Sector Focus
Manufacturing Funding available for local SMEs
Small-to-medium-sized (SME) manufacturers in the West Midlands region are being urged to grab a slice of a £6.5m funding windfall to help them recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The cash is being made available
via the Manufacturing Growth Programme (MGP), which is funded by the government and the European Union. The MGP has been extended
until December 2022 and will give a further 2,800 companies access to industry experts and grants to tackle immediate business issues and support improvement plans. This additional backing has the
potential to safeguard and create hundreds of new jobs and takes the total package of support the initiative is able to deliver to £18.3m, with Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership agreeing to inject a ring-fenced £500,000 for businesses it supports. Firms taking part are given
access to a dedicated local MGP, who will use ‘GROWTHmapper’ – a business diagnostic tool - to develop an individual action plan and support business projects,
ranging from environmental improvements, leadership and management and marketing to people and skills, quality and supply chain development. MGP managing director Martin
Coats said: “All the media attention is on the headline manufacturers
industry. “The Local Enterprise
Partnerships (LEPs), their local Growth Hubs and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government have seen first-hand the value we add to firms in their respective areas and this has
‘Helping manufacturers is not easy and you need a tailored approach, delivered by experts who know what it is like working in industry’
and how they are coping in the wake of Covid-19 - it’s our job to look at how the smaller companies supporting these big businesses are performing and what we can do to help them. “Our track record in delivering on-the-ground expert support was pivotal in us securing an additional £6.5m of funding that is ring- fenced for ensuring SME manufacturers can overcome barriers to growth and return to doing what they do best - making things.
“Helping manufacturers is not
easy and you need a tailored approach, delivered by experts who know what it is like working in
Medilink answers call for more PPE
Medilink West Midlands, the industry gateway for the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network, has led a call- to-arms for the manufacture of more high-quality surgical gowns for West Midlands hospitals. Medilink is part of a working
group, led by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) put together to produce and supply PPE to NHS trusts in the region. The Birmingham Hospitals
Alliance (BHA) looks after UHB, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Hospital are currently going through approximately 100,000 surgical gowns a week. Following a call-to-arms to
manufacturers by Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, UHB contacted the West Midlands Combined Authority
(WMCA) about a need for two types of surgical gowns. Following this, the WMCA and
West Midlands Academic Health Science Network, working with MedilinkWM, have selected and approved the local companies who are currently able to produce large quantities of these high-quality surgical gowns and work is now underway. The companies are
Wolverhampton-based Airguard Filters and Wearwell, from Tamworth. Collectively they are currently able to produce around 25,000 surgical gowns a week. Dr David Rosser, chief
executive of UHB, said: “These efforts allow us to build up our resilience as we move into Phase 2 of the Trust’s response to Covid-19. We have been very fortunate that our procurement team have been successful in obtaining PPE during this time despite national shortages.”
60 CHAMBERLINK August/September 2020
resulted in a further commitment to support us for another two and a half years.” The MGP is the only dedicated
business support programme for SME manufacturers in Birmingham and the surrounding area, and has delivered £837,000 of grants since its launch in October 2016. This has been used to assist in
excess of 550 companies, creating 542 local jobs and safeguarding hundreds more. A recent survey delivered by
MGP revealed an urgent need for greater and faster financial support from the Government as they confront plummeting sales, production volumes and the
Manufacturing heavyweight joins board at Sertec Group
Manufacturing veteran Nick Sanders (pictured) has joined the board of Coleshill- headquartered automotive components manufacturer, Sertec Group. His role will be to work with CEO Grant Adams to deliver the business’
growth strategy and continue its expansion across Europe. Mr Sanders has had a number of leadership roles in the aerospace
manufacturing industry, including periods as CEO of CompAir Inc and chairman of Gardner Aerospace. He succeeds Mike Baunton, who has been non-executive chairman of the group since 2016. He said: “Sertec is a great company with a strong leadership team and supportive investment partners. “Businesses across the world are facing significant challenges currently,
but Sertec’s ongoing investment in new technologies and European expansion means it is best placed to respond to future market demand. I look forward to working with the team to realise these ambitions.” Grant Adams said: “To have someone with the breadth and depth of
Nick’s experience brings a new dimension to our board and business as Sertec looks to the future. In recent years, we’ve expanded our customer base and extended our geographical reach. In 2016, Sertec secured a £20m funding package from BGF, Lloyds and Santander to support its growth ambitions.
prospect of job cuts caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Mr Coats said: “It is no great
surprise to see that every indicator for confidence among firms appears to have worsened over the last six months. “That said, it is heartening to see
that some companies are adapting to the situation by diversifying their processes and product ranges in all manner of innovative ways. “While the number of projects
we have supported has been maintained since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, demand has shifted from the larger SMEs towards micro businesses. “This has also led to a change in
the type of assistance. There is more demand for shorter-term marketing and product development projects and less for productivity and capacity building projects. “As the economy recovers, it will
be important to shift this pattern back, ensuring that support reaches larger SME manufacturers and delivers projects that rebuild capacity. The MGP is more important than ever in achieving this.”
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