Manufacturing in the Northwest continues to shine through

Sept. 23, 2010 - PRLog -- The quarterly regional manufacturing review for the North West, prepared for the Manufacturing Advisory Service NW by respected economist Brian Eaton, suggests that there are decidedly positive aspects to recent developments for manufacturing in the North West.

The North West remains as the sixth largest manufacturer in the world and the largest in the UK, with some 315,000 jobs in manufacturing representing just under 13% of the total figure for manufacturing jobs in the UK as a whole. The region continues to makes the third largest contribution to the UK economy and the highest contribution to the UK’s manufacturing industry in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA).

Adam Buckley, Head of Programmes at MAS-NW said: “There can be no doubt that optimism in manufacturing in the North West remains high. This is the fourth consecutive year that the North West has been the leading area outside London and the South East for foreign direct investment. It’s a testament to the region that recent figures for 2009/10 from the Northwest Regional Development Agency and UK Trade and Investment show some 170 investment projects, a healthy proportion of them in manufacturing, safeguarding nearly 13,500 jobs.”

The first half of 2010 saw the region accounting for some £11.8 billion of exported goods, some 11.2% of total UK regionally-exported goods, £400 million up on the same period last year, while the import of goods increased only marginally by £115 million, or 1%.

Official data from the Office for National Statistics shows a determined response from manufacturing to current economic challenges. UK Factory output saw an increase of 0.3% in July, resulting in a year-on-year growth rate of 4.9%, the best performance for over 15 years. Meanwhile, manufacturers in the North West remain highly focused on both existing and emerging markets and intensely maintaining their progress.

Adam Buckley continued: “Access to finance still remains a big issue with manufacturers in the region. Businesses want to grow, to export and to compete globally, but find they are continually hampered by the lack of available finance.

“Two years after the financial crisis, some businesses that have up to now been financially robust and have never previously sought help from the banks, find they have an unexpected need to access an overdraft or short term finance to plug gaps caused, for example, by slow payers and irregular cash flow. However, they are finding the banks are just not supporting their potential growth opportunities.”

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA, added:  “The Northwest’s manufacturing sector is the biggest of any English region and remains a major driver for improving GVA. Contributing over £20 billion to the regional economy, it is crucial to economic recovery in the Northwest and the long term competitiveness of our region. The highly effective Manufacturing Advisory Service NW continues to work hard, supporting Northwest manufacturing organisations and this latest quarterly review gives us some positive indication that we are slowly pulling out of the difficult economic conditions.”

A copy of the full quarterly review may be downloaded from here http://www.mas-nw.co.uk/news/Manufacturing%20NW%20Quarter...

For further information on the services available to help manufacturers in the North West, including the funded manufacturing review services available, please visit the  Manufacturing Advisory Service’s home page at www.mas-nw.co.uk or call 0800 093 9077.

NOTES TO EDITOR

1. The Manufacturing Advisory Service offers manufacturing companies with practical, hands-on support in all aspects of manufacturing to help achieve improvements in productivity and competitiveness. Since 2002, MAS North West, which is delivered in the region by The Manufacturing Institute, has helped manufacturers to generate financial returns totalling £739 million and to safeguard 8790 jobs.

The service includes:

• A direct helpline - 0800 093 9077
• A free manufacturing review
• A programme of factory visits and networking events
• Subsidised consultancy support
• Links in to other support organisations

2. The Manufacturing Institute (www.manufacturinginstitute.co.uk) is an independent charity - driven by manufacturers for manufacturers. For 15 years The Manufacturing Institute has helped transform manufacturing performance, working with over 4000 companies to gain competitive advantage from high impact skills building and productivity improvement programmes.

3. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme allocates funding to different regions throughout the European Union to boost economic development in less prosperous areas. ERDF North West is part funding the Manufacturing Advisory Service.

4. The NWDA works to deliver economic success in England’s Northwest by building the competitiveness of its businesses, people and places. Utilising our technical expertise and strategic influence, we help the region’s 250,000+ businesses to develop and grow, as well as supporting international trade and encouraging inward investment. For further information on the NWDA please visit www.nwda.co.uk

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Small and medium size North West manufacturers have access to a fully or part-funded manufacturing review to review to assess existing working processes and identify the best areas for improvement.