Thatcher policies ‘crucifying’ Britain’s industry

Press, 13 November 1982, Page 20

Thatcher policies ‘crucifying’ Britain’s industry

I Mrs Thatcher is slowly j crucifying British industry. I says the head of one of I Britain's biggest engineering 1 firms who has been home in I Christchurch on a visit. | Mr John Crawford is the group chief executive of Motherwell Bridge (Holdings). Ltd. -the third largest private company in Scotland and one of Britain's biggest structural-engineering firms. I He was educated at Christ- . church Boys' High School ■ and the engineering school of what is now the University ' of Canterbury. British industry is in dire straits, with any recovery likely to be in demand for import-led goods. Mr Craw- ; ford says. The country's engineering is behind that of Germany. Italy, and certainly that of Japan, he says. He sees a peed for a measure of gloved protectionism. "1 believe in free trade as long as the rest of the world does." he says, adding that this is not the case and citing France's I most recent case of protec- ' tionism; in video goods. Paris i has decreed that all customs documentation for these is to : be in French, and that sole I port of entry will be Poij tiers., an inland city with i only five customs men, no i computer, and no parking I space for the big trucks that ; carry goods between Com- : mon Market countries, j He also sees a need for a j big increase in public-sector ! spending in Britain.

| “Mrs Thatcher will have to ; change her policies," he said. “But politicians are all capable of J-turns if not Uturns." He agreed that if Government policy were not : changed, then Britain, which 1 led the world into the Indusi trial Revolution, might be ■' the first country to show the : way out of it.

Mr Crawford worked his passage to Britain as a junior marine engineer after his final university examinations. His first job. in 1954. was in Mobil Oil refineries.

He rose to be an operational superintendent before joining Motherwell Bridge. Ltd, to work on the Hunterston No. 1 nuclear power station. He steadily climbed the organisational ladder of Motherwell, and his present post is equivalent to that of managing director. He is in control of company expenditure of about SI4OM a year, and if the firm’s subsidiaries are included, about 5235 M a year. More than 3000 people work for the British company.

He is president of two subsidiary companies in France, one in Australia, and is a director of subsidiaries in the United States. Motherwell's main field in Britain in recent years has been installations for North Sea oil production. Abroad, it has been active in Iran and Iraq (which Mr Crawford predicts will again be good markets for his firm, and for

New Zealand primary pro ducers).

In New Zealand. Motherwell Bridge has formed a joint-venture company with the Cable Price Downer Group to take advantage of the Think Big projects. The new firm. Price Motherwell, Ltd. will run and expand the heavy structural steel and pressure-vessel fabricating works at Wiri previously run by Price-Norsteel (Fabricators). Ltd. Mr Crawford believes there is a potential parallel between what has happened to British industry and what could happen to New Zealand industry with the Think Big projects.

New Zealand should avoid making the mistakes of Britain's open-door policy to North Sea project-related schemes, he says. There needs to be a measure of protection to assure New Zealand firms are not excluded from "full and fair apportioning" of work. Despite the monetarist policies of recent times, there has been progress in Britain, says Mr Crawford.

The class system that so irked him when he arrived in Britain as a young colonial in the mid-1950s has softened. he believes, and labour relations are much improved. No difficulties are presented to the introduction of the latest manufacturing techniques, and there seem to be fewer demarcation problems than in New Zealand.

"I hope that the improvement has been the result of good management rather than duress," he says. For if it has been caused by the pressure of Britain's high unemployment, then relations may deteriorate with any improvement in the econommy. he believes.