Opinion: Improving prospects for manufacturers

Will Campbell, partner in the Blackburn office of accountants and business advisors Beever and Struthers, backs research showing improving prospects for manufacturers in Lancashire and the North West.

But this ‘good news’ for UK plc can’t detract from the underlying fact that the performance and prospects of manufacturing in Lancashire and the wider region continue to be patchy and inconsistent.

The performance of the sector is hugely important because it a priority for the North West economy and a significant driver of growth for the region, worth an estimated £20bn and accounting for in excess of 400,000 jobs.

About 20 per cent of the funding to date from the North West Fund has been into businesses with a manufacturing element, which not only supports those specific businesses but the crucial supply chain that feeds them.

Lancashire and The North West is responding to these challenges. In key sectors such as advanced manufacturing, aerospace, chemicals, automotive, pharmaceuticals, materials there are world-class businesses which are profitable, innovative and internationally competitive. The success of these high growth achievers is reflected by ongoing inward investment in manufacturing, which over the decade of 2003-2013 saw the North West exceed the UK average.