Will Pope, chair elect of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), has called on manufacturers based in the region to help build a partnership for future prosperity.
After officially opening the new eastern area office for EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, at Pampisford, Cambridgeshire, Mr Pope said that dialogue between EEDA and business was essential in creating a high value economy.
“As a nation, we are not very good at celebrating our achievements in industry – yet in the east of England, our manufacturers lead the world in many high-value sectors and as a region we account for 25% of all R&D spend in the UK,” he said.
“We have enormous opportunities opening up in areas such as low carbon – but we need to build a stronger regional partnership between EEDA and manufacturing to push home this advantage. By working together, we can ensure that support is focused where it is needed and is of high quality.”
For EEDA, this support includes a newly enhanced manufacturing station on its Business Map – an online tool that helps companies access a wide range of business support and funding options.
David Seall, Region Director for EEF, said that manufacturing in the east of England was vital in a national context. “This region is home to world class companies and is an internationally-renowned region for R&D, and as such it is perfectly placed to maximise opportunities in a knowledge-based sectors.
“EEF is ready and able to play its part in helping to build the balanced economy that the UK needs going forward – an economy in which real engineering is at least as important as financial engineering.”
The purpose-built office will be a base for EEF member services, led by employment law and heath, safety and environment experts, as well as training and consultancy. In addition, EEF will be running monthly employment law surgeries, beginning at the Hethel Engineering Centre in Norwich and then rolling out to a number of additional locations across the rest of the region.
Caption: Will Pope (centre), EEDA Chair Elect, is pictured with David Seall, EEF Region Director, and EEF East of England Council Chair Andrea Rodney, Chief Executive, Hone-All Precision.
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