An action plan has been developed to enhance the West Midlands advanced manufacturing sector and strengthen its global competitiveness. Project MADE (Midlands Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystem) has released a new report outlining a vision to drive sector growth and create tens of thousands of jobs.
Proposal for a New Entity
The report recommends establishing a new entity to lead the creation of an advanced manufacturing supercluster in the West Midlands. This includes recruiting a Chair and securing funding from public and private investors to implement the growth strategy.
Collaborative Effort
Project MADE has united regional stakeholders such as Unipart Manufacturing, HORIBA MIRA, Midlands Aerospace Alliance, BCIC, Warwick Manufacturing Group, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), Rigby Group, West Midlands Combined Authority, WM Growth Company, Coventry City Council, Coventry University, and the West Midlands Investment Zone. Together, they aim to deliver a 10-year plan for growth and investment in the region's advanced manufacturing sector.
Vision for 2035
By 2035, the vision includes achieving five percent compound annual GVA growth, delivering £44 billion in final annual output, creating 50,000 new jobs, and catalysing £1.6 billion in aggregated advanced manufacturing investment.
Four Key Recommendations
- Establish the Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster: Create a new body with clear leadership and governance to coordinate the diverse advanced manufacturing ecosystem.
- Stimulate Customer Demand Generation: Connect SMEs directly to OEMs and Tier 1 buyers to address needs for resilience and innovation, while boosting existing regional business growth programmes.
- Create a Unified Investment Proposition: Strengthen the regional advanced manufacturing offer and develop a more integrated approach to inward investment.
- Strengthen Foundations for Growth and Scale: Address structural barriers by mapping a 10-year real estate pipeline, expanding the investment pool, and closing the automation gap through a plan to deliver 15,000 AI and automation-skilled workers.
Current Challenges
While the West Midlands remains the UK's industrial heartland, producing more manufactured goods than Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and the Liverpool City Region combined, the sector faces critical supply chain distress and chronic under-investment in automation. Project MADE warns that without urgent coordinated intervention, the UK risks losing ground as global manufacturing systems are reshaped by electrification and digitalisation.
Mayor's Support
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, stated: "Making things is what the West Midlands has done brilliantly for centuries, and that remains central to our economic revival as technology transforms industry. Steve Rigby and the Project MADE team have set out a clear path for how industry can unlock investment and create high-quality jobs. My job is to help overcome any barriers to growth, and I'm already backing manufacturers to modernise production, upskill their workforce and move into new markets. I'll do what I can to help turn the recommendations in this report into tens of thousands of new jobs and position our region as the advanced manufacturing engine of our nation."
Growth Company's Perspective
Neil Rami, Chief Executive of the West Midlands Growth Company, said: "The report sets out a clear structure and priorities for the Growth Company to work with industry, universities and catapults under our new mandate to deliver the West Midlands Growth Plan. Innovation starts, and scales, in the West Midlands. The region operates as a fully integrated system where ideas are rapidly developed, tested and industrialised within a single regional economy. We also have one of the UK's largest applied R&D ecosystems outside London, supported by six research-intensive universities producing over 50,000 graduates each year. Project MADE will help develop the region's advanced manufacturing sector further and ensure it remains a market leader, both nationally and internationally."
Industry Leader's View
Steve Rigby, CEO of Rigby Group and Project MADE Chair, commented: "Project MADE has brought together key leaders across the region to turn a clear ambition into practical, coordinated action. The West Midlands has all the ingredients to lead globally in advanced manufacturing – our task now is to bring those strengths together with pace, focus and discipline."
