Member Article

New body meets to promote manufacturing on Merseyside

The Merseyside Manufacturing Council meets for the first time next month to make maximum use of the region’s traditional manufacturing strengths and to capitalise on new innovations.

Liverpool Chamber of Commerce has partnered with The UK Manufacturing Accelerator, a private sector funding and development specialist, to support a sector which remains core to local growth potential.

Latest statistics show that 8.6% of Liverpool’s workforce is employed in manufacturing, against the national major city average of 6%. Furthermore, in 2010-11, growth of new jobs in manufacturing (1,100) was second only to retail (1,300).

Jenny Stewart, chief operating officer at the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, said: “Manufacturing is a key sector within our local industrial base and Chamber membership. The Manufacturing Council will provide an ideal vehicle to generate real innovation, progress and action to build an economy capable of achieving sustainable growth.”

Delivery partner Malcolm Evans, CEO of The UK Manufacturing Accelerator, supports manufacturers at the three key stages of their development: start-up, expansion, and re-ignition of growth within larger companies.

His team was recently responsible for the rapid development of innovative metal company Versarien from raw startup within Liverpool University to flotation two months ago on AIM.

Evans is also a national authority on business funding and campaigns for radical improvements in policy and practice.

He said: “The Liverpool region has recently enjoyed plenty of headline multinational success and there is already dialogue around these supply chains.

“However, there is a diverse wealth of untapped home-grown Intellectual Property to be tapped and many smaller operations that could double and much more,”

Evans cites biomed and advanced engineering as two key areas. He says that many of the high level factors around scaling manufacturing are already well -known to researchers.

They include startup capital, skills, sophisticated plant and laboratories, co-operative civic planners, superior export support, and, for larger companies, access to long-term and affordable capital if they are not to be sold to private equity or overseas acquirers.

Where the Liverpool area is weaker, he says, is in the existence of a standing body to share knowledge and best practice amongst manufacturers, who are frequently spread out in isolation across the broader Merseyside region.

Evans added: “Liverpool, in fact, already scores rather well on some of these core enabling factors and there’s a real pro-business buzz here right now.

“But it needs pulling together, or just more reports will be written. On the single biggest unresolved issue - manufacturing funding - we are going to focus and drive change through the Merseyside Manufacturing Council as a beacon of excellence.”

Manufacturers interested in attending the inaugural breakfast meeting on Tuesday, 17 September, should contact paul.cherpeau@liverpoolchamber.org.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .