Editor's comment: Opportunity knocks

A happy and prosperous New Year to all our readers. I hope you’ve come back refreshed and with your New Year’s resolutions still intact. My resolution is not to make one because it’s about the only promise I’ll ever keep.

Over the Christmas holiday period I collapsed on the settee whilst my stomach grumbled at the lack of watching anything worthwhile on television. Or maybe it was brought on by eating too much festive food. Anyway, I’ve given myself a good talking to and the diet begins today.

January is a funny old month when you consider it’s probably the worst time of year to make any resolutions. It’s bad enough denying yourself the many pleasures you enjoy, without it feeling like the middle of the night when you get out of bed in the morning.

And then there’s the misguided belief that January is when the jet engine of your life needs a complete overhaul. Don’t get me wrong, I like change. I’d just feel happier making these lifestyle changes with a little more sunlight around. 

The rapid spread of the Omicron variant last November proves that Covid-19 will be with the industry for some time, so we’re just going to have to learn to live with it. That said, I worry that our manufacturing tradeshow calendar cannot sustain another round of painful postponements.  

Without doubt, 2022 will be an interesting year with many twists, turns and even the odd barrel roll. The strongest companies are those that are in it for the long run. They know that it’s going to take much more than a pandemic (and Brexit) to break their resolve. Let’s all make this New Year the first chapter of a book waiting to be written. A book called opportunity.