MIDAS helps boost region’s GVA by £75m with 13 new low carbon projects
Greater Manchester has enjoyed a significant uptick in advanced manufacturing during the past year, a new report by MIDAS, the region’s inward investment agency, has shown.
The research focused on the region’s capabilities in robotics, autonomous systems and advanced manufacturing.
Greater Manchester, Manufacturing Machinery for Tomorrow shines a light on key milestones in Greater Manchester’s deep-rooted history in the industry and explores the development of world class Research Institutes, such as the Advanced Machinery & Productivity Institute and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, that are creating an attractive market for ambitious businesses.
Home to existing success stories such as Jaguar Land Rover, ARM, AECOM, BAE Systems, Balfour Beatty, Hitachi and Jacobs Engineering, it has proven to be a highly productive city region for SME’s and global powerhouses alike.
Rhys Whalley, MIDAS acting managing director, said: “Advanced manufacturing showed significant growth last year, with a record number of exciting projects – companies investing here for the first time and existing businesses expanding – creating high quality roles in Greater Manchester as a result of foreign direct investment.
“Thanks to the collaborative approach across the city region from ambitious experts at our world-leading programmes, our position at the heart of the UK’s largest manufacturing and advanced engineering cluster is growing stronger. Investment at government level will only help fuel this further.“
He added: “Autonomous systems contribute immensely to global net zero goals in terms of reducing waste, increasing efficiencies, and producing quality and sustainable products and with the city region’s accelerated aims.”
In line with Greater Manchester’s plans to be carbon neutral by 2038, 13 new low carbon projects worth a GVA of more than £74.8m, were secured by MIDAS in the financial year 21-22.
These include Japanese battery manufacturer Exergy in Trafford and sustainable packaging manufacturer Hexcore in Rochdale, set to make a huge impact on how Greater Manchester achieves its ambitious target and how it supports carbon reduction globally.
In addition, thanks to an increased awareness around cyber crime and fraud, the report features advice from local experts on how and why businesses in the sector can protect and upskill themselves.
Rachel Eyre, head of inward investment, advanced manufacturing at MIDAS, said: “Greater Manchester has highly ambitious aims to achieve net carbon neutrality.
“Innovating through autonomous systems and robotics is one way we can achieve this at scale and provides opportunities for a variety of industries such as life sciences, built environment, aviation and transport, to be instrumental in creating new solutions. This campaign clearly highlights how our renowned ecosystem will power change.”
