Cable backs reshoring of jobs and supply chains to UK
Vince Cable sets out the latest steps the government is taking to support “reshoring”.
Business Secretary Vince Cable today (4 March 2014) set out the latest steps the government is taking to support “reshoring”, backing an encouraging trend of manufacturers bringing jobs and production back to the UK from low-cost countries in the East.
During a speech today (4 March 2014) at EEF’s National Manufacturing Conference, the Business Secretary welcomed EEF research showing that 1 in 6 companies reshored production in the last 3 years and announced the latest winners from a £245 million government supply chain fund which is helping to rebuild British manufacturing prowess.
Nine projects will receive £129 million of support - £53 million of government funding is leveraging in more than £75 million of private money. The projects will directly create 1,369 jobs and safeguard a further 2,525. At least 57 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are involved in the successful consortia. A wide range of key sectors from the government’s industrial strategy are represented, including automotive, construction, information economy and life sciences.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
Britain is starting to win back business on the basis of hard headed business decisions based on quality and good performance. Through our industrial strategy the government is working in partnership with business to nurture these encouraging signs.
Our backing for skills, apprenticeships, supply chains, innovation and new technologies is creating the right environment for business to invest here. The supply chain funding announced today (4 March 2014) is another practical example of intelligently targeted government support helping UK firms to keep ahead of the game.
The 9 winners from round 4 of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) are:
- Clearview Traffic Group. Based in Bicester, Oxfordshire, the company is the market leader for intelligent solar powered road studs which offer 10 times greater visibility of the road ahead than traditional ‘cat’s eyes’. With the support of a £4 million AMSCI grant, Clearview Traffic are relocating manufacture of the product from overseas to Britain as part of a £6 million project to streamline their supply chain, strengthen intellectual property and boost overseas sales. Working in partnership with 2 other British businesses, Zeta Specialist Lighting Ltd and AEV Ltd, the project will lead to 49 jobs being re-shored and 37 existing UK jobs being safeguarded
- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). £11 million of funding will go to a consortium of 22 life sciences companies led by GSK for a £23 million project with the aim of transforming the way the UK life sciences sector manufactures medicines. The goal is to bring manufacture of pharmaceuticals into the twenty-first century with more personalised production, closer to patients and in response to need. Across the partnership, 70 new jobs will be created, with 307 safeguarded and the potential for licensing the process overseas
- Crown Packaging Limited. Based in Didcot and Wantage (Oxfordshire) the company will be receiving a grant of £1.9 million as part of a £3.8 million project they are leading with partners in West Yorkshire and Carlisle. This project will develop a new and innovative metal can manufacturing process, creating up to 32 permanent jobs and safeguarding 267 jobs
- Computerised Information Technology Limited. Based in Milton Keynes the company will be receiving £2.3 million as part of a £3.3 million project they are leading to develop a new computer controlled system to detect defects in 3D objects. This process will prevent waste, reduce product recalls, save companies money on materials costs and energy use and reduce carbon emissions. Up to 15 jobs will be created
- Ceravision Limited. Based in Milton Keynes, the company is working with a range of partners to develop a supply chain for the production of high efficiency plasma lighting which consumes 50% less energy than existing high power lighting products. This is expected to create 93 new jobs. Government is investing £6.2 million of support as part of a £11.6 million project
- Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. This nationwide project will boost the international competitiveness of UK automotive suppliers focusing on boosting quality, cost, technology, innovation and leadership. £13.3 million of AMSCI funding is being invested as part of a £45.5 million project. The project will create up to 940 jobs and safeguard an existing 1,682 jobs
- Cosworth. Based in Northampton the company will be receiving £2.6 million as part of a £13.9 million project they are leading to create a centre of excellence for research and development in the production of high performance engines. Eighty permanent jobs will be created and 200 jobs safeguarded across the supply chain
- SMS Electronics. Based in Nottingham the company is leading a project to create a new supply chain centre of excellence in Nottingham for on site sterilisation of medical equipment using low energy x-rays, creating up to 38 jobs. This is a £3.8 million project, including £3 million of government support
- Dennis Eagle Limited. This project will create a range of low emission and fuel efficient vehicles for waste collection. Government is providing £8.5 million support as part of a £16.5 million project that is expected to create 52 jobs across the supply chain and safeguard a further 32
Vince Cable also announced that Reshore UK is now operational. As announced by the Prime Minister recently in Davos, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) are joining forces with the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and partners in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for this new one-stop-shop service to help companies bring production back to the UK.
Reshore UK provides a matching and location service, access to advice and support, with a named individual to help each company. It is already generating interest from businesses across the UK and beyond.
Notes for editors
-
Quotations from the winning companies are available on request.
-
The government’s economic policy objective is to achieve ‘strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries’. It set 4 ambitions in the ‘Plan for Growth’, published at Budget 2011:
- to create the most competitive tax system in the G20
- to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business
- to encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy
- to create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe
Work is underway across government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the government wants the economy to travel.