| Yesterday’s Networking Event |
| We kicked off the morning with a fabulous breakfast spread very kindly put on by Time 24 and provided by BHBPA member Tatjana from Indigo Events. As always some very tasty breakfast treats awaiting our delegates when they arrived, with teas, coffees and fruit juice.Once everyone had had a chance for some informal networking, getting to know some of the new faces in the crowd, we sat down to an interesting presentation from David Shore, co-founder and co-MD of Time 24. A storied history working as a contract manufacturer in an ultra-competitive field, Time 24 work with many of the biggest names in UK manufacturing, specializing in delivering complex wiring and control box assemblies to hi-tech fields such as medical radiation therapy machines, aircraft simulators and the like. Time 24 have provided the wiring on over 30,000 rail carriages and anyone travelling from Sussex to London by train may be interested know that there is £60,000 of Time 24 kit installed on each carriage. With its nimble approach the company’s business model has evolved significantly over the decades, responding to industrial trends such as ‘just in time’, globalisation and more recently the advent of AI. Identifying new high growth sectors to focus on has been key to their resilience. Today the company employs some 120 staff in Burgess Hill with another 70 at their manufacturing facilities in the Czech Republic.   Some of our newer members  David Shore |
 David also touched on a key element of their success, the foundation of any well run business: people. A royal visit from Princess Anne in 2021 celebrated several members of staff receiving awards for 25 and 35 years of service with the company. He explained how they shape that work environment. When choosing a candidate for a new role, they may well have two or three candidates that are well qualified, experienced and capable, but their selection is determined above all by how that individual will fit in with the rest of team. |
| We then split into three groups to tour the large facilities on the Burgess Hill site. As we walked around the various areas, I noticed storage bins labelled with the names of the most prestigious manufacturers working in high tech that you will find in Sussex and across the UK. Many completed assemblies are themselves standalone industrial products, it was great to see so much ‘Made in Britian‘ labelling. In my group, which included representatives from companies involved in the engineering, manufacturing and aviation sectors, there was a lot of interest shown in the company’s bespoke Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. This has been developed over the last few years and incorporates various elements of AI to enable the company to maintain the keen competitive edge needed in the fast moving technology sectors they operate in. |
| Â We would like to say a great thank you to David and his team for hosting the event yesterday morning, providing a fascinating insight into what goes on behind the walls of one of the biggest companies in the local area. A major local employer and founding member of BHBPA. Time 24 The UK’s premier wiring specialist Manufacturing Excellence |