Hardware Podcasts

140: Local Manufacturing for a New Hardware Invention Idea

Product Startup · 7 Sept 2022 · 22m

What this episode covers

Nigel Southway, author of 'Take Back Manufacturing' and former chair of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, discusses the strategic shift from offshore to local manufacturing for hardware startups. He argues that when factoring in hidden costs like tariffs, inventory, and logistics, the unit cost difference between onshore and offshore production is often only about 10%, making local production increasingly viable. Southway emphasizes the importance of short-run manufacturing to build feedback loops and reduce risk, while advocating for policy, education, and technology integration to rebuild domestic manufacturing capacity.

Most relevant to

founders before launch and early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Society of Manufacturing Engineers, British Aerospace Corporation, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Mako Design + Invent
Products
Take Back Manufacturing, Lean Manufacturing

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