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STOKE & STAFFORDSHIRE FOCUS FEATURE SPONSOR


GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT AND ESTABLISHED SUPPLY CHAIN The Government has also earmarked millions of pounds of investment in transport infrastructure improvement work to boost regional and national connectivity in future.


MANUFACTURING RENAISSANCE The low carbon revolution is revitalising many of Britain’s former industrial centres, but few areas have embraced this manufacturing renaissance with as much vigour and determination as Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire.


The county has long been associated with heavy industry, manufacturing and engineering innovation, and is rapidly gaining prominence as a choice location for the UK’s burgeoning renewable energy industry.


RECOGNISED TECHNOLOGY CENTRE Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire is already home to a number of the UK’s leading names in the renewable energy generation and transmission markets, including Alstom Grid, GE Power Conversion, Siemens Energy and ABB, and has earned a reputation as a recognised centre for electronic power transmission and smart grid technology.


LOCATION


An enviable location at the heart of the UK’s national transport infrastructure ensures close proximity to major markets, while the plentiful availability of competitively priced land, skilled labour and high-tech engineering expertise makes Stoke-on- Trent and Staffordshire one of the most cost-effective inward investment locations for the renewables sector.


The M6 motorway runs the length of Staffordshire and passes within a few miles of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. Birmingham and Manchester’s international airports are both accessible within an hour’s drive, along with Liverpool’s docks, while the West Coast Main Line offers convenient rail travel from Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford to London in under 90 minutes.


The energy and environmental industries already employ more than 36,000 people in the area, while the wider manufacturing sector accounts for 54,000 jobs, comprising more than 13 per cent of the overall workforce in an area which has retained a buoyant engineering and manufacturing skills base.


STAFFORD


The county town of Stafford is already the UK headquarters of smart grid technology giant Alstom Grid, and both Siemens Building Technologies and energy management firm Elster Metering have established bases in the town.


Alstom, the driving force behind maintenance of much of the UK’s power generation infrastructure, enjoys more than a century of ties to the area and currently employs 2,000 staff across three sites in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire through its Alstom Power and Alstom Grid operations. The firm has undertaken a £40m building investment to create new state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities to cater for its growing international and domestic markets.


In addition, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire boasts an established, comprehensive supply chain, including access to advanced research and design facilities through both Staffordshire and Keele universities.


NEW BUSINESS PARK Nestling between the M6 and M54 motorways, the newly-established i54 South Staffordshire Business Park has been designated an advanced manufacturing enterprise zone, allowing eligible firms to benefit from business rate discounts of up to 100 percent, while the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership has established a dedicated Low Carbon Group to offer specialist support to the renewable energy sector and helps firms to gain access to resources, markets and commercial opportunities.


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