Priti Patel visits Midlands businesses expanding into new territory
WB Timber Innovations is now in the process of opening a new factory, which will provide over 15 new jobs for local people.
Priti Patel with staff at Momentum Engineering
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury Priti Patel was in Warwickshire today (Monday 16 February) visiting two businesses moving into new ground.
Momentum Engineering Ltd in Coleshill is a leading supplier of machinery to the automotive, railway, construction, petro-chemical, electronics and defence sectors. Now, with the help of government funding, it is breaking into the aerospace industry.
WB Timber Innovations in Solihull specialises in the design, manufacture and installation of insulated timber frames for new homes. The company has seen substantial growth in the last three years, and having outgrown its current home, is in the process of moving into a new factory.
Momentum Engineering’s move was supported by a grant they received through the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI). The company used £50, 000 of the money to help fund a new Vertical Travelling Column (VTC) machine that has the precision required to manufacture aerospace machinery.
WB Timber Innovations has benefited from the recent growth in the construction industry, illustrated by ONS figures released on Friday that show construction output is growing at its fastest annual rate since 2010.
In December, the company moved its design office to a new larger premises, and they are now in the process of opening a new factory, which will provide over 15 new jobs for local people.
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Priti Patel, said:
It’s great to be in the Midlands today to visit two businesses that are going from strength to strength. Both businesses are strong examples of companies driving the local economy in the Midlands and helping to create jobs, investment, prosperity and bright futures.
Since 2010, the Midlands has been growing faster than the average for the whole of the UK.
Our long term economic plan for the Midlands aims to make the region an engine for economic growth, which will help to secure Britain’s long term economic future.
Last week, the Chancellor and Prime Minister set out the government’s long term economic plan for the Midlands, which aims to add an extra £34 billion to the Midlands economy in real terms by 2030, equivalent to over £3,000 per person, and create 300,000 extra jobs in the Midlands by backing the core strengths of the local economy like advanced manufacturing and engineering.