Martin manufacturing UK is a subsidiary company of Martin professional, which is owned by the holding company Schouw. Along with MMUK there are several other manufacturing sites spread out throughout the world (including Demark and China). They also have a series of offices (including one in Kent, that operates as martin professional UK and is in charge of UK Sales) and there is a central warehouse in Venlo, Netherlands (known as the hub). The factory in Demark make intelligent lighting products, the factory in china makes lower priced DJ products (both lighting and smoke).

Martin Manufacturing Ltd. in Louth make “industrial smoke machines” these are the sort of smoke machine professional DJ’s would use, as well as them being used for stage shows and concerts and finally in nightclubs. The Louth factory currently supplies most of the big European festivals (Glastonbury included), and they are also the sole supplier of smoke machines for the Ministry of Sound clubs worldwide. Consumer legislation is something enforced by the government.

They are pieces of legislation focused on consumer rights, and try to get the consumer the best possible service when buying a product. In the case of Martin, for them this means they have to adhere to legislation on sale of goods, trade descriptions, supply of goods and services, consumer safety and weight and measures Act. Martin must make sure they aide by any and all rules and regulation regarding the internal sale of goods, as well as any regulations regarding what the machine can do, i. e. use of harmful chemicals.

What this means to Martin is that they have a legal responsibility to make sure that all their advertising material, product guides and brochures are accurate, and that the information given before a sale is made is correct and not misleading in anyway. Furthermore their product specifications must be accurate and relevant. The packaging of each product should have the size and weight of the product and any ingredients it has (with allergy advice if necessary). The packaging should also have a safety logo to show that it has been tested and is safe and legal to sell aboard.

The UK government is a key external influence as there are the body who enforce tax’s, pay benefits to people (this will not affect Martin direct but may affect there staff and therefore accurate financial/wage records will need to be kept and revised periodically by the government to make sure that the people who are getting money are getting the right amount), they also control policies on overseas trading, and asset control (i. e. controls on transport, planning permission etc).

What this means to Martin is that they have to do what the government say and pay them the amount they specify when they specify it (tax), this includes VAT. Also any business they do abroad (which they do a lot of) must follow the strict government rules. Furthermore, they have to record they earns of there staff, as it will need to be checked by anyone on benefits. Also if the Martin decided to expand there current factory or move to another site, or even buy an additional plot of land to build a new factory on, they would more than likely need to get planning permission to do this.