“I see the next few years as a positive time for manufacturing
in the UK, there are many winning factors on our side including the
exchange rate,” says Eamonn Walsh, chairman of award winning
Brainboxes, as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.

Brainboxes, a leader in serial and Bluetooth connectivity, was founded
in Liverpool by Walsh in 1984 and since then has been a pioneer in
electronics manufacturing in the UK. Walsh has seen many changes over
the past 25 years – in 1984 IBM had not even released its PC in the UK.
“No one had any idea what the potential was for the computer then, they
were just thought of as games machines. Now we have low cost computing
devices that fit in our pockets that we use all day long and people are
writing software for fun.”

Brainboxes has maintained its position as a UK manufacturer through the
trading highs and lows of the past quarter century by keeping focused
on its customers needs. Walsh believes that Brainboxes can be held up
as an example for UK start-ups. “Some companies survive by being the
lowest cost but we believe it is the communication you have with your
customers that will give you the edge. We keep close to our customers,
listening to what they are saying and understanding what they want. We
do what the customer needs rather than telling them what they have to
have and can also custom design our products to be a perfect fit and
application specific when needed.

“We have never thought it makes economic sense to manufacture abroad
unless you have very high volume production runs of a single product,”
he adds. “For us, with the wide range of products that we sell,
tailored to specific needs, it is ideal to have it all under our own
control. If customers want supply in a short lead-time we can react
swiftly to an order often with next day delivery globally . Also, as we
are not a contract manufacturer, we remain in control of our own stock,
delivery and work schedules. Brainboxes has the in-house expertise to
design both software and hardware so we are able to provide a complete
design to manufacture solution. We pride ourselves on delivering
continuity of supply and support.”

Brainboxes has kept at the forefront of connectivity technology and was
an early player with Bluetooth based products in 2000/01. “We did not
appreciate the risk we were taking in the early days of release of
Bluetooth products, it took Bluetooth longer than expected to become an
established technology. But we were keen to pioneer this technology,”
comments Walsh. Our Bluetooth serial products are now best sellers to
the global market.

In this our 25th Anniversary year we are introducing two new product
ranges covering USB to Serial and Ethernet to Serial and are continuing
to build upon what was our most innovative year to date 2008.

Asked if he had any advice to someone starting a business in 2009,
Walsh said, “The best advice I can give them is to get a good product
and get it in front of customers fast. Nothing can happen in a business
without a sale. Always give the customer value for money, do the best
you can and then watch them as they use it. You will learn a lot if you
keep your eyes open.”

Looking forward to the next 25 years Walsh is optimistic for the
future. “We believe that at Brainboxes we have all the right tools,
products and innovation to thrive over the next quarter of a century
and beyond. We have superb ideas, excellent staff, top products, great
customers and a really good route to market established. Through the
past 25 we have learnt to keep the company lean and growing. Innovation
and providing customers with more for less is essential in the supply
to IT sectors.”