Product life cycle and factory closures

Monday, May 04, 2009

What is the link between a piano factory in Bletchley and the Toshiba television factory in Plymouth?

The answer is - both are due to close, as consumer demand for pianos and televisions declines and the manufacturers concerned are lft with a difficult decision to cut production capacity.

Kemble and Co in Bletchley, near Milton Keynes, has been making pianos for almost 100 years. However, Kemble’s main shareholder Yamaha has decided that it can no longer justify what are likely to be loss-making operations at the Kemble factory. So demand for Kemble pianos will be sourced from other Yamaha factories overseas. A real shame. This BBC news piece is full of great business studies materials if you would like to discover more.

The Toshiba television factory is also to close. Production capacity is being shifted and conolidated at Toshiba’s factories in Poland. I wonder whether this is the last television factory in the UK?

Both factory closures are likely to have a significant impact on the local economic environment. Kemble and Toshiba were both major employers in their areas.

Posted to BUSINESS THEMES • Business Strategy • Credit Crunch • Operations Management

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