Talk to Karim Sekkat and you will realise within a few minutes that this is a man passionate about British engineering. For years it seems all we have heard is the story of decline in manufacturing where once we were the industrial centre of the world, our position has been gradually eroded against a backdrop of intense cheap competition from Asia and Eastern Europe, along with a general decline in the skills of our workforce.

But Mr Sekkat, an investment banker who in 2004 bought Holifields Precision Engineers in Abingdon and Hutton Engineering in Bicester to form the KAS Technologies Group, is determined to fight back.

He is convinced there is a demand for high quality British workmanship, despite the growing threat from India, and especially China.

Mr Sekkat said: "Labour costs are so much cheaper there but engineering is not just about the workforce, it is about management, just-in-time delivery and knowledge.

"We are not making nuts and bolts or T-shirts and, as such, we need to re-invent ourselves to ensure customers understand the differences between Chinese and UK engineering."

One of those differences is the 12-16 weeks it takes an order to reach the UK from China.

Mr Sekkat added: "If time is not an issue then the Chinese/Eastern Europe route is right for you but in Formula 1, or the medical sector, then just-in-time delivery can be critical."

Also the argument that imported goods are cheaper is not necessarily true, according to Mr Sekkat.

While the initial quote will be lower, once the overall costs of sending a representative to China, then the price of the air freight is added, then the figures start to draw closer.

And of course, the difference in quality may also be critical and costly to rectify.

Mr Sekkat added: "The overall saving is between 10 and 20 per cent and if you are a big blue chip company, do you really want to go through all the hassle for that?"

Add to that the cultural difficulties of working with a still massively underdeveloped country and price becomes less of a problem.

Techniques

Regular investment in keeping his companies both previously family owned, well-established businesses up-to-date is another way of keeping abreast of the competition for Mr Sekkat.

He also expects his workforce to be capable of change and take on new management techniques and training to ensure the best customer service.

As a result, deliveries are now 99.4 per cent on time an improvement of 15 per cent in just two years.

Turnover in the businesses has increased from £1.9m to £3m with the same number of employees 28 as before.

Another stumbling block in the competition between UK and foreign firms is the amount of legislation, particularly on health and safety, that has to be met here, but is not a requirement elsewhere.

However, Mr Sekkat ensures there is a strong ethical policy and refuses to deal with suppliers which have people working in poor conditions.

As for his own workforce, he is quite happy to ensure they are properly trained, even if it means starting from scratch.

Mr Sekkat, 36, is not your average engineering company director. Half German and half-Moroccan, he speaks four languages fluently and was based in Switzerland, working as an investment banker with Barons Financial Services, before turning his attention to engineering.

At the moment, he says he spends three days a week on strategy' and is taking a business growth programme at Cranfield University.

The results are fed back into the companies, which specialise in high-grade engineering for medical, aerospace and cryogenics applications.

He said: "We have got to change because the world is changing and if you do that, then I am convinced you have a chance to survive."

Mr Sekkat admits some workers were unwilling to change and they have been replaced by people he sees as being able to take the company further.' He added: "There are so many things I want to do my only regret is that there are only 24 hours in a day."