Companies can now bid for a share of £100 million from a Government scheme to help them strengthen their domestic supply chains and help bring manufacturing back to the UK.
The funding will provide research and development support, skills training, investment capital and encourage major new suppliers to reshore in the UK.
It comes from the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI).
Five previous rounds of AMSCI funding have secured nearly half a billion pounds of public-private investment for 44 projects in the UK.
Business Secretary, Vince Cable said: “A strong manufacturing sector is vital to a balanced economic recovery, and I want to ensure that Britain’s supply chains are up to the task of supporting the sector in the long term.
“Our industrial strategy, which has given business the confidence to invest, is paying dividends in the reshoring we have seen so far. We will continue to support businesses to secure more highly skilled jobs and a stronger economy.”
Previous recipients of AMSCI funding have included technology for increasing the scale of 3D printing of metals and reshoring the manufacture of cats’ eyes from overseas to the UK.
It has also included the creation of a National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme led by the Aerospace Growth Partnership to address skills shortages and improve R&D collaboration in the aerospace sector.
The £35 million project aims to create nearly 5,000 jobs in the supply chain.
Terry Scuoler, Chief Executive at EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, said: “This is another welcome boost for British manufacturing, which will have a positive impact on the wider economy. Our own research shows that in the last three years, one in six companies have re-shored production back to the UK with many turning to a UK-based supply chain for parts and components. High value manufacturing creates jobs and wealth here so I’m delighted to see the Government getting behind it.”
Full details and information can be found on the AMSCI 2014 website.
The Manufacturer of the Year Awards.
Keen to celebrate the success of your own organisation and the contributions of your staff?
Enter TM’s annual awards scheme, The Manufacturer of the Year Awards.
The scheme celebrates the achievements of manufacturing businesses and individuals across 14 categories and crowns an overall victor for the Manufacturer of the Year Award title.
The awards are free to enter and the prize giving ceremony takes place on November 27 in Birmingham. 1,000 guests are expected to attend this event in 2014.
The deadline for entries to the 2014 Manufacturer of the year awards is July 31.
