A BID to create a bigger voice for the manufacturing industry in the North East has been launched by one of the sector's most respected champions.
Geoff Ford MBE is rolling out the South Tyneside Manufacturing Forum (STMF) he launched five years ago to win members from across Tyneside, Wearside and County Durham.
He hopes to help launch similar forums across the region to enable manufacturing companies to work together to tackle issues affecting the industry and fight to lobby the Government to help companies grow.
The STMF chairman said: “We have to work together to help the manufacturing industry because it doesn’t seem any of the political parties are interested.
“The Labour Party knows it will always retain most of the seats in the North East in the next election so it is not going to do anything and the other parties know that they will never win many seats so they don’t see the point of doing anything. We are left to help ourselves.” The STMF, which currently has around 100 active members, organises regular events to inform members of developments in the industry, works with schools and colleges and organisations including skills body Semta to get young people into the industry.
It also has a list of companies, which it audits, who can provide services to its members at heavily discounted rates and brings high-profile speakers including recently the Bank of England’s chief economist Spencer Dale.
The organisation works closely with South Tyneside Council on schemes including financing one of every two new apprenticeships created by companies in the area.
“We want to work to help companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, get the best advantage they can and this will benefit the wider economy. We hope to encourage more members from outside the borough and help them set up forums.
“Manufacturing is the original creator of wealth particularly in the North East and it is being pushed out by the Government. There is a lot of rhetoric and we want to see real action. We want to be a stronger voice for manufacturing in the region.”
He wants to give more backing to calls to help the sector on issues including the qualifications needed for engineering diplomas, the level of tax allowances on capital business investments and increasing funding for the Local Enterprise Partnerships.
He is also looking to improve the image of manufacturing with young people so they are more attracted to join the industry and work more closely with the region’s industrial powerhouses such as Nissan.
Ford trained as an accountant before joining his family’s firm. In 1975 he became managing director launching a brand of laminate shim stock product which is now a global success. In 1985 he became chairman of the family business and after buying out the assets of competitors in 1992 and 2002 was at the helm of a business with a turnover in excess of £8m.
