Press release
Manufacturers get more support from government
Today (26 March 2015) the government announced the latest winners from a fund to help rebuild British manufacturing prowess.
Twenty supply chain projects from across the country will benefit from a total of £67 million of government investment, with £109 million being invested in the same projects by industry.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
While there is much to celebrate about British manufacturing, it is clear that our supplier base has been eroded over the last 30 years. Reversing this will boost exports and help safeguard UK jobs. Our targeted interventions have helped revive the great British manufacturing sector.
The benefits of stronger manufacturing supply chains will be felt across the whole economy – new cutting-edge technologies, a more highly skilled work force and improved productivity will boost growth and jobs across the country.
Business Minister Matthew Hancock said:
Manufacturing is seeing a resurgence across the UK.
From the world-leading 3D printing in Coventry to the next generation of aerospace components in Gloucestershire, Britain is standing tall in the world once again.
Strong supply chains are at the root of this success and these new funds will keep Britain competitive.
The 20 projects given conditional offers for the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) announced today are:
- Goodwin Steel Castings Ltd based in Stoke-on-Trent will be receiving a grant of £1.8 million as part of a £10 million project they are leading with Loughborough University and TWI. The investment will boost their manufacturing capability and aid exports of turbine components creating up to 52 jobs and safeguarding 30 jobs
- Plessey Semiconductors based in Roborough, Devon will be receiving a grant of £1 million as part of a £1.3 million project they are leading with Aixtron Ltd and Bruker Nano Services. This project will accelerate high volume manufacturing of new GaN technology used on Silicon LEDs, creating up to 55 jobs and safeguarding 2 jobs
- Triumph Actuation Systems based in Bishops Cleeve, Gloucestershire will be receiving a grant of £1.8 million as part of a £9.9 million project they are leading with Group HES. This project will develop the next generation of aerospace components using state-of-the-art production equipment in a purpose-built facility, creating up to 56 jobs and safeguarding 117 jobs
- Aircelle based in Burnley will be receiving a grant of £4.6 million as part of a £12.3 million project they are leading with Composites Integration and the University of Nottingham. This project will create a UK nacelle structure centre of excellence at Burnley. It will create up to 26 jobs and safeguard 449 jobs
- Impression Technologies Ltd based in Solihull will be receiving a £650,000 grant and £1.4 million loan as part of a £5.4 million project they are leading with PAB Coventry Ltd. This project will bring a new UK developed and patented technology to production, enabling the manufacturing of high-strength, complex aluminium panels suitable for automotive, aerospace and rail components. It will create up to 44 jobs and safeguard 15 jobs
- AC Marine & Composites Ltd based in Hampshire will be receiving a £450k grant and £1.1 million loan as part of a £2.3 million project they are leading with the National Composites Centre. This project will enable the large volume production of composite turbine blades in England. It will create up to 53 jobs and safeguard 4 jobs
- M-Solv Ltd based in Oxford will be receiving a grant of £1.9 million and £1.7 million loan as part of a £5.8 million project they are leading with Touchnetix Ltd and Intrinsiq Ltd. This project will streamline and expand touch panel production, creating up to 75 jobs and safeguarding 17
- Sigmatex based in Runcorn will be receiving £3.8 million grant and £240,000 loan as part of a £7.1 million project they are leading with University of Warwick, Expert Tooling and Automation Ltd, Cranfield University, Sirder Spinning Ltd, Granta Design Ltd, Joseph Rhodes Ltd, LMAT ltd, Caparo and Surface Generation. This project will improve the UK’s capability in design, development and manufacture of lightweight automotive components and structures. It will create up to 238 jobs and safeguard 144 jobs
- Oxsensis Ltd based in Oxford will be receiving a £1.2 million grant and £1 million loan as part of a £3.2 million project they are leading with Parker Hannafin Manufacturing Ltd and Optek Ltd. This project will build a UK supply chain in optical sensor systems for the aerospace sector. It will create up to 52 jobs and safeguard 18 jobs
- Dymag based in Chippenham will be receiving a £3.3 million grant and a loan of £3.8 million as part of a £11.2 million project they are leading with M Wright and Son and the National Composites Centre. This project will combine composite technology and process engineering to produce affordable solutions for the large volume production of automotive wheels. It will create up to 263 jobs and safeguard 14 jobs
- Tata Steel, which has a significant presence in South Yorkshire, will be receiving a grant of £4.6 million as part of a £17.6 million project they are leading with Johnson Matthey plc, Renishaw Ltd, Hybrid Manufacturing Technologies Ltd, Delcam Ltd, Atomising System Lltd, Farleygreene, the Manufacturing Technology Centre, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, University of Birmingham and Tata Technologies Europe Ltd. The project will create a 3D printing supply chain in the UK with world-leading technological expertise. It will create up to 186 jobs and safeguard 2,373 jobs
- Hyde Group Nuclear based in Cheshire will be receiving a grant for £3.9 million as part of a £16.6 million project they are leading with React Engineering Ltd, NAMRC and RACE. This project will develop handling facilities for nuclear materials. It will create up to 61 jobs and safeguard 105 jobs
- Centre for Process Innovation based in Wilton will be receiving a grant of £6.2 million as part of an £11.3 million project they are leading with UCB Celltech, Lonza Biologics, Sphere Fluidics, Horizon Discovery and Alcyomics. The project will adopt leading edge technologies emerging from UK SMEs to improve the supply chain for biologic medical products. It will create up to 23 jobs and safeguard 174 jobs
- Siemens based in Congleton will be receiving a grant of £1.3 million as part of a £7.5 million project they are leading with Norfran, OGM, Birmingham Aluminium, CTC Pressings and The Manufacturing Technology Centre. This project will help the UK supply chain to compete with low cost base countries by adopting automated technologies. It will create up to 22 jobs and safeguard 32 jobs
- Applied Design Engineering based in Lowestoft will be receiving a grant of £2.1 million and a loan of £380,000 as part of a £4.2 million project they are leading with Plas-Tech Ltd and Bond Retail Services Ltd. This project will develop and produce a new type of energy-efficient refrigerated retail display cabinet to store and present perishable foods. It will create up to 97 jobs and safeguard 144 jobs
- Rockwell Collins Ltd based in Reading will be receiving a £2.4 million grant as part of a £10.1 million project they are leading with University of Nottingham and Forsburg Services Ltd. The project will ensure that new GPS products for the defence sector are developed in the UK rather than overseas. It will create up to 25 jobs and safeguard 71 jobs
- Sigma Precision Components UK Ltd based in Leicestershire will be receiving a £300,000 loan and £700,000 grant as part of a £1.6 million project they are leading with University of Manchester. The project will improve the performance and competitiveness of composite drive shafts used in the aerospace and automotive sectors. It will create up to 39 jobs and safeguard 4 jobs
- Process Systems Enterprise based in London will be receiving £12.2 million grant as part of a £20.4 million project they are leading with Pfizer Inc, GSK, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca UK Ltd, Perceptive Engineering Ltd, Britest Ltd, Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre, University of Leeds, University of Cambridge, STFC and the University of Strathclyde. The project will develop new digital design and manufacturing processes for drug products. It will create up to 94 jobs and safeguard 729 jobs
- Siemens Ulverston based in Cumbria will be receiving £620,000 grant as part of a £3.8 million project they are leading with Electron Beam Processing, DP Seals, and PDQ Precision Engineering. The project will enable UK suppliers to commercialise innovations they are developing with Siemens for use in a new subsea product development. It will create up to 25 jobs and safeguard 6 jobs
- LPW based in Runcorn will be receiving a £4.2 million grant and £1 million loan as part of a £13.2 million project they are leading with TWI. The project will develop new clean powders for additive manufacturing and undertake a programme of targeted knowledge sharing and training. It will create up to 137 jobs and safeguard 20 jobs
AMSCI funding provides research and development support, skills training, and investment capital and encourages major new suppliers to ‘reshore’ in the UK.
The manufacturing sector supports 2.5 million jobs and contributes almost £150 billion a year to the UK.
Published 26 March 2015