Car component makers in the UK counties of Coventry and Warwickshire are now seeing the first signs of growth, after a year of economic uncertainty, the Coventry Evening Telegraph reported on its website.
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The newspaper cited a “rosier” forecast from Accelerate, a support organisation dedicated to promoting better practice and better prospects for firms in the engineering supply chain.
The paper said that Accelerate last year pumped £500,000 in to the sector to help Coventry and Warwickshire automotive suppliers compete in the global marketplace.
The suppliers are close to British car factories such as Peugeot, Jaguar, MG Rover, Land Rover, Aston Martin and Morgan.
The Coventry Evening Telegraph said the supply chain initiative, which has recently launched its Legal and Six Sigma Specialist Centres, helped more than 120 local companies to implement best practice production systems, buy machinery and access the latest technology and innovation.
Recent surveys show output is considerably higher than this time last year, the report added.
David Malpass, senior operations manager, told the paper: “2003 has been a further year of transformation for the automotive supply chain and, once again, Accelerate has showed its commitment to the sector by investing close on £500,000 over the last 12 months.”
“However, we are just one part of the overall equation and a lot of the credit must go to the management teams that have taken the financial and strategic assistance on offer and turned it into real tangible benefits for their businesses.”
Programme manager Rachel Eade reportedly said: “The impact is growing each year and 2003 has been privy to some major achievements, with automotive companies assisted in launching new products, achieving major technology transfers and working together to embrace class-leading processes for the first time in their history.”
“More recently, we have entered into partnership with MG Rover on a special affinity scheme to increases sales of British cars and linked-up with Birmingham Chamber of Commerce to provide cost-effective translation services.”
According to the Coventry Evening Telegraph, she added: “With 2004 promising to bring with it a new set of challenges and increased competition, we are again urging local businesses to tap into the host of specialist support available through Accelerate.”
