14 November 2002
Cardiff Bay, Cardiff

Expansion into support services, other than catering, helped the contract catering industry to boost its turnover by £400 million in 1998 to £2.6 billion, according to a survey published last week.

Manufacturing has come a long way since Ford and his automotive production line at the beginning of the century. As we move into the 2000s, the market is becoming increasingly complex to meet the demands of customers who want more choice at the same or lower prices. One answer is mass customisation, which companies such as Levi Strauss are already doing, but this only adds complexity.

The government’s announcement of the biggest programme of road-building since Labour came to power in 1997 has been slammed as “another nail in rail freight’s coffin” by the Freight Transport Association.