Scotland's electrical companies still strong

Recession bites, but Scotland's electrical companies still perform strongly, according to a recent survey carried out by SELECT.

Parts of Scotland's electrical industry are starting to feel the effects of the chill economic winds which have being blowing through the country's construction, manufacturing and engineering sectors in recent months, according to a recent survey, although many more are so far unaffected.

The mini-survey carried out by SELECT, the authoritative trade association for the electrotechnical industry, revealed that while the number of companies which have experienced "no noticeable effect" of the recession is virtually the same as a similar snapshot in August, the number experiencing lower order volumes has risen noticeably.

SELECT's survey of the sector, carried out in November 2008, follows hard on the heels of Scottish Engineering's quarterly review which showed that engineering and manufacturing companies had seen their sharpest fall in orders for five years.

The number of electrical contracting companies which reported that there had been no noticeable effect on their business remained encouragingly high at 42%, said Newell McGuinness, managing director of SELECT.

This compared with 41% in August.

However, there was a sharp decrease in the number of companies who said in the summer that they had "more work than we can handle".

This figure fell from 21% to 7%.

The number of firms who said business had been "slightly quieter" rose from 13% to 23% and the percentage of those who said that they were experiencing a "definite downturn" went up from 15% to 22%.

The number of those who said there was "very little work available" rose from 3% to 5%.

Oddly enough, given the enormous media appetite for recessionary stories, the number of electrical contracting firm which said they were "very worried for the future", actually fell significantly from 6% in August to 1% in November.

Newell McGuiness said: "There is no doubt that we are experiencing a very challenging business environment, but I find it encouraging that so many companies in Scotland's vital electrotechnical industry are keeping their heads above water.

"I believe the mini-survey illustrates that tightly-run, financially sound and technically expert companies will always be well placed to weather economic downturns and I think we are very lucky in Scotland to have so many firms which will hopefully come out of this period stronger and better able to compete than ever".

For more information please contact David Wright, Head of External Affairs at SELECT , the Electrical Contractors' Association of Scotland, tel 0131 445 5577.

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