Huddersfield factory gears up for green growth
Nick Clegg and Vince Cable announce £4.8 million of Regional Growth Funding for local businesses.
Huddersfield business David Brown Gear Systems has successfully secured £4.8 million of private sector and government funding from the Regional Growth Fund, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Business Secretary Vince Cable announced during a visit to the business today.
The funding will help create around 80 new jobs at the David Brown factory thanks to the funding programme which sees government and the private sector working together to boost regional growth.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Business Secretary visited the factory today to sign the legal contracts that will deliver the money. This follows a period of strict checks by the company and the government to ensure the deal offers the best value for money for taxpayers.
The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said:
“Not only is it great to be announcing new jobs here in Huddersfield today, but it’s fantastic that David Brown is using the Regional Growth Fund to scale its operations up and out into the new and growing ‘green’ market.
“Creating jobs and growth is our number one priority for Britain right now.
“But it’s not enough just to get us back to where we were. There can be no forgotten areas of Britain. We need to rebalance the economy by supporting growth in every region and across a range of industries. That’s what the Regional Growth Fund is all about.”
Innovative manufacturing
David Brown Gear Systems, which is a leading manufacturer of gear systems including those for submarines and trains, will use the funding to extend its reach into the renewable energy market, stepping up production of special gears for wind turbines by creating a wind turbine research and development innovation centre. David Brown will be investing around £2.8 million in addition to the government funding.
Vince Cable also visited the University of Huddersfield for the official opening of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Advanced Metrology.
This was established earlier this year when EPSRC awarded funding of £4.7 million to the University’s globally-renowned Centre for Precision Technologies. A consortium of leading UK firms and organisations including Rolls Royce and David Brown Gear Systems, contributed a further £3 million.
The Centre has embarked on a five-year project bringing together leading researchers and businesses. The result will be that companies will be able to fit their existing machine tools with devices that ensure almost total accuracy during manufacture, saving money and improving efficiency.
Vince Cable said:
“This is a great boost to the economy in Huddersfield. The investment of £2 million announced today for David Brown and the support for the Centre of Innovative Manufacturing will help businesses in the area expand their capabilities.
“Support of this kind is vital if we are to help businesses create jobs where they are most needed and lever in important private sector investment. I’m looking forward to making more announcements of this kind in the coming weeks.”