Business minister Michael Fallon praised the role of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) in aiding British business as West Midlands based Cab Automotive had its £1.6m funding confirmed today.
Cab Automotive, based in Tipton, was awarded RGF funding from Round 3 and is investing £8 million from its own pocket towards purchasing premises as well as investing in new machinery.
The funding will enable the specialist company to continue to supply its customers such as Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover and Toyota with quality seats and interior trim.
The funding has already safeguarded 198 jobs and allowed the firm to take on 20 new skilled staff.
Business minister Michael Fallon said:
“The Regional Growth Fund is helping to kickstart British business – especially manufacturing which is a real boon for jobs and growth in the West Midlands. Altogether RGF is investing £420 million into the region to help companies expand and create long-term employment.
“Cab Automotive is a great example of this. The RGF funding will secure long term employment and support the growth for UK based auto manufacturers that sell across the globe. This is in parallel to our forthcoming launched industrial strategy for the automotive sector. Success stories like this are happening up and down the country thanks to the Regional Growth Fund.”
Cabauto finance director, Richard McCulloch, said:
“The RGF grant has given the Company the confidence to invest in new plant and equipment which has already proven dividends with new orders of over £10 million. This is exactly what the fund is for and as an SME this gives us the springboard for sustainable growth and job creation.”
The West Midlands saw a strong showing and has been allocated £57m across 16 different projects and programmes which will create and safeguard 10,800 jobs from Round 4. This will leverage up to £460m of private sector investment to help rebalance the economy and drive growth.
