The Government has approved £40m worth of public funding for the world class Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), to be built at Ansty Park research and development site outside Coventry.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has confirmed the capital expenditure which will be jointly funded by Advantage West Midlands and East Midlands Development Agency. The MTC has the backing of some of the UK’s major global manufacturers and will support UK manufacturing companies. In total, £130 million of public and private sector contributions will be invested in the centre over the next ten years.
Since Manufacturing Strategy: New Challenges, New Opportunities was published in September 2008, the Government has indicated its support for a transition to low carbon and a move to high tech high value-added manufacturing.
In a speech to leaders from across the manufacturing industry, Business Minister Pat McFadden set out the need for an investment in skills as well as new technologies and said that, for the sector to continue to grow and succeed, it needs to have people with the right skills in the right place at the right time.
McFadden said: “Britain has a great manufacturing future, not just a great manufacturing past. But the face of manufacturing here is changing and we need to embrace and support the numerous opportunities created as a result. That’s why we’re investing in centres like Ansty Park.”
