Stephens Gaskets

Four West Midlands areas in top ten for economic growth

stephensgaskets — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 09:43:00 +0000

RESEARCH by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young has revealed that four towns and areas in the West Midlands are in the top ten in the country in terms of economic growth.

The figures for growth in gross value added (GVA) in the year to the end of 2013 show Stoke-on-Trent in fourth place with a 21.4% increase with Walsall one place behind with a 19.9% rise.

Wolverhampton is in eight place with an 18.7% increase whilst Worcestershire is in tenth with a 17.7% rise.

West Midlands sees best inward investment performance in a decade

stephensgaskets — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 11:07:50 +0000

THE West Midlands recorded 65 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 2014 – the largest number secured in a decade.

The figure represents an increase of 38% on 2013 figures.

According to accountancy and advisory firm EY’s annual UK Attractiveness Survey, the West Midlands is the fourth best performing area of the UK in the attraction of FDI – securing 7.3% of UK projects, compared to 5.8% the previous year.

Birmingham was ranked the third most successful UK city outside of London for the attraction of FDI in 2014, with 15 projects secured in the city. In 2013 it was was placed sixth with 11 projects.

Coventry makes the top ten cities list in 2014, ranking in seventh place. It didn’t feature in the top ten the previous year.

Strong export figures reported in West Midlands

stephensgaskets — Tue, 26 May 2015 10:55:41 +0000

Firms in the West Midlands are making a strong contribution to increasing export orders in the UK, new figures have revealed.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has issued its Quarterly International Trade Outlook ahead of UK Trade & Investment’s (UKTI) Export Week between May 18 and May 22.

The survey, which has been running since 2006, speaks to more than 2,000 businesses and the latest figures reveal that 46 per cent of manufacturers have reported increased overseas orders in the first three months of this year. In the service sector, that figure remained steady at 33 per cent.

The Future of Automotive: Is reshoring the way ahead?

stephensgaskets — Tue, 26 May 2015 10:39:41 +0000

A COMPLEX mix of positive factors is combining to keep manufacturing in the UK, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult has said.

The HVM said the recent bull-run in manufacturing in Britain was partly due to the decision by big companies to stay in Britain rather than move overseas, bucking the trend of previous decades.

It said the effect of retaining production in the UK was arguably more important than the effect of reshoring, where production returns to the UK from abroad.

West Midlands businesses honoured in latest Queen’s Awards

stephensgaskets — Mon, 11 May 2015 08:31:21 +0000

BUSINESSES across the West Midlands have been recognised for their contribution to British industry in the Queen’s Awards for 2015.

A Coventry engineering firm which exports 80% of its UK-manufactured products, Jaguar Land Rover, Coventry University, a Birmingham healthcare firm and The Midcounties Co-operative have all been recognised in the awards, which have been announced today.

Coventry-based T A Savery & Co, which trades as energy absorption specialist Oleo International and hydraulic solutions provider Savery Hydraulics, has won the Queen’s Award for International Trade.

UK manufacturing stabilises, says survey

stephensgaskets — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 10:33:35 +0000

Activity in the UK manufacturing sector remained broadly steady in March, according to the CBI’s latest Industrial Trends Survey. Output has been growing at a decent pace since last August, and despite easing slightly from the previous month, remained above average in March. There were 32 per cent of firms that said the volume of output over the past three months was up, while 22 per cent said it was down.

Manufacturers also expected to ramp up production in the next three months, with 34 per cent of businesses predicting output to grow in the coming quarter, while 12 per cent thought it would decline.

West Midlands is UK’s leading employment hotspot

stephensgaskets — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 09:47:33 +0000

THE West Midlands has continued to be the UK’s employment hotspot with latest figures showing the region leading the way in terms of job creation.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics show the region recorded a 32,000 fall in its jobless total during the October to December 2014 quarter.

The fall, equivalent to a 1.2% decline in the unemployment rate, is way ahead of the UK average – which showed a fall of just 0.3% in the same period.

The region now has 169,000 people classed as unemployed – a rate of 6.1%. Nationally, the UK total declined 97,000 to 1.86m – a rate of 5.7%.

Exports boost UK manufacturing in January as factories cut prices – PMI

stephensgaskets — Thu, 05 Feb 2015 11:19:58 +0000

British manufacturing grew slightly faster in January thanks in part to a modest recovery in export orders, and trimmed prices as raw material costs fell at their quickest rate since May 2009, a survey showed on Monday.

Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 53.0 from an upwardly revised 52.7 in December, beating a Reuters poll forecast for 52.6 and holding comfortably above the 50 mark that signals growth.

Overall, the survey suggested British factories will provide a modest contribution to Britain’s economic recovery, but that consumers and the much larger services sector will be a more powerful driver of the upturn.

West Midlands engineers aim to cut in half the weight of exhaust systems

stephensgaskets — Wed, 21 Jan 2015 12:57:17 +0000

Engineers in the West Midlands have started a groundbreaking project designed to reduce the weight of car exhausts.

Experts from JSE-UK, Unipart Eberspächer and Coventry University – in conjunction with a local high-performance vehicle manufacturer – plan to design and make exhaust systems weighing just 20 kilos through an intense six-month project.

West Midlands manufacturing ‘key’ for General Election

stephensgaskets — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 10:26:26 +0000

The deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and shadow chancellor Ed Balls visited manufacturing companies in the West Midlands on Thursday.

One high-tech engineering business doing well in the current climate is Penso, in Coventry, where carbon fibre components for cars are made.

The firm is expanding and plans to create 60 new jobs.

BBC Midlands Today’s Peter Plisner reports that with the General Election four months away, jobs and the economy are expected to play a key role in forthcoming political campaigns.