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Overview: South West England is the largest and
most rural of the English regions, offering an excellent quality of life. Yet it
is also a dynamic and innovative business location, with a skilled and motivated
workforce that has labour costs below the UK average, cutting-edge research and
development facilities and an advanced supplier structure. Major centres include
Bath, Bournemouth, Bristol, Exeter, Gloucester, Plymouth, Swindon and Truro.
There are more than 1,500 non-UK owned companies in South West England, many of
which have established significant operations there, both on a European scale
and globally. A spirit of innovation, coupled with a leading-edge research
infrastructure means the region is capable of sustaining cutting-edge research
across many of the world’s most commercially important technologies.
“We get real benefits from
operating our business in South West England, from attracting excellent
employees to exporting effectively due to excellent transport links. It’s all
here in this beautiful area.”
Paul Ellis, chief executive, SIFAM Fibre Optics
Key sectors: advanced engineering (aerospace,
automotive, measuring instruments and medical devices), marine, defence and
supporting industries, electronic and electrical engineering; semiconductor
design, information and communication technology (ICT), telecommunications; food
and drink, biotechnology, biomedical, healthcare, pharmaceuticals; creative
industries, multimedia; environmental technologies; R&D, finance, insurance and
business services, call centres; printing and packaging, European headquarters,
agriculture, fishing, forestry and tourism.
R&D strengths:
healthcare, biotechnology, microbiology, pharmaceutical; aerospace, defence,
electronic engineering, robotics, marine; environmental, water technology;
optoelectronics, semiconductors, software, ICT, telecommunications; creative
technology, design.
Major investors include:
Aardman Animations, Agusta Westland, Airbus, Alcatel-Lucent, Alliance
Pharmaceuticals, American Express, Apertio, Arima Optoelectronics, Arval UK,
AstraZeneca, AXA, BAE Systems, BBC Natural History Unit, Becton Dickinson,
Bookham Technology, BMW Group, Borders, British Aerospace, Broadcom, Chase
Manhattan Bank, ClearSpeed, Cobham, Connexant (USA), Crydom Magnetics, Defence
Equipment and Support, DEK Printing Machines, Eden Project, Eltek
Semiconductors, Endemol West, Ericsson, Fred Olsen Ltd, Fugro Seacore, GW Pharma,
Gooch & Housego, Harwell Instruments, Hewlett-Packard, Honda, Hunter Yachts,
Indesit, Infineon Technologies, Intel, Intergraph, IPL, JP Morgan Chase, Lloyds
TSB, Logica, Meteorological Office, Motorola, Nallatech, Oceanlinx, Ocean Power
Technologies, Optoelectronic Manufacturing Corporation, Orange, Phihong Europe,
picoChip, Princess Yachts International, Quadrics, Qioptic, Tyco Electronics,
Rolls-Royce, Sabre Engines, Schlumberger Technologies, Servigistics, Siemens,
SIFAM Fibre Optics, STMicroelectronics, Sunseeker International, Swindon
Pressings, Symmetry Medical, Takao Europe, Teignbridge Propellers, Thales,
Toshiba Research Laboratories, Tripos Receptor Research, UK Hydrographic Office,
West Pharmaceuticals, WestWave, Woodward Diesel Systems, Wrigley’s, X-FAB
Semiconductor Foundries, Zarlink Semiconductor, Zurich Financial Services.
Grants: Cornwall is an
Objective 1 assisted area, while in and around Plymouth Selective Finance for
Investment (SFI) grants are available (see map on Grants Information).
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