Government promotion of advanced UK manufacturing is to be congratulated, says the BFPA
Business Secretary Vince Cable has announced that Derby City Council is to receive £40 million for its programme bid under Round 2 of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF), supporting growth and sustainable employment in the area. The programme will provide funds to support local business investment. This is expected to create around 3000 new private sector jobs in the area in 2020, and develop local transport infrastructure. The Business Secretary has also announced £16.5 million of funding for the next low carbon automotive research and development challenge from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the Office of Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
In response to these announcements, British Fluid Power Association (BFPA) director Ian Morris commented: “This very positive news has coincided with a couple of other welcome developments; the opening by Vince Cable of MIRA Technology Park's new control centre at Nuneaton, Warwickshire, and his visit to Toyota in Burnaston, Derbyshire to celebrate the first new Auris model to roll off the production line. The UK has an enviable reputation in the spheres of high-tech manufacture and development, as well as carbon reduction technologies, and this status needs to be constantly nurtured and protected. Indeed, amid many mass-produced, low-tech goods that make their way to the West from foreign climes, our status as a ‘high-tech’ nation remains one of our core strength in terms of R&D, design and production. Additionally, the announcement of R&D funding for more environmentally friendly automotive/transportation technology will not only help to further incentivise and maintain a skilled workforce in the UK, it will also further bolster our reputation for pushing the ‘green’ envelope. The BFPA warmly welcomes these Government announcements.
About the British Fluid Power Association
The British Fluid Power Association (BFPA) represents hydraulic and pneumatic businesses commercially and technically throughout the UK. With some 220 distributors and manufacturers in membership the BFPA is a truly full-service trade association. In whatever section of the fluid power industry your interest lies – be it technical i.e. electrohydraulics, pneumatic controls, motion control, linear motion, accumulators, pumps and motors, valves, pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders, seals, hose & fittings, safety & training, or commercial such as overseas exhibitions, statistics, political lobbying or European directives and guidelines – the BFPA has something to offer.
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