Support link-up to help manufacturing firms through recession
Mar 23 2009 by Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post
Manufacturers in the West Midlands have been given a timely boost to help beat the credit crunch.
The Manufacturing Advisory Service – West Midlands (MAS-WM) has strengthened its relationship with Business Link by signing a new ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ and is promising to deliver even more in-depth assistance to the struggling sector.
As part of the new commitment, companies can expect to benefit from more advisers on the ground, greater access to specialist consultants and a series of joint events set to be hosted across the region.
MAS-WM’s Iain Robertson picked up the story: “We are both members of the West Midlands Taskforce set up by Advantage West Midlands and have been working together for some time, so it was a logical decision to sign a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ that focused on developing our partnership even further.
“Firms in this sector need to ensure they tap into as much support as possible and this needs to be both specialist manufacturing advice and more general business assistance that Business Link can help with.”
He continued: “This includes access to Select Supply, a 1,000-strong quality approved list of consultants and crucial information on accessing funding through www.businesslinkwm.co.uk.”
MAS-WM and Business Link West Midlands will be hosting the first joint event at the Metalforming Centre in West Bromwich on March 27.
The interactive workshop, titled ‘Beat the Odds and Secure Finance’, will feature a keynote address from Patricia Geraghty of Central England Business Angels on what manufacturers need to do to be ready to secure investment.
Areas for discussion include key business issues for the plan, mitigating risk, types of finance and presenting to the finance sector.
Gary Dimmock, Manufacturing Sector Director at Business Link West Midlands, added his support:
“The signing of the MOU is welcome news for the industry and will provide even greater help to companies, who are both struggling to get through the credit crunch and maybe still looking at making the most of new opportunities.
“MAS-WM will complement our general assistance perfectly through their specialist support programme and a team of 20 advisers, who between them have more than 90 years’ experience.”
He went on to add: “A lot of what we will be doing is communicating what is on offer so that firms know where to turn to for advice.
“They can start by ringing our ‘credit crunch’ hotline on 0845 002 0900 and then we will work with them to identify their exact requirements, which could well involve meetings with a number of advisers.”
MAS-WM has already helped over 5,000 companies improve manufacturing efficiencies, adding nearly £150million to the turnover of these businesses in the process.
It currently offers unique mix of in-depth support, including process improvement, strategic change, international marketing and new product development.
