September 2006

News

Strong economic growth prompts surprise hike in interest rates
The UK economy grew at its fastest pace for two years in the second quarter of 2006, driven by robust growth in the service sector, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In a preliminary calculation of GDP, the ONS said that output expanded by 0.8 per cent between the beginning of April and the end of June compared with the previous quarter, and by 2.6 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier. The main driver of growth was the service sector, which accounts for about 74 per cent of the UK’s economy. It grew by about 1 per cent overall in the second quarter, with the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector recording a particularly strong performance, with growth of 1.2 per cent. Part of this was attributed to a ‘World Cup effect’, which saw increased spending by football fans in June and July.

Manufacturing output meanwhile rose in June to its highest level for two years, according to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS). The CIPS monthly index rose from 56.4 in May to 58.8 in June, its highest since July 2004. The index for new orders was also at its highest since July 2004, rising from 55.8 in May to 57.7 in June, fuelled by rising domestic demand.

With three successive quarters of above-trend growth, inflation rose to 2.5 per cent in June. This was significantly higher than the government’s target of 2 per cent and, with fears that rising costs for energy and raw materials might push prices higher, prompted the Bank of England to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point in August, from 4.5 per cent to 4.75 per cent. The surprise move was the first change in borrowing costs in 11 months and the first rise in two years. Its immediate effect was to knock 1 per cent off the value of UK-listed shares and to send the pound soaring against the dollar.

Economists described the move as a “precautionary” measure. It comes against a background of rising interest rates worldwide: earlier the same week, Australia raised its rates to 6 per cent, while in the US, the Federal Reserve has raised its rates on 17 consecutive occasions to the current 5.25 per cent. Even in Japan, where interest rates have been close to zero, July saw the central bank make its first increase in six years. UK business organisations expressed disappointment at the Bank of England’s decision but Richard Lambert, director general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said he hoped the rise would “remove the risk of a more significant increase later in the year”.


Approval for new EU development funding
The European Parliament has given the go-ahead for the Structural Funds package for 2007-2013. The Structural Funds comprise the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Grouping of Territorial Co-operation (EGTC). They have a budget of around $400 million, or a third of the total European Union budget.

The main aim of the funds is to support economic growth and competitiveness, create jobs and encourage cross-border cooperation. They can also be used for research and, during the current programming period (2000-2006), some $14 billion was spent on research, development and innovation, mostly through the ERDF. In the coming round, research and innovation are again listed as priority areas for ERDF investment, along with the environment, risk prevention and infrastructure in least developed regions. The new programming period begins on 1 January 2007.

The UK government has published a draft map of assisted areas where companies will be eligible for regional aid in future. The current map has been in force for seven years and under EU rules expires on 1 January 2007. The government has based the new map on areas which will have the greatest impact on promoting growth, productivity, skills and jobs. Three disadvantaged areas qualify automatically: Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, West Wales and the Valleys and the Scottish Highlands and Islands. The whole of Northern Ireland will continue as an assisted area.

However, the percentage of the UK population covered by regional aid will fall from 30.9 per cent to 23.9 per cent, partly because of the UK’s strong economic performance and partly because aid has been redistributed to the poorer areas of Europe following its enlargement. All western European members of the EU will see their coverage fall, some by far more than the UK: in France, for example, coverage will be reduced from 36.7 per cent to 18.4 per cent and in Ireland from 100 per cent to 50 per cent.


RDAs outperform annual investment targets
The UK’s Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in most cases met or exceeded their targets for investment and job creation in the 2005/06 financial year, according to their annual reports. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) measures the performance of RDAs against five key criteria – providing employment opportunities, boosting business performance, creating learning opportunities, regenerating brownfield land and attracting private sector investment into deprived areas.

The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), for example, created 4,240 new jobs and attracted 2,027 new businesses to the region. It attracted $496 million in investment to regenerate deprived areas, 21 per cent of it from the private sector, and regenerated 250 acres of brownfield land. The South West England Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) meanwhile attracted 198 new businesses to its region and created 6,301 new jobs. It attracted $412 million in investment, 71 per cent from the private sector, and regenerated 232 acres of brownfield land.

For the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), the figures were 2,770 businesses, 15,738 new jobs, $718 million in investment (61 per cent from the private sector) and 808 acres of land. One NorthEast exceeded its targets with 3,410 businesses, 16,004 new jobs, $207 million in investment and 341 acres of land. Yorkshire Forward returned figures of 1,007 businesses attracted, 23,810 jobs created or safeguarded, $403 million in investment (the vast majority of it from the private sector) and 289 acres of land.

For the East Midlands Development Agency (emda), the figures were 2,208 businesses, 8,193 new jobs, $167 million in investment (89 per cent from the private sector) and 264 acres of land. Within the region, Invest Leicestershire reported a successful year. Among other achievements, it helped 10 foreign-owned companies to relocate or expand within the county. These included international marketing company AKA Marketing, German-owned vehicle racking and storage manufacturer Bott Ltd and the State Bank of India.

Advantage West Midlands helped to attract 36 investments by foreign companies over the course of the year. A total of 4,418 new jobs were created as a result of inward investment and a further 8,365 safeguarded. Among successful projects assisted by the agency were an expansion by UPS Ltd in Warwickshire, which created 400 jobs; the expansion of automotive supply chain manufacturer Reiter in North Staffordshire; and the creation of 85 jobs by Fujitsu Telecommunications in Solihull. In all, the West Midlands is home to around 2,300 foreign-owned enterprises employing more than 250,000 people – 10 per cent of the region’s workforce.


Financial services companies target London
The value of assets invested in UK-managed funds has increased for the third year running, up 7 per cent to $6,555 billion at the end of 2005, according to a report from research and publishing group International Financial Services London (IFSL). The value of assets invested in City of London hedge funds increased by more than 25 per cent to $703 billion, while funds managed on behalf of overseas clients totalled around $1,444 billion, or almost a quarter of the total. Across all types of funds, the UK is the world’s third biggest market for fund management after the US and Japan, and by far the biggest in Europe.

Bear Stearns, the leading global investment banking, securities trading and brokerage firm, is to move its European headquarters to a new building in the Canary Wharf financial district of London to accommodate its growing workforce. The company already has offices in Canary Wharf; work on the new building, at 5 Churchill Place, is under way, with occupancy scheduled for mid-2009. The number of staff employed by Bear Stearns has risen by 58 per cent over the past three years, from fewer than 700 in 2003 to more than 1,000 in July 2006. Extra staff have been recruited to strengthen teams covering structured equity products, European equities, credit derivatives, foreign exchange and hedge funds.

US financial services consultancy and technology provider Lab49 has opened a European office in London to cater for the expanding European market and the transatlantic needs of its US clients. The company specialises in high-performance applications used by banks and other financial institutions to manage the increasing complexity of their operations. London was the obvious choice for a European office, owing to the size of its financial services sector, according to the company. It cites grid computing and its application to real-time risk applications as one example of a technology that is evolving rapidly in London and one that its consultants are currently implementing.


Ford goes green as Nanjing revives MG brand
US-owned car giant Ford – the UK’s leading car company – is to invest nearly $1.9 billion in new facilities to develop environmentally friendly vehicles for its Ford, Jaguar, Volvo and Land Rover brands. In the largest commitment ever to the environment by a car manufacturer in the UK, the company will invest in petrol and diesel engines, plus newer technologies such as biofuels from plants and hybrid electric vehicles. The 9,500 engineers employed at the company’s R&D centres in the UK will work with others in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe to develop over 100 models and derivatives that offer improved emissions or fuel economy performance. These will include, for example, a Ford Focus saloon – the UK’s best-selling car – capable of 70 miles to the gallon, with reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

A bio-ethanol powered Ford Focus Coupe-Cabriolet concept

Ford will focus on developing a number of key technology areas: a new generation of lightweight aluminium vehicles; direct injection gasoline and advanced diesel engines and new transmissions; hybrid electric systems, tailored for different markets; alternative fuels capability; and a range of vehicle efficiency improvements and technologies to improve driver behaviour. “Climate change is one of the greatest single challenges facing the auto industry and society today. A broad business strategy that serves all our brands is the only way we can achieve the level of improvement in emissions and fuel economy required,” said Lewis Booth, chairman and CEO of Ford Europe and the Premier Automotive Group (PAG).

Chinese car-maker Nanjing Automobile meanwhile has pledged to restart production of the MG TF sports car at Longbridge in Birmingham, West Midlands, following its acquisition last year of the collapsed MG Rover car firm. Nanjing Auto has made an initial investment of $19 million at the site, on which it has taken a 33-year lease, and hopes to expand the workforce from its current 80 to around 1,000 once production is under way. It will assemble around 15,000 cars a year for the UK and European markets from component kits supplied by a new factory currently being built in China. Nanjing Auto also plans to re-establish an R&D centre at Longbridge to focus on new models. It has recently put MG under the control of a new US joint venture partner, as it aims to become the first Chinese firm to assemble cars in both Europe and the US.

French automotive components firm Valeo is expanding its UK operations with the opening of a new $2 million facility in Washington, Tyne and Wear. Valeo Cooling Systems Ltd will create up to 60 new jobs when it opens at the new 194 Commerce Business Park. The facility is located close to Nissan’s car plant in Sunderland and will manufacture front-end parts for Nissan’s new 4x4 model, the P32L, which goes into production in December this year.

The Nissan plant has been the most productive in Europe for the past seven years and the area is also home to leading automotive companies such as Calsonic Kansei, TRW, Hashimoto, Gestamp UK and Faurecia. Some 12,000 people locally are employed in the automotive sector. “Tyne and Wear has a strong automotive industry and supply chain, allied to an excellent tradition in manufacturing. With the skills base and support available, it was the obvious choice for our new plant,” said Arnaud Brunetiere, Valeo’s facility manager. The investment was supported by local development agencies with $437,000 in assistance.


New research initiatives for high-tech sectors
The DTI has announced new investment of $30 million to support a national programme aimed at ensuring the safe operation of unmanned aviation vehicles (UAVs) in civil airspace. The ASTRAEA (Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation and Assessment) programme is a highly collaborative initiative that will help both regions and individual companies to strengthen their aerospace expertise in UAV development and operation. Unmanned craft have the potential to revolutionise police, fire service and coastal surveillance, power and pipeline inspections and mobile phone and broadband services, all of which rely currently on manned vehicles. In future, such tasks could be undertaken by UAVs equipped with technology to sense and avoid other objects. The ASTRAEA consortium is made up of a number of different partners, including several universities, specialist SMEs and major companies such as BAE Systems, EADS UK, QinetiQ, Rolls-Royce and Thales UK. Further funding has been provided by a number of RDAs.

Autonomous research technology at Bristol Robotics Laboratory with representatives from South West RDA; Rolls-Royce, Bristol; University of the West of England; Cobham Air Refuelling, Wimborne; Thales UK, Wells and University of Bath

In another cutting-edge area of research, the government has provided a further $2 million of funding for the construction and testing of a prototype particle accelerator at the Daresbury Laboratory in Cheshire, North West England. The Energy Recovery Linac Prototype (ERLP) forms a vital part of plans to develop 4GLS (fourth-generation light source) technology, which will be used to enable groundbreaking research in areas such as nanotechnology and pharmaceuticals. 4GLS will produce short pulses of light over a trillion times brighter than a domestic lightbulb, and will allow the study of molecules that move too fast for conventional light sources. Researchers will be able to follow chemical reactions as they happen, look at potential drug molecules as they interact with cells and examine the spin of electrons. The Daresbury installation is currently the leading energy recovery proposal in Europe and the most advanced in the world in terms of multi-user capability.

A new $19 million centre of excellence for stem cell research is to open at the University of Cambridge in Eastern England in December 2006. The Wellcome Trust Centre for Stem Cell Research will be an international centre specialising in ‘fundamental’ research into stem cells. This focuses on the genetic and biochemical mechanisms that control how stem cells develop into particular types of cell, and provides a foundation for engineering cells to model particular diseases, drug discovery and regenerative medicine. This announcement follows a recent decision by European science ministers to continue funding for embryonic stem cell research within the EU’s expanded science budget. EU member countries will be left free to decide individually how they invest. UK scientists have already established a strong lead in this promising area of research, which in the US has been starved of funding.

A European Centre for Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) technologies is to be set up in Halifax in Yorkshire. AIDC technology is used in supply chain management and is set to revolutionise the industry in the same way that barcode technology revolutionised retailing, according to RDA Yorkshire Forward. AIDC technologies include barcodes, biometrics, magnetic strips, smart cards and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). RFID is already being used for tracing and tracking in a range of industries, including transport, logistics and coastal fishing, along with security and access control, animal identification, libraries, healthcare and pharmaceuticals. The RDA is investing more than $10 million in the centre, with additional funding coming from the DTI, the European Regional Development Fund and AIM UK. A Centre for Smartmedia and e-inclusion will also be opened in Sheffield, taking advantage of the expertise in smart technology pioneered by Sheffield City Council, which is a European leader in this area.

Yorkshire Forward is also setting up a Centre of Food Robotics and Automation to help the region’s food and drink producers remain competitive and sustainable. The centre will focus on intelligent and advanced food automation, providing advice and training for companies and their staff, along with technical skills and research for the sector as a whole. It will also promote links between industry and academia. Due to go into operation this autumn, it will be developed and managed by a consortium led by the University of Salford in partnership with the Food Chain Centre of Industrial Collaboration, based at the University of Leeds. Recently Yorkshire and Humber-based food and drink producers won 63 medals between them at the national Great Taste Awards, a scheme recognised as the ‘Oscars’ of the food industry. Competing under the banner of ‘Deliciouslyorkshire’, members of the Regional Food Group won accolades for products ranging from organic bread and meat pies to dressings and cakes and puddings.

A delegation of online games developers from South Korea visited the UK in August under the auspices of KOTEF, the UK Trade & Investment Korea Industrial Technology Foundation. South Korea is a world leader in online gaming, and its companies are keen to explore opportunities in the UK, which is Europe’s largest and most established video games market and the third largest in the world. Online gaming is gaining momentum in the UK with the spread of broadband, take-up of which is growing at the rate of 50,000 new subscribers a week. The UK is also a centre of development for the games industry, with many top-selling titles being developed here. One of the Korean companies making up the delegation was Nexon, which is looking to set up a UK subsidiary. Its compatriot Webzen has already entered into a partnership with Scottish company Real Time World to develop an online version of the hugely popular console game Grand Theft Auto.


Business park developments provide huge choice of accommodation
Work has begun on Earls Gate Park at Grangemouth, a 30-acre development that is planned to become one of Scotland’s most advanced and integrated specialist industrial parks for chemical, technology and manufacturing companies. The $95 million project, a joint development between Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley and international chemical company KemFine, will provide accommodation for up to 20 businesses. The first phase of infrastructure work is expected to be completed by October, allowing construction to begin. Utilities available to tenants will include KemFine’s advanced effluent treatment plant and combined heat and power station; there will also be easy access to the site via motorway, rail and sea.

A $34 million ICT (information and communication technologies) venture designed to stimulate and nurture entrepreneurial talent has opened in Manchester, North West England. One Central Park is the UK’s first large-scale urban ICT business park and will deliver cutting-edge R&D facilities in a purpose-built complex. It will support high-tech enterprises to establish and grow their businesses by supplying them with business space, incubation and mentoring. It will also provide access to expertise from three of the region’s top universities, which are backing the project: the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and Salford University. The innovative new facility has already prompted global IT giant Fujitsu to relocate 900 of its staff to new offices in the park.

The North West Development Agency (NWDA), which has provided funding for One Central Park, has also provided an $11 million boost for the Widnes Waterfront Economic Development Zone, which aims to bring some 198 acres of derelict land back into productive use over the next six years. The former industrial area near Manchester will enjoy a new lease of life with the development of more than 1.1 million sq ft of commercial and light industrial space in a waterfront setting. The project is expected to attract a further $133 million in investment and to create 2,700 new jobs, transforming the area into a commercial and tourism development of regional significance.

Also in the North West, work has started on Alchemy, a major new business park in Knowsley, Merseyside. The speculative scheme will comprise 97,070 sq ft of industrial space on a 25-acre site fronting the A580 East Lancashire Road. It will feature six blocks offering ten units, with accommodation ranging in size from 6,754 sq ft up to 21,254 sq ft.

In the North East, a new business park has opened at Seaham in County Durham. Spectrum Business Park has been developed on the 34-acre site of the former Dawdon Colliery, under the National Coalfields Programme, a regeneration scheme for brownfield land administered by English Partnerships. Several plots have been developed at the site and a number of units have been let to leading national and international companies, including Transmark Fcx Ltd, a distributor of valves for the oil and gas industries, and fire detection and alarm equipment manufacturer Kidde Products Ltd, owned by US giant UTC.

A number of businesses have also moved into new premises on the Park Springs Business Park at Grimethorpe, near Barnsley in South Yorkshire. These include a major employer which will start building work later this year. The first phase will be a 450,000 sq ft unit that will provide 450 new jobs; later phases will extend the development to over 1 million sq ft of offices and industrial space, with the potential for a further 1,000 jobs.

Work has started on the $29 million first phase development of Longbridge Technology Park at Birmingham in the West Midlands. This is the first stage of a long-term plan to redevelop hundreds of acres of the former MG Rover car factory; work on the first phase is expected to be complete by April 2007. It will include the Innovation Centre, a 45,000 sq ft building that will provide accommodation for new and growing technology businesses, and a second building of 35,000 sq ft that will supply grow-on space for companies requiring accommodation of 4,000 sq ft or more.

Another Innovation Centre has opened in Hastings, East Sussex in South East England. This purpose-built managed business centre is designed to accommodate 70 companies from the manufacturing, technology and professional services sectors. It provides 17,200 sq ft of office and studio space and 8,225 sq ft of workshops on a 43,000 sq ft site. Elsewhere on the south coast, the Adur Business Centre has opened on the waterfront at Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. Supported by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and Incubation South East, it provides managed office space for start-up companies, offered on flexible licenses that provide workspace on a monthly basis.


Academia sharpens up its business skills
Although the number of spin-out companies being set up by UK universities in 2003-04 fell for the third year running, deals by universities to license their academics’ inventions and discoveries to industry surged by almost 200 per cent, according to a report for the DTI from the Higher Education Funding Council of England. According to the report’s authors, this indicates that UK universities are becoming more business-savvy and more like their US counterparts, producing fewer companies per research dollar but securing more lucrative licensing deals for their innovations and technology. University start-ups fell by 15 per cent from 197 in 2002-03 to 167 in 2003-04, but the number of licensing agreements jumped by 198 per cent to 2,256. In total, licensing deals, contract research, consultancy income and other activities contributed about $3.8 billion to the UK economy in 2003-04.

The government has set out detailed plans for a significant reform of the education system for 14- to 19-year-olds. New diploma qualifications will greatly extend the choice of subjects available for study, and will include topics such as robotics, aerospace engineering, electrical installation, graphic design, nutrition and health, and computer programming. Diplomas will be available from 2008 in five subjects: construction and the built environment; IT; creative and media; health and social care; and engineering. The new, specialised qualifications are designed to combine academic and applied learning, offering students a new way to learn and providing employers and higher education institutions with the knowledge, skills and capabilities they require to be competitive.


Ministers set out long-term vision for renewable energy sector
The government has concluded its Energy Review with a set of proposals designed to reduce the demand for energy, to secure a mix of clean, low-carbon energy sources and to streamline the planning process for energy projects. With North Sea oil and gas production declining, the proposals set out a framework for the energy market over the coming 30-40 years. As well as saving energy, Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling stressed the need to substantially increase the proportion of electricity generated from renewable sources. He also raised the possibility of a new generation of nuclear power stations, which would cut carbon emissions and reduce the UK’s future reliance on imported energy. The planning system will be streamlined for energy companies seeking to build gas storage facilities, wind farms and other large installations. Mr Darling said the current proposals would result in the UK reducing its carbon emissions by some 19-25 million tonnes by 2020; the aim by 2050 is to cut current levels of emissions by 60 per cent.

Renewable energy schemes currently under way include a new energy park in Methil, Fife in Scotland, which is expected to become a hub for businesses active in the sector. Firms will be accommodated in industrial areas on a former brownfield site that will range in size from two to 25 acres. The site has a large amount of quayside accommodation and also has good links to major roads and to Edinburgh Airport. A number of renewables firms are already located in the Methil area, while Scotland as a whole is committed to generating 40 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

At the other end of the British Isles, plans for an ambitious marine energy project in Cornwall have moved forward with the approval of $9 million in funding from the DTI’s Marine Renewables Deployment Fund. The Wave Hub scheme involves a deep-sea electricity ‘socket’ that will be located 10 miles off the Cornish coast and which will act as a giant extension cable connecting up to four innovative wave energy devices to the national grid. The project, which is subject to planning consent and which involves a total cost of $38 million, will be connected via an underwater cable that will come ashore at Hayle, Cornwall. “As an island nation, the UK has an invaluable resource in terms of marine energy, and we are leading the world in developing the infrastructure to harness the power of the seas,” said Energy Minister Malcolm Wicks.

Wave Hub: Ocean Prospect Pelamis

Rail freight traffic volumes hit new high
Demand for rail freight services has risen sharply over the past year, driven largely by increased imports of coal, oil and shipping containers, according to the Office of Rail Regulation. Freight net tonne kilometres (the weight of traffic multiplied by the distance travelled) rose by 5.5 per cent over the year to June to 22.3 billion, its highest level since the 1970s. Rail is in a strong position to compete with trucks when cargo is imported in large quantities at ports, according to the regulator, which also reported a 2.2 per cent rise in rail passenger journeys.

Provisional statistics from the Department for Transport meanwhile show that road traffic in the UK increased by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2006, compared with the same quarter in 2005. Volumes of car traffic were virtually unchanged but light van traffic rose by 4 per cent and goods vehicle traffic was 2 per cent higher. Motorway traffic also increased by 2 per cent, while traffic on urban roads fell by the same proportion.
 

Regional News Think London meeting in Los Angeles; L-R: Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London; Diana Torres, VP North America Think London; Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London

Californian companies looking to expand overseas are increasingly turning to London as a base for their European operations, according to research carried out by the capital’s inward investment agency, Think London.

The number of Californian companies assisted by the agency rose to 13 in 2005, an increase of 63 per cent. The US is the largest source of foreign direct investment into London, with California-based companies accounting for over one-third of all US investment. “London is the best entry point for companies looking to service the European, Middle East and African markets,” said Michael Charlton, Think London’s chief executive. The agency plans to open an office in California within the next year to assist more companies thinking of expanding overseas.

Cognia Corporation, a New York-based developer and distributor of information solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, is to expand its presence in the UK, adding 50 staff to its workforce by the end of the year. The company first expanded into the UK in early 2005 when it agreed a three-year contract with the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, with ten of its employees working on-site. The programme has so far exceeded Cognia’s expectations that it has tripled its operations in Scotland and has set up a European HQ in South Gyle. The operation is largely concerned with ‘text mining’ – analysing large quantities of data to extract valuable information – an area in which Scotland has a particularly strong reputation. Cognia plans to continue its growth in the UK with the addition of a corporate service office in Cambridge, Eastern England which, with its cluster of 125 biotech companies, represents one of its most lucrative markets.

The East Midlands Development Agency (emda) has approved funding for two new projects that will help regenerate areas of Derbyshire and boost the local economy. The Roundhouse is a $55 million scheme in the centre of Derby which will create a new city centre campus for Derby College. emda has approved a total of $9 million in funding for the new facility, which will focus on construction, IT and manufacturing. The Business Innovation Centre in Westthorpe in north-east Derbyshire, meanwhile, is a $6 million scheme that will act as an incubation centre for small and medium-sized businesses. The development, which will also feature meeting rooms and conference facilities, will be built on brownfield land on a former coalfield site.

Yorkshire Forward has invested $12 million to build a ‘Factory of the Future’ as part of the second phase of development of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing located at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Waverley, Rotherham. The facility will contribute to the pioneering work of the region’s advanced engineering and materials sector, and is expected to be of especial interest to regional companies in the aerospace, automotive and medical sectors. It is also expected to attract investment from around the globe. ICT and ‘virtual’ manufacturing will be key components of the new factory, as well as alternative manufacturing methods such as additive manufacturing processes, which grow three-dimensional parts, reducing material waste and adding to design flexibility.

Semiconductor manufacturer International Rectifier (IR) is planning to expand its operations in Newport, South Wales. It is investing a further $189 million, which will be supported by a grant of $15 million from the Welsh Assembly Government, to create more than 200 highly skilled jobs by 2010. US-based IR is a world leader in microprocessors, with its power-saving chips used worldwide in telecommunications, satellites, cars, aircraft and home appliances. It has plants in Turin, China and Mumbai and other UK sites in Swansea, Leominster and Surrey. It describes the Newport site, however, as one of its most advanced globally and of great importance to the future growth of its business.

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