Labelled a star performer in manufacturing data, the West Midlands is fast reinventing its industrial self by combining tradition with the future. Russ Cockburn finds out how the region – famed for its revolutions – is starting another one.
Posts in category Regions
London & South East: Shifting Fo...
London has historically been a centre for manufacturing but a broad shift to a service-based economy – including financial services – over the past three decades has been made at the expense of manufacturing operations. Th is is reflected in the number of related jobs. In 1960, manufacturers in London employed 1.5 million people; there are now just over 120,000 manufacturing jobs in the capital. Julian Buckley reports.
The North East: On the Right Track
Despite recently losing its position as one of the few UK regions to be a net exporter of goods, the North East’s manufacturing sector continues to perform strongly.
The South West: High Flyers and Niche...
The South-West’s distance from the manufacturing heartlands of England is indisputable and has led to a distinctive character in the area’s manufacturing profile. More than 170,000 people in the region work in the aerospace and advanced engineering sector. Nuclear power runs Aerospace a fairly close second. By Ruari McCallion
East of England: See the East From a ...
Manufacturing firms in Suffolk and Norfolk are innovative and agile, business writer Huw Sayer reports.
Wales: Productivity Under Pressure
Manufacturing in Wales has weathered the economic slowdown and, thanks to developments such as the Welsh Tech Valleys project, is optimistic. But concerns prevail over productivity. reports Wyn Jenkins.
East Midlands: Inside Track
An established motorsport industry is at the core of the East Midlands’ advanced manufacturing clusters, including medical technology, pharmaceuticals agricultural robots – and Doc Martin’s shoes. By Charles Orton-Jones.
Yorkshire & Humberside: High Fly...
Boeing and McLaren dominated manufacturing headlines in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2017 – while calls for SMEs to adopt Industry 4.0 became increasingly urgent, steel saw a flurry of investment activity and a weak pound made life easier for exporters. David Walsh reports.
North West: Balanced Scorecard
The North-West region, with its two powerhouse centres of Manchester and Liverpool, continues to lead the way for UK manufacturing and is determined to build on its proud heritage. By Mark Venables
Northern Ireland: The Border Question
Brexit poses major questions for manufacturing, but nowhere is the challenge more severe than in Northern Ireland, the only part of the UK to share a land border with the EU. By Gerrard Cowan