When we set up PuttBANDIT, we made a conscious decision, that wherever possible and practical, we would do business with British companies and suppliers as a first choice preference. We felt this was the right thing to do in a Brexit-COVID Britain to back our own economy, businesses and workers. However, ‘Supporting British Business’ is a lot easier to say than it is to do, especially for a start-up small business born during COVID and on the eve of adopting new global trading rules – whatever they turn out to be.
Import temptation
Try searching for a manufacturer of any named item on the web and you’ll get plenty of opportunities to be tempted by well-marketed suppliers and manufacturers from far-off shores offering attractive low prices. Many start-ups who need to get something manufactured for their brand go this offshore route and usually for cost-saving reasons, not for speed. Supplies from China take between 6-8 weeks to arrive, goods from India a few weeks less. That’s a problem when you need to do rapid prototyping, testing and then make changes.
100% British?
In a global economy it’s near impossible to have a 100% British pure supply chain down to the raw materials. While we much prefer a locally sourced solution, the fact is that some components and materials are just not made in the Britain. Either the raw materials aren’t available, the manufacturing capacity is scarce or niche, or a particular market isn’t commercially viable due the dependency on low-cost manual labour. Never the less, we still try to find a British option whenever possible.
Made in Britain
Every component of our PuttBANDIT Classic and PuttBANDIT 500 Limited Edition models, including the packaging, is sourced from British businesses. Injection moulding tooling and parts, laser cut steel baseplates, scorecard holders, even the golf pencil is made in the UK.
Can we honestly say the PuttBANDIT is ‘Made in Britain’? Absolutely. Every PuttBANDIT is assembled with British parts made to the highest standards by skilled technicians – to be precise, me and my brother in a converted garage. You have to start somewhere.
Play well
Neil Hart is a co-inventor of the PuttBANDIT Ball Marker and set up PuttBANDIT Ltd with brother Paul during the 2020 COVID lockdown.
