Sheffield boasts ‘healthy inward investment pipeline’ in manufacturing sector
The Sheffield City Region is looking to spread its manufacturing heritage across the whole region following the continued success of the Advanced Manufacturing Park.
Mark Lynam, director of programme commissioning at Sheffield City Region, told TheBusinessDesk.com that there was a continued focus on the region’s strengths in manufacturing.
Lynam said: “We have a healthy inward investment pipeline across a number of sites across the Sheffield City Region, not just on the advanced manufacturing park.
“There’s a large foreign investor we are working with at the moment, which would create between 300-400 jobs in the region. We have found that with the advanced manufacturing park, with the likes of Boeing and McLaren now on site, success breeds success. Everybody is sitting up and taking note.”
Lynam added that it was imperative to offer an indigenous supply chain and the region was already working with numerous businesses to move that forward in the region and create a global growth corridor.
Working with Doncaster Sheffield Airport and also the University of Sheffield, the region plans to open up the spaces in which it offers manufacturing capability; rather than “just concentrate on the Sheffield/Rotherham border.”
Around 200 delegates heard from speakers including Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Chairman Sir Nigel Knowles, and Iain Thomson, associate director for partnerships and communications at the Harworth Group, today.
Thomson spoke about the factors driving investment opportunities in the UK, drawing on examples from the city region’s world-leading Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District.
Meanwhile, Sir Nigel spoke about the heritage of the North’s “truly great” cities in a panel discussion exploring the relationship between culture and urban regeneration. He cited Sheffield’s theatre complex – the largest outside of London – and the Peak District national park driving outdoor adventure inside the city region boundary as examples of how culture and lifestyles can make cities and city regions great places to be.
