Opportunities open up for Humber manufacturers

A NEW £300,000 initiative allowing SME manufacturers in the Humber to access specialist support to enter larger company supply chains has been launched. 

Leicestershire-headquartered Pera Consulting (UK) has agreed a £300,000 deal with the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to offer a collaborative approach to opening up new opportunities across all sectors with a primary focus on engineering, food and drink, medical and chemical.

Funded by the Regional Growth Fund – Wave 2 Growth Hubs Programme, the Humber Supply Chain will be delivered by the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and will look to create 60 jobs and safeguard a further 100 between now and the end of March 2015.

The aim is for MAS specialists to work with larger manufacturers to perform an ‘opportunity analysis’ of their supply chains, identifying current requirements, mapping those opportunities and communicating them to local suppliers.

Alongside this activity, advisors will also be working with companies on creating long-term strategies and improving processes.

The final strand of support will be a coordinated promotional push with local business support agencies across marketing material, online campaigns and a series of dedicated supply chain-ready workshops.
 
Ian Palmer, who leads on the Humber supply chain programme with Mark Oldridge, said:  “The Humber is proving a great place to manufacture at the moment, with the recent Siemens announcement highlighting the popularity of the area and creating a whole host of new opportunities.

“What we are keen to do is ensure that these are filtered down into the supply chain so that our small to medium sized manufacturers can use their expertise and experience to win work and create jobs locally.

“Our advisors are already working on the ground with manufacturers and, through our successful Manufacturing Forum, we have direct access to the larger organisations.

“The Humber supply chain programme is all about forging stronger links, recognising the benefits of local supply and then ensuring our firms are in a position to meet quality and volume demands.”

Eltherington Group, the Hull-based supplier of architectural aluminium and bespoke manufacturing services, is one of the local companies that could benefit.

It currently employs 160 people and supplies into the leisure market, portable building industry and specialist fabrications for customers involved in construction.

“There are a lot of exciting opportunities coming up for East Yorkshire, but we need to ensure our supply chain is in a position to take advantage of them,” said Guy Stubbs, group operations director.

“We have to be able to rely on companies that invest in the right machinery, the best people and are committed to world class quality…the supply chain programme will help more firms work towards these standards.”