Both Graham and Paul are tasked with formulating and meeting objectives and these are closely monitored by the Board. In general the restructuring has streamlined the association considerably. It’s much more dynamically set-up now than it ever has been in the past.

The president’s tenure is historically for a two year period but to maintain stability and uniformity between incoming and outgoing presidents a period of succession planning always takes place. The primary objective for any MTA president is to ensure that the association provides the best possible value for members and the recent restructuring will go a long way towards making that happen. Personally speaking, whether it’s as managing director of Star GB or president of the MTA, my approach towards business ethics is common across both. It’s all about providing the highest quality products and services.

You’ve been in the job for around two years now. On reflection, what have been your high and low points?

The low point has definitely been the lack of understanding at governmental level of what manufacturing could do for the UK economy if only it was better supported and promoted. It’s my sincere belief that our employees are the best: our skill levels exceed those in most other countries and we have the ability to create some real wealth for this country. The problem is convincing people from outside the industry. Manufacturing should and could represent 25-30% of GDP for the UK.

I can accept that we’ll no longer be a manufacturer of nuts and bolts, but in the high technology sectors such as transport, aerospace and medical we have much to offer and can compete with anyone on the global stage. All we need are the incentives and that means more commitment at governmental level to manufacture not only for the home market but also to promote UK manufactured goods for exporting overseas. With the current weak pound, it’s the ideal opportunity for UK companies to export their goods and we should be doing more of it.

Investment in apprenticeship schemes needs to be encouraged and we’ve all got to work very hard at spreading the word that engineering and manufacturing is a very exciting, innovative and rewarding profession to get involved in. At Star for example, we recently laid on a very successful tour for the local primary school to come and see what we do. Once the penny dropped that all the everyday items and gadgets the kids were familiar with had to be actually manufactured at some point – often on machines similar to ours – we got their undivided attention and the enthusiasm was there!

This is absolutely essential to meet the technological needs of the future and why we’re running an Education & Training Zone at MACH this year. Adrian Allen and his team at the AMRC in Rotherham will be bringing a MANTRA truck to the zone which is a 14m long mobile demonstration unit for innovative manufacturing technology, packed with the very latest machinery and simulators.

In terms of the high points, being president of the MTA has been a pleasure, a joy and an absolute honour. I’ve loved every minute of it! I’ve also seen a real culture change within the association in recent months that has been very gratifying.

There’s nothing like a recession to focus priorities and the individuals that work for the MTA are fired up and committed to delivering real value to the members – from arranging member benefits such as insurance policies at preferential rates for members through to arranging more networking events – something that has been specifically requested by the membership. Of course MACH continues to be important for the association but it’s only part of the overall package of member benefits.

Currently, MTA membership stands at 300 companies. I’d love to see this increase to 600-700 members in the next three or four years so the bottom line is we need to keep raising the bar and listening to our members.

I understand that plans are underway to refurbish the Bayswater Road offices. Can you give me some details about this and ultimately how will MTA members benefit?

Work will begin during the first week in June and be finished by year end. The ground floor will be home to MTA staff, with the first floor and top floor available for meetings, seminars and corporate hospitality for members. Personally, I think the members will be very impressed with the new facility. We wanted to create a modern, comfortable and functional environment that members would be proud to bring their own guests to and I think our refurbishment plans will provide exactly that. All other floors in the building – including the basement – will be rented out.

OK, Mach is literally weeks away and this year’s show is arguably the most important for years for a number of reasons. From a personal viewpoint (and with your MTA hat on) what would constitute a successful show?

Ultimately it comes down to sales and the success of the show will be judged on orders taken. I personally think the quality of visitor will be more important than the quantity of people coming through the turnstiles.

We all know that exhibiting at MACH isn’t cheap but I sincerely believe that as a networking event it’ll be hard to beat and not attending could actually be more costly in the long run. If people can cover their costs, pick up some new orders and meet some new customers, they’ll be quite happy. It’s the MTA’s job to provide the environment and platform to encourage effective business relationships and we’ve worked very hard towards making this a reality.

From a Star Micronics perspective, at just under 400m², we’ll be taking our biggest stand ever and looking forward to introducing customers – both existing and new – to a range of new equipment.

MTA
www.mta.org

MACH 2010
www.mach2010.com

Star Micronics
www.stargb.com