Deputy Prime Minister announces north east jobs boost
The Deputy Prime Minister will announce the creation and safeguarding of 275 jobs in the north east thanks to the Regional Growth Fund.
He will make the announcement during a tour of the region, visiting aerospace company CAV Aerospace and bottling company Greencroft Bottling, who will both benefit from the government Regional Growth Fund (RGF) investment.
CAV Aerospace designs and builds aerostructures (such as ‘stringers’ - the thin strips of material that the skin of aircraft wings is attached to), ice protection systems and advanced green technologies for aircraft. The company will be investing £8.3 million and will receive £1.4 million of government money. The investment will create 78 jobs and safeguard 105. The combined investment is being used to purchase new manufacturing equipment allowing the company to maintain a competitive global advantage.
Greencroft Bottling, a state-of-the-art bottling facility in its 10th year, will receive £750,000 of government money and will create and safeguard 92 jobs. The Durham company has invested £3.2 million. The combined investment is being used to expand the company’s operations by installing a new bottling line, filling line and new IT systems.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:
“CAV Aerospace and Green Bottling are highly respected British companies using Regional Growth Fund cash to continue to expand their production and maintain their position as leaders in their fields. The investment will create and safeguard 275 private sector jobs - just what the country needs to help recover from the heart attack our economy suffered.
“The Regional Growth Fund is just part of the north east’s growth success story. Through the Newcastle City Deal we are helping to transform major parts of the city centre to allow Newcastle and the wider city region to unlock growth opportunities.
“There are more people in work today than there were before the financial crisis - we are close to record levels. There are more people in work today than ever before. Since 2010 we have helped to create over 1.3 million jobs in the private sector, including 37,000 here in the north east.”
Owen McFarlane, Chief Executive of CAV Aerospace commented:
“The RGF funds have enabled CAV to expand its new technology and product developments, helping to us to compete globally in the supply of safety critical components to the aerospace industry.
“The growth in CAV’s capabilities, capacity and IPR will help sustain and grow CAV’s position as a world leading tier one supplier to the global aerospace and defence market. The development of these leading edge technologies enabled by RGF is particularly important to helping CAV penetrate new market sectors for its operations in the north east of England.
“This capability will help provide long-term competitiveness in the markets, opening doors into both the European, far east and north American markets, whilst creating 78 jobs and retaining over 100 key skills in the region during the next 10 to 20 years.
Tony Cleary, Managing Director of Greencroft Bottling said:
“The RGF funding has given the comfort and confidence to bring forward our major expansion plans by 2 to 3 years.
“The project has brought a wide variety of jobs across the spectrum to an area that really needs them. The jobs created effectively repay the money to the public purse through taxes and reduced benefit costs within a year.
“When it’s done well it works. In fact do it again, and we will do it again.”
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg added:
“It is great to see so many proposals from companies that want money to move ahead and expand. As in previous rounds of the Regional Growth Fund, this is a competitive process and we will be analysing the proposals carefully before selecting the winning bids - ensuring we put money where it counts, to create or safeguard local jobs for the long-term.”
In the north east, the first 3 rounds of the Regional Growth Fund have awarded £235 million into 84 projects and programmes in the region, pulling in around £1.5 billion of private investment, creating and safeguarding over 30,000 jobs over ten years. These jobs are being delivered quicker than originally expected in the north east.
The 4th round of the fund, worth £350 million, recently closed with 31 proposals in the north east bidding for £215 million.
An announcement of selected projects will be made in the summer.
Notes to editors
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About the Regional Growth Fund. The Regional Growth Fund (RGF) supports projects and programmes that generate private sector investment to create economic growth and sustainable employment. The first three rounds conditionally offered £2.6 billion to bidders and will leverage over £13 billion of private sector investment – creating and safeguarding 500,000 gross jobs. Read more about the Deputy Prime Minister’s work on jobs and growth on Storify.
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The Aerospace Industrial Strategy. Government is investing £1 billion over seven years to secure the UK’s place as a global leader, second only to the United States. The funding will establish a UK Aerospace Technology Institute. Industry is investing a further £1 billion. Together, the UK can sustain its position at the forefront of global aerospace manufacturing by focusing on maintaining leadership in the four key, high-value and highly complex areas of modern aircraft - wings, engines, aerostructures and advanced systems.
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The Deputy Prime Minister launched the Aerospace Industrial Strategy earlier this year. The global demand for aircraft is forecast to be worth $4 trillion between now and 2030.
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CAV Aerospace will be using the investment to install a giant press spanning 42 metres to create stringers, in one piece, for larger aircraft wings. The project will also invest in research and development activities around preventing ice formation during flight - a serious safety issue for smaller aircraft - and products to reduce air drag and therefore fuel consumption.