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BUSINESS NEWS


Letter spells out airport’s role


Conservative and Labour MPs plus businesses and councillors from the West Midlands have united to call for spare capacity at Birmingham Airport to be used to ease congestion in the South East. Twenty Conservative and 10 Labour MPs and MEPs in addition to council leaders, Chambers of Commerce and many businesses said that in the long-term the development of Birmingham Airport as a major gateway at the centre of the UK would reduce unproductive surface travel time and leave Heathrow as a gateway for London and the South-East. The letter published in the Daily


Telegraph said: “A hub airport in the South East favours a small, congested, and already economically strong part of the country. We need gateways close to the manufacturing, research and development of the Midlands and the North, linking these regions directly to emerging markets. “Overseas investors are


discouraged from investing where there are no global links. For Britain, over-reliance on one large airport, risks national resilience and leads the rest of the world to believe there is just one gateway to this country. “Airports in our great industrial


cities have huge spare capacity. Birmingham Airport’s current spare runway capacity is 27 million passengers per annum. Birmingham is at the heart of the rail and motorway networks, and its airport is the most accessible in Britain. “The Airport and NEC station will be the hub of the proposed HS2 network. With its proposed second runway, Birmingham’s spare capacity could rise to over 50 million and create 50,000 jobs. “We call on Government to


encourage and assist airports to work with local enterprise partnerships and stakeholders. Infrastructure planning needs to provide confidence for airports to be able to plan well into the future. The Government must support expansion of Birmingham’s airport to maximise the regional growth.”


Erratum


Free Radio’s entry in the West Midlands Chambers of Commerce Directory 2012/13 was incorrect. The correct details are as follows: Free Radio (BIR) 9 BrindleyPlace 4 Oozells Square BIRMINGHAM B1 2DJ Tel: 0121 566 5200 Fax: 0121 566 5239 E-mail: ross.wilson@freeradio.co.uk Internet: www.freeradio.co.uk


8 CHAMBERLINK OCTOBER 2012


Poll hints at boom in local manufacturing


BY JOHN LAMB B


irmingham manufacturers are out-performing the rest of Britain on exports and home sales, a new survey is expected to show. The latest quarterly economic


survey from Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group (BCCG) reveals that overseas sales have risen sharply over the past three months and order books are filling up. Sales in the UK have remained stable but Birmingham is still outstripping the rest of the country and more city manufacturers are working at full capacity compared with others. As a result, Birmingham manufacturers are expected


to be top of the sales league when the results of a British Chambers of Commerce survey are published at the beginning of October. Chamber vice-president Steve Brittan, himself a machine tool manufacturer who succeeds president Michael Ward next month, said: “This demonstrates the tremendous resilience of the manufacturing sector in Birmingham and surrounding areas. And we must not forget that manufacturing covers a multitude of disciplines in Birmingham from heavy engineering to making chocolate. “The tremendous world-wide success of Jaguar Land


Rover is also having an impact on suppliers. “We have also benefited from a change of policy on


oil in the United States. They are now exploring for new wells and extracting it rather than relying on foreign supplies which can often be unreliable. “This means the demand for tooling to make the machines that extract the oil has increased dramatically. And this impact is world-wide. We are currently supplying Mexico with the machinery to manufacture drilling components. “And we should be proud that Birmingham, the home of traditional manufacturing, is at the head of this revival.” The Chamber survey showed that 45 per cent of


manufacturers had increased sales during the third quarter compared with 38 per cent in June. Orders were up from 34 per cent to 36 per cent. At home, 40 per cent increased sales compared with


41 per cent in the previous quarter and those reporting increased orders, dropped only one per cent to 37. Over half (59 per cent) said they were confident that turnover would improve over the next 12 months.


Praise for ChamberData


ChamberData, headed by client services executive Jonathan Crosbie, has received high praise for its services. Fazeley Studios says ChamberData


would always be its first port of call whenever it needs to purchase data for marketing purposes.


Elizabeth Griffiths, who heads


events, marketing and social media at Fazeley Events, says: “We recently undertook a big marketing campaign to promote our Christmas Party Package at Fazeley Studios and we needed to target local Birmingham businesses of a certain size and location. “I contacted Chamber Data and


Jonathan Crosbie


was greeted with a friendly and accommodating service. I was offered various types of data at attractive costs, and was offered guidance in making my decision on what data would be most suitable. “Once I purchased the data I received it within hours


and was able to carry out my marketing campaign quickly. Chamber Data were honest about the amount of bounce backs I would be likely to experience and I actually received less bounce backs than they stated. “I would definitely recommend Chamber Data as you will have a smooth-running experience, excellent


‘Once I purchased the data I received it within hours and was able to carry out my marketing campaign’


customer service, affordable data which will prove vital for marketing campaigns and other beneficial uses.” Debbie Holloway, director at


Projects Marketing Ltd, said: “As a business to business telephone marketing organisation, our clients need accurate and targeted data. This is just one of the reasons why we useChamberData. Friendly support and advice is always offered to make the selection and purchasing process easy. The data is good quality, the cost is competitive and the service is excellent.” Jonathan says: “Quality data is an


integral part of gaining new customers. Whatever business sector and wherever in the world you are looking to grow, we can provide you with accurate, quality data to connect to new opportunities.


“For first time customers, we will provide 25 record samples including mail, telephone and email contact details. This will demonstrate output as well as letting businesses test the quality of the service and data.” Chamber members will benefit from a 20 per cent


discount on all data purchases. The minimum investment required for this service is only £75+VAT. Call Jonathan Crosbie on 0121 607 1891 or email j.crosbie@birmingham-chamber.com


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