Coventry & Warwickshire manufacturers benefit from £6.2m AMSCI support package

FIVE Coventry and Warwickshire businesses have been awarded government funding worth £6.2m, helping to create 225 jobs.

The companies have secured the grants and loans from the West Midlands and Liverpool City Region Programme as part of the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI), which is delivered by Finance Birmingham.

Businesses were targeted in four Local Enterprise Partnership areas in Coventry and Warwickshire, Greater Birmingham and Solihull, the Black Country and Liverpool City Region – the original four areas making up the AMSCI scheme. The areas were initially identified because they are each home to Jaguar Land Rover manufacturing operations.

However, recognising the potential of the scheme to support primarily the automotive industry and then the wider manufacturing industry in general, the Government opted to extend the scheme nationwide.

The latest businesses being helped with their expansion plans are: ADV Group, B2 Automotive Components, Marrill Ltd and CFS Aeroproducts, all Coventry, and Innovate 2 Make, based on the Tachbrook Park Industrial Estate in Leamington.

Karl Eddy, vice chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP said AMSCI had made a real difference to the five businesses.

He said: “The entire funding pot for the four LEPs was £19m and businesses within our LEP area received a total of £6.2m.

“The grants and loans will support businesses buying capital equipment, pursuing research and development activities, and training and skills development which are all designed to improve the size, quality and global competitiveness of the advanced manufacturing supply chain sector across the UK.”

He said that in addition to the 225 jobs already created, the funding had also helped to safeguard a further 41 jobs.

“AMSCI was designed to encourage closer collaboration of at least two advanced manufacturing businesses operating in the same supply chain,” he added.

“As well as encouraging closer working relationships between companies who have skills which complement each other, it is important we lay the foundations for the future in teaching these valuable skills to the next generation as well as safeguarding jobs for today’s workforce.

“Coventry and Warwickshire is renowned for attracting world-class advanced manufacturing companies at all stages of the supply chain as well as having strong links in the aerospace sector which was a major factor in our successful City Deal bid.

“This flexible way of providing funding has helped to remove any barriers which suppliers and supply chains can sometimes face because we all want to encourage growth to boost the economy and create jobs which is the major focus of the LEP.”

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