0:00:02 > 0:00:07In one small town in the north of England, a battle is taking place.
0:00:09 > 0:00:10They're taking on the might...
0:00:13 > 0:00:16..of one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22This is the battle of Kirkby versus China.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27And the weapon of choice? Cushions.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33Until recently, China meant cheap.
0:00:33 > 0:00:34But not any longer.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39What I'm trying to do here is bring work back from China to the UK.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42Factory boss Tony thinks Britain has a chance
0:00:42 > 0:00:44to profit from spiralling Chinese costs.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49In China, wage costs and general inflation is very high at the moment
0:00:49 > 0:00:51and it's becoming less and less competitive.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Tony has hired Merseyside's best raw talent
0:00:56 > 0:00:59and challenged young people to learn an old craft.
0:00:59 > 0:01:00I can't do it at all.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Making 1,000 of these a week,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04so I'm just ready to fall off.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Now Kirkby has got to up its game
0:01:08 > 0:01:10and make the deal of the decade to save the factory.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17The only way that this is really going to work is if we can get really good prices on here.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Nail varnish been ripped off by all the fabrics.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Hey, Jay, Sophia. Come in.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26They'll come face-to-face with the competition...
0:01:26 > 0:01:29- What d'you think? We're fast, then? - ..And go behind enemy lines.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32- Ni hao.- Hello.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35Every factory we've gone past is textile.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37We've not got a chance!
0:01:37 > 0:01:38'I do the same job as them.'
0:01:38 > 0:01:41Looking back now, I feel as though I live a life of luxury.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44So, can Tony turn the tide of history
0:01:44 > 0:01:47and breathe new life into British manufacturing?
0:01:47 > 0:01:51This country cannot live long-term by selling each other cappuccinos over the internet.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55Let's see what the numbers say when it's all done.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57Can they stage a comeback?
0:01:57 > 0:01:59There's a lot of growth in a short space of time.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03We always say British is the best, so we've got to prove that now.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Bring it on, I say! Bring it on! Love a challenge!
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Can Kirkby prove that the British manufacturing lion
0:02:10 > 0:02:12can roar once more
0:02:12 > 0:02:15and take on the Asian tiger?
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Tony Caldeira owns two cushion factories.
0:02:28 > 0:02:29Morning, ladies.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31- Nice and busy there?- Yes.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33This one is near Kirkby, Merseyside...
0:02:33 > 0:02:34Uncle now. Uncle Tony.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37Are you?
0:02:37 > 0:02:40..And this one is on China's industrial east coast.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46He's halfway through a three-month experiment
0:02:46 > 0:02:49to bring jobs back to Britain from China.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54If he can pull it off, he could make the move permanent.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58But the whole project hangs by a thread.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02Despite high unemployment,
0:03:02 > 0:03:07finding the right staff in Kirkby is proving a challenge.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09He's taken on 18 new workers,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12but a third of them have done a runner already.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16It is frustrating when people are very positive
0:03:16 > 0:03:19and they tell you that, "Actually, yeah, I want to learn how to do this.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22"I want to be involved. I want a full-time job."
0:03:22 > 0:03:24And then after two or three weeks,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26just leave and go somewhere else.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Hanging onto them isn't the only problem.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34Training those that have stayed around is also proving difficult.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39On the sewing floor, experience is pitted against inexperience.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Supervisor Pam has been in the trade for 38 years
0:03:45 > 0:03:47and has absolute faith in her boss.
0:03:48 > 0:03:52Tony's always kept us in a job. He's never let us down.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54And I don't think he's going to start letting us down now.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00But young trainee Sophie, who's been in the job just six weeks,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03is only working at a 20% capacity.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06And beating China is the least of her worries.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Nail varnish been ripped off by all the fabrics.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12I've got more in my bag but I don't think I'm allowed to do it.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Just get your head down. Concentrate like I've told you. You'll be fine.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22I've had a chat with Sophie today.
0:04:22 > 0:04:23She's 19.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26She's not like a schoolgirl, just from school.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28She's got a good head on her shoulders.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31And if she puts her mind to it, she could be a good machinist.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36Even experienced machinist Emma,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39who factory manager Malcolm brought in,
0:04:39 > 0:04:41is struggling to keep up.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43The girls down there, they do about two bundles an hour.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48It's taking us maybe an hour-and-a-half for one bundle.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Now the stakes have been raised even higher in the battle for Britain,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01there's £200,000 worth of extra orders on the workbook.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04But fewer trained staff means that work is piling up.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10On top of this, there's another new headache
0:05:10 > 0:05:12for long-suffering Malcolm,
0:05:12 > 0:05:15a man who spent 12 years by Tony's side.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17That's why I'm going grey!
0:05:17 > 0:05:19He now needs to get ready
0:05:19 > 0:05:22for the biggest annual event in the cushion calendar,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25the Frankfurt Textiles Trade Fair.
0:05:25 > 0:05:29We've only got two days to dismantle all this
0:05:29 > 0:05:31and have the wagon loaded.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34This showroom has to be taken apart, shipped to Germany
0:05:34 > 0:05:39and rebuilt there for what Tony hopes is a selling spree.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41Tony's like... well, he's the boss, isn't he?
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Malcolm just asked to go with him, doesn't he?
0:05:44 > 0:05:47So, he has to make it happen.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48Tony wants it, Tony gets it!
0:05:48 > 0:05:50SHE LAUGHS
0:05:50 > 0:05:54This and pressures of production and getting the orders out,
0:05:54 > 0:05:56as well as year-end and stocktaking.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58So, very pressured time of the year for me.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04Carole's doing her bit for the trade fair
0:06:04 > 0:06:07by sewing samples in the lunch break.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10There's no machine to me to do it in normal work time.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13So, I do it in my dinner,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15and then when I've done it, I'll go for my dinner,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18and then the other girl can come back on this machine.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20But this is where the whole experiment
0:06:20 > 0:06:22to bring work back from China could fall down.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24They're high on orders
0:06:24 > 0:06:28but low on space, machines and staff.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30We haven't got enough room here.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Here, every time you want to get through with the trolley,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35you move this table forward, back, forward.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37It's like that all day.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40Two massive showrooms have to be dismantled
0:06:40 > 0:06:43and shipped to Frankfurt for the trade fair.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Kirkby will have to be at its competitive best
0:06:47 > 0:06:49or face a familiar fate.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53Joanne began sewing at the age of 16
0:06:53 > 0:06:56and has been made redundant four times before.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00I was frightened when work started going abroad because you think,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02"How long am I going to be in a job for?
0:07:04 > 0:07:06"Will I ever be in another sewing job?"
0:07:06 > 0:07:09Because if it all goes abroad, there's nothing left over here, is there?
0:07:11 > 0:07:12Tony's workforce is counting on him.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20As he heads to the trade fair,
0:07:20 > 0:07:21he knows the battle for Britain
0:07:21 > 0:07:24could be won or lost in the next few days.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29This is the time when I'm going to find out whether the factory has a really good long-term future or not.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34If the orders don't come, if it turns out that everybody
0:07:34 > 0:07:36actually wants to continue buying from China
0:07:36 > 0:07:40and nobody wants to bring the work back to the UK, then we've got a big problem.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44If we get this week right, the whole year will go well.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46If we get this week wrong,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49then we've got major problems for the rest of 2012.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01The biggest cushion fight this decade is about to begin.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04In the red corner, Tony's Chinese factory.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Big, cheap and growing.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10In the blue corner, his Merseyside operation.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13Older, wiser and staging a comeback.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16The backdrop for this battle?
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Heimtextil and Frankfurt.
0:08:18 > 0:08:2373,000 visitors from more than 136 countries,
0:08:23 > 0:08:28including India, where this potential customer has 500 stores.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32- How many pieces in total can you buy? It sounds like you've got a lot of shops.- All of it.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34All of it? Wow, OK.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38The fate of the two factories could rest on the business they do here.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42I'll give you 1.35 for entire quantity.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46It's going to cost us more than that, you know.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- We'd be making a loss, that's the trouble.- You have to lose some money!
0:08:49 > 0:08:51THEY LAUGH
0:08:51 > 0:08:55Cheeky offers aside, this trade fair will see one of Tony's two factories
0:08:55 > 0:08:58come away with more orders than the other.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02But will China or Britain clean up?
0:09:07 > 0:09:10OK. And the other one that I'm looking at is the Dupione.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13Tony's Chinese factory makes cheaper cushions
0:09:13 > 0:09:15aimed at the value end of the market.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18The products in our Chinese booth
0:09:18 > 0:09:21tend to be less costly than our UK products.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23You could have a simple chenille cushion,
0:09:23 > 0:09:27which may cost £2 or £3,
0:09:27 > 0:09:29depending on the retailer and the quantity.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32They would sell it anything from around £5-£10.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40But over on the British stand, quality sells.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43The kind of clients that you get on a stand like this
0:09:43 > 0:09:45would be more departmental stores,
0:09:45 > 0:09:47more middle to upmarket retailers.
0:09:47 > 0:09:48Not so much your discount stores.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51The reality is is they can't really afford some of the products
0:09:51 > 0:09:55cos some of the fabrics are relatively expensive, but very, very nice.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57These all come from Italian Jacquard looms,
0:09:57 > 0:10:00mainly for the top-end department stores and special collections.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04So, we literally have everything across both stands
0:10:04 > 0:10:09from very simple, cheap, plain cushions that people can just sell at you know, I don't know...
0:10:09 > 0:10:13£4.99 or £5, all the way to cushions that sell for £50 and £60.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20Anyone who's anyone in the world of cushions, curtains and bed linen is here.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Not only is it a chance to find new customers,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25but to talk to old friends.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Ivor's a curtain pole manufacturer
0:10:27 > 0:10:31who downsized his British factory to go to China.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34When I sold my equipment,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38I couldn't be in the factory when it went, I was so upset.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40I sold it to Italy
0:10:40 > 0:10:43and I couldn't watch the lorry take the equipment away.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45It just broke my heart.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Just like Tony, Ivor built his business
0:10:48 > 0:10:50from a market stall over 20 years ago.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Now he's bringing his business back home as well.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56We're doing something similar to yourself
0:10:56 > 0:11:00where we're now planning to bring back our final production,
0:11:00 > 0:11:02- back into Salford in Manchester. - Really?
0:11:02 > 0:11:06We want more flexibility within our stock
0:11:06 > 0:11:09and we want to reduce our lead time.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12And another point that people quite often forget,
0:11:12 > 0:11:14it's not just the COST in China,
0:11:14 > 0:11:17it's the cost of moving goods around the world.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23Despite this, things are looking dicey for the Kirkby factory.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26The Chinese stand is generating twice as many leads.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29That sells very well.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31It's good. It's really good.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35If the British stand can't get the orders,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38then this experiment will have failed
0:11:38 > 0:11:40and the jobs will return to China.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43There are only two days left to get it right.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54A new day dawns at the Frankfurt trade fair
0:11:54 > 0:11:57and it's the day of reckoning for the Kirkby factory.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03At last, they have a big American customer
0:12:03 > 0:12:07interested in their British cushions.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09We've done some work with them in the past in the UK stores
0:12:09 > 0:12:12and the US stores and the Canadian stores.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15But altogether, they've got two-and-a-half thousand stores in the US,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18which is more than all of our UK customers put together.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Now, they're looking to put a range in for the Olympics
0:12:20 > 0:12:22and a Made In England range.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25If that comes off, it's absolutely huge.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Tony's commercial manager, Lindsey,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30has been tasked with looking after the client,
0:12:30 > 0:12:35TJX, the American parent group of TK Maxx.
0:12:35 > 0:12:36So, where do you want to start?
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Do you maybe want to show us what's new and exciting?
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Of course.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44For the Kirkby factory, this is a make-or-break deal.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50These are traditionally the kind of things that TK's in the UK
0:12:50 > 0:12:51have done in the past, you know,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55sort of gone with the bright colours on the neutral grounds in the spring.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02I think the colours just really jump out.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Awesome.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08The UK products in the States add value because...
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Just because it's made in the UK and the customer sees value in that.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Yes, we do buy a lot from China.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17It sells quite well and it's more fashion that we know can go to the masses.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19Stuff we get from the UK is more specific
0:13:19 > 0:13:21and it's more fashion-driven.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23So, it does carry a different retail
0:13:23 > 0:13:26because it's different than everything we're buying out of China.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30They've not gone to the Chinese stand at all.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34They're only interested in British cushions.
0:13:34 > 0:13:35It's going really well.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38They're really keen to get going straight away.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40They've actually asked if we got any stocks on anything
0:13:40 > 0:13:43and how quick can they have it.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46So, it's, like, the main girl that buys for the majority of the stores
0:13:46 > 0:13:48is, like, "I'll buy that tomorrow."
0:13:48 > 0:13:51In the world of cushions, price is everything.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Despite their love of British craftsmanship,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57it'll mean nothing if Lindsey can't offer them a low enough figure.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59The only way that this is really going to work
0:13:59 > 0:14:03- is if we can get really good prices on here.- OK.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05So, I am glad you're sitting cos I want to just give you these offers.
0:14:05 > 0:14:07Before I fall off my chair!
0:14:07 > 0:14:08LINDSEY LAUGHS
0:14:08 > 0:14:14- They're not terrible.- OK.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17Is that UK or is that...
0:14:17 > 0:14:19That's actually New York.
0:14:19 > 0:14:20Oosh!
0:14:20 > 0:14:26She's just asked for a 40% discount on the normal price.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- I totally need your help.- I know. - Listen. We all picked a lot here.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30Yeah.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35- So... and we know we're not going to make the kind of money we need to make there.- No.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39So, in order for us cut it off and make the report card look good,
0:14:39 > 0:14:41to make these guys tell us we can keep buying more...
0:14:41 > 0:14:43If you guys get rid of some of your stock.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46The deal is on the table.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Cost will decide whether Kirkby can win its battle against China.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53I wasn't expecting so many of them to turn up.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57I wasn't expecting them to be on the stand for as long as what they were.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01And I really wasn't expecting them to pick out as many products as what they did.
0:15:01 > 0:15:02It's about 20,000 pieces,
0:15:02 > 0:15:06and it's probably worth, at cost, 300,000.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09I'm looking to get the product in my stores as soon as possible.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10If you could ship tomorrow,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13if Caldeira could be in my floor tomorrow, that'd be great,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15but I think it'll be about three months.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17But that's a good time, too.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Got the meeting sheets from today.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23As the show draws to a close, the British stand has done well.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26Although it has fewer leads than the Chinese factory,
0:15:26 > 0:15:30the orders are bigger and from more reliable clients.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32Is this a short-term thing
0:15:32 > 0:15:34or do you get the feeling that there's a lot more companies
0:15:34 > 0:15:36looking to bring the production back?
0:15:36 > 0:15:39I just think that a lot of them are like, "You know what?
0:15:39 > 0:15:42"The amount of times we get things sent wrong,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45"we have quality issues, we have late shipments."
0:15:45 > 0:15:48I mean, empty shelves cost money, don't they?
0:15:48 > 0:15:52You know, I've been quite confident that the tide's starting to turn.
0:15:52 > 0:15:53If this is more evidence,
0:15:53 > 0:15:57if your customers are saying that they're looking for more and more UK manufactured products,
0:15:57 > 0:15:59and it's not just a flash in the pan, then, you know,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02I'm going to need to, you know, get some...
0:16:02 > 0:16:03You know, get staff quickly.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06I'm going to need to make changes in the factory.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Business is set to boom at the Kirkby factory.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13The problem now is finding staff to make the cushions.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15The pressure's on,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19and Tony's long-suffering factory manager is feeling the heat.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22The factory, we're going to need to expand fairly quickly,
0:16:22 > 0:16:24especially on the sewing floor.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26We're going to need to bring in more machinery,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29we'll need to move to a different location so we've got more space,
0:16:29 > 0:16:30and we need more people.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32And we're going to need them very quickly as well.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35It's a lot of growth in a short space of time
0:16:35 > 0:16:37and that's the scary part about it.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48The gauntlet has been thrown down.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Now Kirkby needs to rise to the challenge.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Customers DO want their cushions,
0:16:53 > 0:16:54but can they actually make them?
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Or will the work slide back to China?
0:16:58 > 0:17:01Time for Tony's experiment to step up a gear.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03The hard work actually starts now.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06We've kind of had the glory in Frankfurt and everything,
0:17:06 > 0:17:07but now we've got to knuckle down
0:17:07 > 0:17:11and make sure that we take advantage of all the opportunities that we've created.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13If they can pull this off,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16maybe Tony will close his Chinese factory
0:17:16 > 0:17:18and move ALL the work back to Britain.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20With so many orders,
0:17:20 > 0:17:24the sewing floor's been pushing itself in a record-breaking week.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26- Well, we did well last week, didn't we?- Yeah.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29We did really, really well last week.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31- What was the total figure? - 15,000 last week.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33- That's a lot, that.- That's not bad.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37- Is that the best ever, that?- Yeah. - 15,000 cushions in one week?- Yes.
0:17:37 > 0:17:38You did three!
0:17:41 > 0:17:44But there's no more space on the sewing floor.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49With new orders imminent, it's time for the management to take action.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51If the customers are interested in more orders
0:17:51 > 0:17:53and we can increase our production,
0:17:53 > 0:17:56how quickly and how easily would it be to expand the factory here?
0:17:56 > 0:17:58What are your thoughts about that?
0:17:58 > 0:18:02The biggest constraint as we know is the sewing floors are pretty packed
0:18:02 > 0:18:05for space at the minute, and potentially and likely,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08we're going to need to move that floor to a larger area.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10As long as we've got more room.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11Cos we're all squashed up now.
0:18:11 > 0:18:15- I know. It's a nightmare. I've got bruises all over me.- We have!
0:18:15 > 0:18:18- On the top of your legs here, banging into tables. - Keep banging into stuff.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20My hand and the other sat there.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22What was that like, with that big bruise?
0:18:22 > 0:18:25I need to be thinking about that now and that's what I'm hoping to do.
0:18:28 > 0:18:29Malcolm's come up with a plan
0:18:29 > 0:18:33that he hopes will solve all the factory's problems.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37At the moment, this mezzanine level is used for storage.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40But Malcolm wants to turn it into the new sewing floor.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44It might be Malcolm's plan, but Tony's keen to get involved.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48If we're going to get bigger, we need to use every inch of space, aren't we?
0:18:48 > 0:18:49One, two,
0:18:49 > 0:18:51three, four, five,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53six,
0:18:53 > 0:18:55seven, eight...
0:19:00 > 0:19:02How many machines have you got? One, two, three,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04four, five, six, seven, eight. 80.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07So, it's like nine pairs, isn't it, at the minute?
0:19:07 > 0:19:08The other thing I need to do also
0:19:08 > 0:19:11is start to see what machinery is available as well.
0:19:11 > 0:19:13Yeah, you're going to need more sewing machines.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18'I think it will take a month, something like that.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22'We've talked about... we might want to put together a curtain sewing area,'
0:19:22 > 0:19:24'which we could also utilise...'
0:19:24 > 0:19:28some of the space up there. There's a good chance we need to... We need to start doing some training,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30so we might set a little training school up over there as well.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Training new staff has been
0:19:35 > 0:19:38one of the toughest challenges they've faced so far.
0:19:40 > 0:19:41In the past,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Malcolm's relied on hiring experienced machinists,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47but they're few and far between.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49They need new blood.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54But the rigours of manufacturing work
0:19:54 > 0:19:57have been taking their toll on Sophie's hands.
0:19:57 > 0:19:58When you're sewing,
0:19:58 > 0:20:01and you've got to get your second piece of material on top...
0:20:01 > 0:20:03You've got to keep hold to guide it.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07As you're doing that, the zip just goes across your finger,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09and either takes your nail varnish off, or, don't know,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12my skin's gone kind of shiny, but all my skin's coming off.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Don't know. Only on them, only on them fingers.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18So my nails are a bit wrecked. It's quite sore.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23I've been bringing moisturiser and nail varnish in to do my nails and to moisturise my hands.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26It looks like I am working my fingers to the bone for minimum wage, aren't I?
0:20:30 > 0:20:33In the warehouse, brothers Nick and Paul are about to be
0:20:33 > 0:20:37rewarded for their efforts in the battle so far.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41Before starting work here, Nick had been unemployed for five months.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45- Hi, lads, you all right? How's it going?- Smashing.- Oh, good. - No problem, mate.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50- Well, hopefully I'm going to make it a bit better for you.- Oh, yeah?
0:20:50 > 0:20:53- I've got your contracts together here, lads.- Oh, happy days.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55- Thanks very much.- Well done to both of you. You deserve it.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57- Thanks very much. - Thanks very much, mate.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59- Have a good weekend, lads. - You too, mate.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01It's cos of our hard work.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03We're not scared of hard work, are we, mate?
0:21:03 > 0:21:05- No, we're used to it, aren't we? - Yeah.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09We used to work, like, 10 times harder in our last job
0:21:09 > 0:21:13than what we do here, so, I mean, this is a bit of a doddle
0:21:13 > 0:21:16compared to that last job, to be honest, isn't it, mate?
0:21:16 > 0:21:17Mmm, yeah, it is, yeah.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23It's not only life-changing for the new staff, but for Tony, as well.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26His experiment to bring jobs back to Britain
0:21:26 > 0:21:28is putting his whole business at risk.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32What I don't want to do now is fail. I'm an entrepreneur.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34I hate failure. It's sort of in my genes. I hate it.
0:21:37 > 0:21:42Tony's travelling back to the company's roots - his family.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46And there's a new addition - maybe a machinist of the future.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50I can try. So, how do I do this? Like this?
0:21:50 > 0:21:53- Yeah.- There you go.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56BABY CRIES
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Come on, Ethan, look happy.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01LAUGHTER
0:22:01 > 0:22:04It might be too soon for baby Ethan to start work,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08but Tony's sisters were at his side sewing when the business started.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11I think I'm desperate for more sewing machinists,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15so if you two ever decide that you want to start sewing again,
0:22:15 > 0:22:16you come back, all is forgiven.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19LAUGHTER
0:22:19 > 0:22:22You know, there aren't that many that can probably still
0:22:22 > 0:22:25keep up with you two on sewing machines over on the cutting table.
0:22:25 > 0:22:30- Probably, not.- Probably not, no. - But I'm still not available, though. - LAUGHTER
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Their mum started the business in the late '80s,
0:22:34 > 0:22:39sewing cushions from old curtains, and selling them on a market stall.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44It was quite hard, wasn't it? Doing the markets and working from home.
0:22:44 > 0:22:45It was hard work.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49Our mum drove us hard, but I could understand that, could you?
0:22:49 > 0:22:53- Yeah, it was right to do, wasn't it? - She wanted us to do well.- That's it.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57What most people don't realise now is when they see factories around the world, and offices in New York,
0:22:57 > 0:23:02what they don't realise is the business actually started in the back of the house.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05If you remember, when it first started off, everybody got whatever we had,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07we just literally piled together.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09I remember Mum pawned all her jewellery,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12and all the money that I had from a paper round,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15and all this money that we had together, literally just put it all together
0:23:15 > 0:23:20to buy the first few boxes of roll ends and remnants from the curtain factory.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23- She did what she had to do. - Yeah, that's it. - In order to get it up and running.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Today, Tony is doing what he has to do to keep his business going.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33But is bringing jobs back to Britain the right thing?
0:23:33 > 0:23:35- Morning, Tony.- Morning.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37He's discovered he's not alone.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45Joining him in the fight against the far east is Coventry's Amtico Flooring.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47These are the rolls that we then laminate together,
0:23:47 > 0:23:51and so it's been combining the best way of doing this
0:23:51 > 0:23:53with some of the things that we've spotted
0:23:53 > 0:23:55the Chinese have been doing
0:23:55 > 0:23:57that have let us bring that production
0:23:57 > 0:23:58back into the UK.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00And, you know, my objective in life
0:24:00 > 0:24:04is to keep these machines busy, and bring more production back.
0:24:05 > 0:24:06Back in 2006,
0:24:06 > 0:24:12the company started a Chinese operation to make a cheaper value product.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15Over the years we've learnt from what the Chinese do,
0:24:15 > 0:24:16copied some of their best techniques,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20and at the same time engineered our own costs down
0:24:20 > 0:24:22so that now we are cost competitive.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27When Jonathan went to China, it was 30% cheaper than the UK.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32But in the last few years, the tables have started to turn.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34What we've found is that Chinese costs go up
0:24:34 > 0:24:36at about 8 to 10 % every year,
0:24:36 > 0:24:39and actually, from a UK manufacturer's point of view,
0:24:39 > 0:24:43that's good news because it means that you progressively become more and more competitive.
0:24:44 > 0:24:45Hi, Shane.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50And how long does it take to train somebody to understand the quality control and the machines?
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Anything from three months, six months till they're fully trained.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57- And that will give them skills then to pass on to other people. - Well done.- Yeah.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00I think the story here on training people up to work for industry
0:25:00 > 0:25:03is a bit like investing in the manufacturing plant itself.
0:25:03 > 0:25:08It's very easy to lose, but it's very hard to rebuild, because if you lose it,
0:25:08 > 0:25:10it can take decades to rebuild.
0:25:10 > 0:25:15Jonathan's waiting for the nod from the bank before he can expand his UK factory more.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20But he's hoping to create 100 jobs over the next year and a half.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23Most of the studies say that one manufacturing job
0:25:23 > 0:25:27creates four or five other jobs, like service jobs, around it.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29This country cannot live long-term
0:25:29 > 0:25:31by selling each other cappuccinos over the Internet.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Manufacturing is very important.
0:25:36 > 0:25:37I'm feeling a little bit uplifted after that,
0:25:37 > 0:25:39because I'm not on my own.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41There are more people out there, and who knows,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45maybe there's going to be even more come back from China in the near future.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56Back in Kirkby, his battle to hire and keep new staff
0:25:56 > 0:25:58has taken another hit.
0:26:01 > 0:26:06Two more have jumped ship. Out of 18, he's now lost seven.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10One of them is Emma, who was hired for her sewing experience.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15She'd done embroidery. Embroidery machine's different than a flat machine.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19I said to her, "I really don't think that you're going to make it."
0:26:19 > 0:26:22She was in agreement with me that she didn't really think
0:26:22 > 0:26:24that she was going to make it.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27So I said, "I'm sorry to say, but you're on a week's notice."
0:26:27 > 0:26:30For Malcolm, it's a wake-up call.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34He has always believed that hiring experienced machinists
0:26:34 > 0:26:36is simpler than training.
0:26:36 > 0:26:40She came in as a machinist, so she shouldn't have been costing us as much money as she was.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Finding the right person is difficult.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46You're looking for somebody who can do this second nature,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48they've got the stamina to keep it going all day over
0:26:48 > 0:26:52at a high level of pace and, yeah, they're few and far between.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54It's difficult to find.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58To have a chance of competing with China,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02they urgently need to find more new workers and keep them.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Tony thinks he knows how.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09You probably need four or five on the sewing side, but then you're also going to need
0:27:09 > 0:27:11some fillers, some packers, some warehouse.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14So you probably need to go at least back to where you started.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18So we need to start looking at some different ways of actually getting some staff.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23Maybe we can have a combination of experienced machinists, maybe some apprentices,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26maybe some of the people we've still got on file from last time.
0:27:26 > 0:27:27- Because now...- Yeah.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31..not only do we need to take on people for the next few weeks and months,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34but it looks as though, with the work starting to come back from China,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37we're going to actually need to take people on for the long-term.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Is it Linda? It's Malcolm from Caldeira.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43I was just wondering whether
0:27:43 > 0:27:45you'd be OK to come in for an interview?
0:27:45 > 0:27:50Despite Tony's advice, Malcolm's putting his trust in experience.
0:27:50 > 0:27:55He's found a small supply of veteran machinists from a curtain factory that's just gone bust.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00It's always sad when a sewing factory closes down,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03but it is a bonus for us,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06and hopefully it'll be a bonus for them that we can hopefully put them
0:28:06 > 0:28:09back into employment very quickly,
0:28:09 > 0:28:12into an environment and the type of work that I'm sure they like doing,
0:28:12 > 0:28:17cos most of them have been with this company for up to 10 years and more, at times.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19While Malcolm does things his way,
0:28:19 > 0:28:24Tony wants two of his staff to see exactly what they're up against.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34He's taking two of his most trusted and experienced machinists,
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Joanne and Sharon, on a mission to China.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41He wants them to see the competition at first hand.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44I've never travelled that distance before.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47I've only ever been, like, longest, four and a half hour flight.
0:28:47 > 0:28:48So really nervous.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51Spain, Italy. Italy's the farthest I've been.
0:28:51 > 0:28:56More nervous about travelling, and, like, whether I will like the food.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00Cos, like, the food over here, if you go, like, Chinese over here, takeaway,
0:29:00 > 0:29:02probably not the same as over there.
0:29:11 > 0:29:16It's a 12-hour flight to Hangzhou on the east coast of China.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21Tony's factory is located 50 miles north, in Huzhou.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23It's a long way from Kirkby.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30Everything is textiles. Every factory we've gone past is textiles. We've not got a chance.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32And how can we compete with all these factories?
0:29:32 > 0:29:36It's like what we used to have, but we haven't got no more.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39So this must be where all the jobs have gone,
0:29:39 > 0:29:41when the factories have shut in the UK.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43- Yeah.- Must be, like, here.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46Wonder if this is it, Joanne.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49Wait - it is! It's a cushion... Oh, that's it!
0:29:49 > 0:29:51I can see them cushion factory symbols.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Look at the size of it, Jo. Bigger than ours.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05- Massive, isn't it?- Yeah. - Really bigger than our factory.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07- Not as nice as ours, though, must admit.- No.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10Wonder which floor the sewing floor's on.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14The battle for Kirkby has always been a David and Goliath fight.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18Tony's Chinese factory is five times bigger than the one in Merseyside.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21He first came to China in 2004,
0:30:21 > 0:30:25and purpose-built this plant four years ago.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28- It's so different.- Long way to come to work, isn't it?
0:30:28 > 0:30:32- Really different.- You're not joking. - It's not like coming out to East Lancs, is it?- Not at all, no.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34- Shall I show you around? - Yeah.- Yeah, course.
0:30:34 > 0:30:40Joanne and Sharon have arrived at 11.40, which, at the Chinese factory means one thing.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44They're late for dinner.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47We only have toast at half eleven.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51They may work for the same company, but these staff are their rivals in the battle for Kirkby.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56Gosh, it's so different, isn't it? Eh?
0:30:58 > 0:31:00- It's hit me know, Joanne.- I know, it's hit me, as well.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04- TONY LAUGHS Is reality striking now, is it? - It is, definitely.
0:31:04 > 0:31:09- Don't know how lucky we are. - You're in China now, aren't you? - Yeah.- Don't know how lucky we are.
0:31:09 > 0:31:13It's really different. They have their dinner when we have our breakfast.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16On the menu today, nothing too challenging.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20Meat, potatoes, cabbage, and egg fried rice.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24I don't mean the cabbage, but what is that? Is it potatoes? Looks nice.
0:31:24 > 0:31:25Got to give it a go.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29Are you any good with chopsticks?
0:31:29 > 0:31:32- No.- No.- Are you going to try? Crash course.- I'll try.- Yeah.- All right.
0:31:32 > 0:31:35I can knit. I can't use chopsticks.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37I'll just shovel it up.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39LAUGHTER
0:31:39 > 0:31:42This meal costs just 30 pence.
0:31:43 > 0:31:47Our breakfast is 11 o'clock, and our lunch is half past one,
0:31:47 > 0:31:50so I don't understand the time thing, really.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52I don't know why they have it so early.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56I just find it funny, cos, like, we're eating breakfast
0:31:56 > 0:31:58when they're eating dinner,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01and we're eating toast, jam, or a cup of tea.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06And they're having, like, rice, meat, potatoes, vegetables.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10Like what we'd eat for dinner. Really weird.
0:32:14 > 0:32:19For Joanne and Sharon, seeing behind enemy lines is an eye-opener.
0:32:19 > 0:32:21Compared to Kirkby, it's vast.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25The showroom alone is 12,000 square feet.
0:32:25 > 0:32:29- Wow!- Look at the size of it! It's like a big department store.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33It's a first chance to inspect the standard of work of the competition.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36- Look, their zip's like...- Yeah.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40Can't believe you're comparing zips. Everyone else is like, "This is a really nice cushion."
0:32:40 > 0:32:43- You're looking at the zip.- We do them different.- That's what we do
0:32:45 > 0:32:48It's not just the size of the Chinese factory,
0:32:48 > 0:32:51but its low-cost that makes it such a lean opponent.
0:32:51 > 0:32:57The flat rate of pay here is just one pound an hour, compared to six pounds and eight pence in Britain.
0:33:00 > 0:33:05In filling and packing, there are very different ways of working to Kirkby.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16- This particular section works in a team, and they're paid on a team bonus.- Right.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19- They do it a bit different to what we do.- Yeah.
0:33:22 > 0:33:27It was quite annoying me, really, because ours is a quicker pace.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Cos they do everything as a team, we do individual,
0:33:30 > 0:33:34and I just think ours is a lot quicker pace,
0:33:34 > 0:33:38and I couldn't believe the way they was filling to how we fill in the UK.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42The workers may be slower, but they work much longer hours.
0:33:42 > 0:33:48Overtime goes on till 9pm, and Sunday is the only day off.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54- So what do you reckon, then? Looks familiar?- Yeah.- Yeah.- Too familiar. - LAUGHTER
0:33:54 > 0:33:57Finally, the sewing floor.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03We do zips different than that, but we have done zips like that.
0:34:03 > 0:34:04But she's very good.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08- So, do you think she's faster than you, then?- Oh, no.- At that?
0:34:08 > 0:34:11Well, I'd say at that zip, yeah.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14- But if you were doing your zip, and she was doing her zip... - I'd beat her.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18But there is hope for Kirkby.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22Tony has already started scaling back his Chinese operation,
0:34:22 > 0:34:27because wages have soared by 500% since he first came to the country.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30At one time he employed 200 staff here.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Now it's just 50.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36Shocked. Really shocked at the factory so far.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39It's, like, really different to ours.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42I thought it'd be, like, a full factory.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45I thought there'd be, like, millions of people.
0:34:45 > 0:34:47Ni hao.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50- Oh, ni hao. - Hello.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54Zhong has been working here for four years.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Like most of the workers, she lives on site for free,
0:34:56 > 0:35:00in a tiny dorm room with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities.
0:35:00 > 0:35:05The reason they're doing it, is because they don't want to waste money renting a house.
0:35:05 > 0:35:10They'd rather send that money home to the family, or they'd rather send their kid to a good school.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14- Is this your home?- Yeah.
0:35:14 > 0:35:19- Family?- Er zi.- That your little boy? - Dui, dui, dui.
0:35:19 > 0:35:23Zhong lives in this one small room with her husband,
0:35:23 > 0:35:25who also works at the factory.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28They've left their two children over 300 miles away
0:35:28 > 0:35:30with the grandparents.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33How many times do you go home?
0:35:35 > 0:35:37Once a year? Is that all you go home?
0:35:37 > 0:35:39You don't see your children? Once a year?
0:35:39 > 0:35:41When you go home, how long they stay for?
0:35:44 > 0:35:47It's not a long time, is it?
0:35:47 > 0:35:50Zhong has travelled to China's east coast
0:35:50 > 0:35:52because the pay is so much better.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Most of her earnings are sent back to the family.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58This is common among the workers.
0:35:58 > 0:36:01When I go to work, I go home every night.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09I don't think I'd like to live here. I like going home on a night.
0:36:14 > 0:36:19Can you see yourself working at the employment where you are now for a long time,
0:36:19 > 0:36:23or can you see yourself doing something else in the future?
0:36:30 > 0:36:32- Yeah.- Oh, yeah.
0:36:32 > 0:36:38If you could live anywhere in the world, in your dream job, what would it be?
0:36:50 > 0:36:53Yeah, but everybody has dreams.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09When I walked in and I just saw the bed, I'm thinking,
0:37:09 > 0:37:13"Where's the toilet? Where's the kitchen?"
0:37:13 > 0:37:16I can't see how she really lives in there.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20But I suppose when they're working, they're only there to sleep, aren't they?
0:37:20 > 0:37:25It just shows how desperate they are, you know, to earn the money.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29We get desperate where we are
0:37:29 > 0:37:32to earn money to live, but their way of life is so hard.
0:37:32 > 0:37:34I can't imagine not going home after work.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37You're tired, you just want your bed and everything,
0:37:37 > 0:37:40and then you go back to a little room, and it's cold.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42I do the same job as them.
0:37:42 > 0:37:46Looking back now, I feel as though I live a life of luxury compared to how they do.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49But they're so dedicated. It's what they want to do.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Well, it's not what they want to do, it's what they have to do, I suppose.
0:38:06 > 0:38:12British workers like Joanne and Sharon may expect a higher quality-of-life,
0:38:12 > 0:38:15but the Chinese are catching up fast.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17In the last eight years, wages in Tony's factory
0:38:17 > 0:38:21have gone up from £50 a month to 250.
0:38:21 > 0:38:25And more money means higher aspirations.
0:38:25 > 0:38:30You have 1.3 billion people here, ambitious, energetic, hungry.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32It's a young, dynamic population,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35keen to make its mark on the world.
0:38:35 > 0:38:37You have a moment?
0:38:37 > 0:38:40Zhai is the factory's financial controller,
0:38:40 > 0:38:46but he started out in the rice fields 185 miles to the north.
0:38:48 > 0:38:53In the last year, he started renting his own flat for £150 a month.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57Now he has plans to buy, and is saving for a deposit.
0:38:58 > 0:39:03- Hello.- Hello, hello. - Welcome to my home.- Thank you.
0:39:03 > 0:39:08He's invited Joanne and Sharon back to his flat for dinner with his family...
0:39:08 > 0:39:09- Xie xie.- Xie xie.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12..along with Sophia, from Tony's sales team.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14You eat lots of vegetables here, don't you?
0:39:14 > 0:39:18We don't really eat that many in UK. We're not as good as you.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21We do have them, but I'd sooner have chips.
0:39:22 > 0:39:29His small flat has this room, two bedrooms and a tiny kitchen and bathroom.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32- Cheers.- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:39:32 > 0:39:34Where was your house before you lived here?
0:39:34 > 0:39:37Before, I live in dormitory for a long time.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41- Long time? With your wife? - Sometimes.- Yeah.- Sometimes.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46- Before we married, my wife also work in our factory.- Oh, did she? - Oh, did she?- Yeah.
0:39:50 > 0:39:51Don't laugh.
0:39:51 > 0:39:55So, how long have you worked at the factory now, then?
0:39:55 > 0:39:57- Eight years. - Eight years. Long time.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01- Before, I just do some small accountant job.- Yeah.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03But now it's more important.
0:40:03 > 0:40:07- A big job. Big job now, yeah? - You've moved off.- Yes, yes.
0:40:07 > 0:40:08How do you think life has changed in China?
0:40:08 > 0:40:13I think before, about 15 years ago,
0:40:13 > 0:40:18- most Chinese families is poor.- Yeah.
0:40:18 > 0:40:24But now, most people, most China family get very rich,
0:40:24 > 0:40:30- they get, they now have their own house, they buy their car.- Yeah.
0:40:30 > 0:40:35- Are the wages getting higher and higher in China?- Yes. - Are the wages going up?- Yeah, yeah.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40It's amazing the way he first started out in the rice fields.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44He's worked his way up to where he is now, which is a big deal for him.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48I mean, his position he's in now with the factory and Tony,
0:40:48 > 0:40:52he's done really well for himself, he really has. I'm proud of him.
0:40:52 > 0:40:57Going to a real Chinese person's house today was really eye-opening.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01Very welcoming, but the house is only small and cold.
0:41:01 > 0:41:05They don't seem to have central heating like we're used to.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08Look at that, looks dead good.
0:41:10 > 0:41:14The trip has allowed Joanne and Sharon not only to see how the other half lives,
0:41:14 > 0:41:17but how their competition works.
0:41:18 > 0:41:21I feel like I live in a palace compared to what they do.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24I'll be glad to get home, to be honest.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29From this trip, I'll take away how lucky I am.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32You don't feel it, till you look at other cultures,
0:41:32 > 0:41:35how lucky and privileged you are.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54As their mission behind enemy lines draws to a close,
0:41:54 > 0:41:59they have plenty to report back that could win Kirkby a tactical advantage.
0:41:59 > 0:42:03Morning, morning, morning. You all right?
0:42:03 > 0:42:06- Have you missed me? - No, not really.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10- Oh, that's awful, that. - I've missed your work, not your gob. - Oh, that's terrible.
0:42:10 > 0:42:12- Morning.- You have a nice time?- Yeah.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15Enjoyed it. Eye-opener. But I really enjoyed it.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18Yeah. And their factory -
0:42:18 > 0:42:22- ours is dead small compared to theirs.- Ah!
0:42:22 > 0:42:25So how do the rate Kirkby's chances against the Far East?
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Well, I think there's less machinists there than here.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32I'd say, yeah, I'd say about, 15 there.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35- I thought there'd be, like, millions there, but...- I did.
0:42:35 > 0:42:40But what shocks you more is the size of the factory to the people who are in there.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42You think, "Why doesn't he sell?"
0:42:42 > 0:42:44Are the machinists fast, like? Are they?
0:42:44 > 0:42:48They have somebody doing a zip, and somebody boxing, not doing the full job.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50You'd get the work out quicker, like we do.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52They don't. They sort of spread their work out.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54I think they do a lot of messing about. They don't work like we do.
0:42:54 > 0:42:58We're... We flow, and are organised. It's not like that there.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01And it was really getting on our nerves, actually.
0:43:01 > 0:43:06It's not just Sharon and Joanne who've noticed the difference between the two countries.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08Tony has, as well.
0:43:08 > 0:43:13Productivity in the UK factory is much higher than it is in the Chinese factory.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16My UK staff tend to have a longer attention span,
0:43:16 > 0:43:19and are able to focus for longer periods of time,
0:43:19 > 0:43:22whereas in China they tend to work for longer hours,
0:43:22 > 0:43:25but don't tend to do as many products per hour.
0:43:26 > 0:43:29But will his Chinese staff agree?
0:43:29 > 0:43:31Hey, Zhai, Sofia, come in.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34- Hi, morning.- Hi. - Huan ying ni, huan ying ni.
0:43:34 > 0:43:37Now it's their turn to check out the competition.
0:43:38 > 0:43:43Tony's invited Zhai and Sofia to look around his Merseyside factory.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45And there are some big differences.
0:43:47 > 0:43:49So here, the machine do by itself.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52- Ah, yes, very clever.- One person. - In China, we do by workers.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55By hand, yes. This one do by machine.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59- In China, we use many workers to do...- To do this kind of job. - Yeah.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05- Hello.- Nice to see you again.
0:44:05 > 0:44:10- Did you miss me? - Yes, miss you very much.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15Do you think we're faster? Are you impressed?
0:44:15 > 0:44:18- Yes, fast.- I told you it was fast, didn't I?
0:44:21 > 0:44:25Here it's very busy, not like China warehouse.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28Somebody looks a little lazy. Yes.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31People here are quicker than China workers.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33Round one to Kirkby.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36But Zhai thinks he's spotted an advantage for China.
0:44:39 > 0:44:45In Chinese, we have many men do sewing. But in here, all is...
0:44:45 > 0:44:47All is women, yes.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54Next, another of Kirkby's greatest assets.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58Zhai wants to pay homage to the man who keeps the factory's wheels turning.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02Zhai thinks that your factory is busier than his.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04Yes, more busy than our factory.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08You make the works very busy, don't waste time.
0:45:08 > 0:45:12Yeah, we have some systems that we use to help us to plan for the sewing.
0:45:12 > 0:45:18I think maybe we can study your work,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21and we can make a good plan in China factory.
0:45:24 > 0:45:30Here have many advanced machines and systems,
0:45:30 > 0:45:35so here, save more time, save more space.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38This we can study from UK factory.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48While Tony has been organising an exchange visit,
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Malcolm's systems have been swinging into action.
0:45:51 > 0:45:56He's hired another six new staff, bringing the total back to 17.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01I've done similar jobs before, but... so it's not too hard.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03Getting on, aren't we?
0:46:03 > 0:46:06My thumb's hurting, but that's it.
0:46:06 > 0:46:08Bet you I'll be aching later, though.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16In sewing, all Pam's hard work training Sophie
0:46:16 > 0:46:19- is beginning to pay off.- That's it.
0:46:19 > 0:46:24In the last few weeks, she's gone from making 20 cushions a day
0:46:24 > 0:46:28- to 140. - Right to the middle. That's better.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32This is still a long way off the 400 Sophie needs to be doing,
0:46:32 > 0:46:34so Pam's come up with a plan,
0:46:34 > 0:46:37surrounding her with experienced machinists
0:46:37 > 0:46:38in the hope it'll rub off.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44She's not been distracted now, cos Val tells her to get her head down.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46And Pauline, if she turns round to Pauline,
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Pauline will say, "No, don't be talking to me,
0:46:48 > 0:46:50"you've got to get your head down."
0:46:50 > 0:46:52So that way, she has grown up.
0:46:52 > 0:46:54Do you feel more confident now?
0:46:54 > 0:46:56- I think it's the last week I've felt more confident.- Have you?
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Trying to keep up with Val, as well, aren't you?
0:46:59 > 0:47:02- Yeah, not doing very well.- No. You will get there, don't be silly.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04- Flying ahead now, isn't she? - You will.
0:47:07 > 0:47:10This is all good news for Tony,
0:47:10 > 0:47:13who's been struggling to convince a sceptical factory manager
0:47:13 > 0:47:16that training up youngsters is a good idea.
0:47:17 > 0:47:21I think Sophie's been a bit of a culture shock to us, really,
0:47:21 > 0:47:25because we've been employing experienced machinists for so long, I think we'd forgot
0:47:25 > 0:47:27- what it was like to take on a trainee.- Yeah, yeah.
0:47:27 > 0:47:32Here's where you been spoiled for a long time, because you've had that many experienced machinists,
0:47:32 > 0:47:35and it's been a dying trade, that you've really been able to pick and choose.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40Now, we're going to need to start looking to pick up staff not just for the next two or three months,
0:47:40 > 0:47:42but maybe for the next two or three decades, you just don't know.
0:47:43 > 0:47:49Tony wants Malcolm and Pam to consider a whole school of inexperienced trainees.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53If you got more space, you've got a bit more time,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56and it's actually away from your main production line,
0:47:56 > 0:47:59- do you think it actually might work for us...- Yes.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02..to start either taking on apprenticeships or do some kind of training.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06If that's the case, I think we need to do it. We need to make that call.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09- Would that work for you, Pam? - I think it would be a good thing.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11It would give people the opportunity,
0:48:11 > 0:48:13especially the young ones.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20That's one big decision made.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24But there's an even bigger one around the corner.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27Should Tony close his Chinese factory for good
0:48:27 > 0:48:29and bring all the work back to Britain?
0:48:29 > 0:48:32How much does it cost to make it here?
0:48:32 > 0:48:35How much does it cost to make in China? It's a straight contest.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37It's a straight fight. It's very simple.
0:48:37 > 0:48:40Can we actually compete here in the UK
0:48:40 > 0:48:43and should we expand the workforce and expand the capacity here?
0:48:43 > 0:48:47Tony's picked one line of cushion currently made in China
0:48:47 > 0:48:48to run a test on.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51Could it be cheaper to make in Britain?
0:48:51 > 0:48:53- We will win.- We will.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59Bring on, I say. Bring it on. I love a challenge.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04This is the moment the factory has been building towards.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08In the UK, Pam will record how many brown striped cushions
0:49:08 > 0:49:11Joanne can make and how quickly.
0:49:11 > 0:49:13Ready? Now!
0:49:16 > 0:49:19Over in China, Zhong's got the same line,
0:49:19 > 0:49:21but with blue and green stripes.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32And while the sewing race goes on,
0:49:32 > 0:49:36Lindsay is crunching the numbers, adding in shipping costs,
0:49:36 > 0:49:40taxes and working out how the exchange rate affects the price.
0:49:47 > 0:49:49Thank you.
0:49:52 > 0:49:53The moment of truth has arrived
0:49:53 > 0:49:56and the results are good news for Kirkby.
0:49:58 > 0:50:03Last year, it was 55 pence cheaper to make it in China. Last year.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07With the exchange rate and the costs in China going up,
0:50:07 > 0:50:11what you're saying is, there's only eight pence difference this year.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14That's where I think we are now.
0:50:14 > 0:50:19I think if you can get your output out of the UK factory
0:50:19 > 0:50:24up from 800,000 to a million, I think it's going to be closer
0:50:24 > 0:50:27to no benefit, basically, of doing it in China.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30So what you're saying to me now is, if we haven't hit it already,
0:50:30 > 0:50:33we're very close to hitting that tipping point.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36This is big news.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39By squeezing out a few more cushions a year,
0:50:39 > 0:50:42they'll make enough efficiencies to mean they're as cheap as China.
0:50:45 > 0:50:46Wow!
0:50:48 > 0:50:50I never would have guessed that. I knew it was close,
0:50:50 > 0:50:54but I thought you'd be telling me you're still two or three years off.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57But you're telling me that we're more or less here.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59- Thanks.- All right. Thanks.- Bye.
0:51:02 > 0:51:06It means a lot to me and this factory because it means,
0:51:06 > 0:51:08because without that much difference,
0:51:08 > 0:51:12we'll get even more work than what we've got now,
0:51:12 > 0:51:14which is better for us. A better future.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18The game's changed. It's like somebody has moved the goal posts
0:51:18 > 0:51:20and I'm going to have to re-evaluate quite a lot of things
0:51:20 > 0:51:23and make some key decisions very quickly.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27But will it be enough for him to decide to close the Chinese factory?
0:51:32 > 0:51:37It wouldn't be the first time he's closed part of his business.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40He's revisiting the hardest decision he's ever had to make.
0:51:42 > 0:51:45This is his old factory in St Helens,
0:51:45 > 0:51:47just down the road from Kirkby.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49At its height, he employed 150 people here.
0:51:51 > 0:51:56But in 2004, he decided China was the future and shut it down,
0:51:56 > 0:51:58making 100 redundant.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07It's completely different to the way it was
0:52:07 > 0:52:11when Caldeira had its cushion factory here. Completely different.
0:52:16 > 0:52:19I'm quite emotional, really. It's quite a... It's quite a...
0:52:19 > 0:52:21You know, it takes your breath away
0:52:21 > 0:52:23and makes you suddenly kind of realise
0:52:23 > 0:52:28that the business came a long way in a very short period of time.
0:52:28 > 0:52:32And it's still going. It's still growing.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36Do you regret shutting this particular factory?
0:52:36 > 0:52:39In many ways, it was very difficult to close the factory.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43At the time, we had to close this one and open another factory in China.
0:52:43 > 0:52:48A lot of people that had worked with the company for a long time had put a lot of effort into the place.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50But at that time, it was a question of survival.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55We had the cheapest cushions in Europe and then, literally,
0:52:55 > 0:52:58within a matter of three or four years, the Chinese competition
0:52:58 > 0:53:01could sell products more cheaply than we could even make them.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04We didn't stand a chance. So we had to react.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06If we hadn't have reacted, we wouldn't be here now
0:53:06 > 0:53:08because the company would have gone bust.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22I'm not thinking straight at the minute.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27While Tony's deliberating his company's past and future,
0:53:27 > 0:53:31Malcolm's getting his hands dirty building a brand new sewing floor.
0:53:31 > 0:53:37Sorry. It's the other way around. Turn it. Let me get this right.
0:53:37 > 0:53:41He's only got one weekend to do it.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47I'm a little stressed. Obviously, it's a big project and we've put a lot of work into it.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49OK, Nick. Away you go.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53A big new sewing floor will mean room for more workers
0:53:53 > 0:53:55and more cushions to be made.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59I'm just so thrilled and so excited.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02He might think I'm being silly, but this is what I've dreamed of.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08One of Pam's dreams is to be able to have space, time and resources
0:54:08 > 0:54:10to train new recruits properly
0:54:10 > 0:54:14and the new sewing floor will make that happen.
0:54:14 > 0:54:19We could take some more like Sophie, who has done a bit at college.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22All the firms could start doing the same
0:54:22 > 0:54:25and maybe start getting the industry back where it should belong.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32In Kirkby, a new dawn is rising.
0:54:40 > 0:54:45- I wonder how much room we've got? - Wow! Loads of room.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49- Dead bright.- We could dance in here! - Oh, my God!
0:54:49 > 0:54:51We'll find out where we are now.
0:54:51 > 0:54:52Where am I?
0:54:52 > 0:54:55They've taken on China for three months
0:54:55 > 0:54:59and now orders are increasing, new staff are starting
0:54:59 > 0:55:04and Tony's invested £50,000 in his Merseyside factory.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07Look at table! Ain't it posh!
0:55:10 > 0:55:13I tell you what, it's nice and bright, isn't it? Look at this.
0:55:16 > 0:55:19It's brilliant! I can't believe how bright it is.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21I feel like I've moved house!
0:55:22 > 0:55:25To be honest, it feels like a new factory.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28This floor is that big, you could have a dance as well!
0:55:30 > 0:55:32For me, it's the bees knees.
0:55:32 > 0:55:36It's like moving from a terraced house to a detached house
0:55:36 > 0:55:38and having loads of space.
0:55:41 > 0:55:45It's the first time most of the experienced machinists
0:55:45 > 0:55:49haven't been scared for their jobs in a long time.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52- It makes you feel more secure. - I said that.- Doesn't it?
0:55:52 > 0:55:56Because you think, if he's spending all this money doing this floor
0:55:56 > 0:56:00and this and that, then you know that he's going to be here for a while.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04- Yeah, definitely.- He's not going to do it for nothing, is he?- No.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08Trying to take on China has pushed the relationship
0:56:08 > 0:56:12between owner, Tony, and factory manager, Malcolm, to new limits.
0:56:12 > 0:56:16When you said we were going to start bringing work back from China,
0:56:16 > 0:56:18I thought you'd lost your marbles, to be honest.
0:56:18 > 0:56:23To your great credit, and to Pam and the rest of the team, you've managed to pull it off.
0:56:23 > 0:56:28What I've learned is that I need to broaden my horizons, shall we say.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30I'm steady Eddy, as you know.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33But some of the things you were doing at the beginning of December,
0:56:33 > 0:56:37I thought were completely wild and wacky.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45But what effect will Kirkby's resurrection have on China?
0:56:45 > 0:56:48Tony's gathered the workforce for a speech.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58What I've decided to do is put my money where my mouth is.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01We're putting the company's resources into this factory.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05We're investing right here. This new floor is just the first step.
0:57:05 > 0:57:10The way that Malcolm's designed the floor means that we can get more staff to work here.
0:57:10 > 0:57:13The Chinese factory that we've built is too big and basically,
0:57:13 > 0:57:18if somebody gives me a good offer for it, then I'm quite happy to sell it.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22But China's still got a really important part to play in the business.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26There are still some areas where the Chinese can outperform us and out-compete us.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30But now, there are some areas where we can outperform and out-compete them.
0:57:30 > 0:57:34Ladies and gentlemen, as far as I'm concerned, we're bringing it home.
0:57:34 > 0:57:36CHEERING
0:57:36 > 0:57:40# It's coming home It's coming. #
0:57:40 > 0:57:44# Cushions are coming home. #
0:57:44 > 0:57:47Is the work coming back because I did that very good timing?
0:57:47 > 0:57:50It's all because of you, Joanne.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53- So when do we get a pay rise? - Oh, no!
0:57:53 > 0:57:55CHEERING
0:57:55 > 0:58:00I still need a business in China, but not the kind of business
0:58:00 > 0:58:03that I envisaged, say, five or 10 years ago
0:58:03 > 0:58:05when I thought it was all going to go over to there.
0:58:05 > 0:58:09Kirkby has taken on China and won.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11I knew that Chinese factory was too big.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13I hope he does sell it. I really do.
0:58:13 > 0:58:18It's very impressive that we're going to get everything back.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21I think I've just shown that you can recruit young people
0:58:21 > 0:58:23and they are going to work. Do you know what I mean?
0:58:26 > 0:58:30We always say British is the best so we've got to prove that now
0:58:30 > 0:58:32and prove it for Tony.
0:58:32 > 0:58:36Whereas before it was, China's going to win and the UK's got no chance,
0:58:36 > 0:58:38that's not the case any more. We're back in the game.
0:59:06 > 0:59:08Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.