Manufacturers set to share in £55m RGF hand-out
MANUFACTURERS from across the West Midlands are to share in a £55m handout as part of the latest settlement for the Regional Growth Fund.
Government Ministers were in the region today to capitalise on the awards, which are intended to spearhead further growth and create new jobs.
Nine companies have so far been named as beneficiaries, ranging from Jaguar Land Rover to an organisation that promotes the benefits of high quality lighting.
The automotive sector is strongly represented, befitting its status as the region’s principle industry.
In addition to JLR, funding has also been awarded to one of its major suppliers, Brose in Coventry, which has recently announced a £3m investment into a new training academy to boost its skills base.
The company, which develops and produces innovative mechatronics systems for vehicle doors, seats and electric motors, has ambitious plans to build and equip a new factory.
Business Secretary Vince Cable will be visiting the firm to see for himself some of the steps it is implementing.
Speaking ahead of his visit, he said: “We have invested more than £1.1bn in British manufacturing businesses outside London to grow and create jobs in sectors spanning aerospace, automotive, low-carbon and chemicals.
“Today’s investment supporting businesses like Brose will boost British manufacturing, exports, and opportunities to innovate, impacting companies positively for a decade and beyond.”
Also awarded funding is Black Country-based NTM GB, which manufactures refuse vehicles, while other manufacturers receiving cash include West Bromwich-based aluminium aftermarket wheels specialist Rimstock and Burton-upon-Trent based structural steel supplier Conder Structures.
Telford-based Lighting Industry Association has also been offered funding, as has Easat Antennas in Stoke-on-Trent. The latter, a subsidiary of Goodwin, produces high gain antennas and radar systems for the air traffic and defence sectors.
The Business Secretary will also be officially opening The Proving Factory in Coventry, which has received £13m from the Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) scheme. The company aims to address gaps in the UK’s automotive supply chain by industrialising green technologies and manufacturing them cost effectively in the UK.
The project, a collaboration of ten partners, is looking to create more than 1,250 new jobs in technology development SMEs and the supply chain. So far it has created 60 jobs and 13 apprenticeships.
Creative England has been awarded £8m funding from the Regional Growth Fund to invest in, support and develop businesses across the games, television, film and digital creative industries.
This includes companies such as Leamington Spa-based Mad Fellows which, since the development of its game SineWave, has secured in excess of £100k follow-on funding for their next console game.
Since the Deputy Prime Minister launched the RGF fund in 2010, a total of £400m has now been invested in 74 projects across the West Midlands. The Government has claimed these will create or safeguard around 119,000 local jobs and attract around £3.1bn of further investment from the private sector.
