News
NAA Update: Carol launches an appeal – and an action plan – for North West automotive companies to maximise the youth, diversity and skills of their staff
I recently attended the UK Manufacturing Summit where Vince Cable commented that due to ageing demographics the bottleneck in the future will be staff. He also commented that engineering is one of the most sought after subject areas at University – but that we need to tackle the gender issue, with only 1 in 10 […]
NAA Business Excellence Programme Update: Project extension, next BE event, case studies, and more
Since Christmas, we have been focussing on a number of areas, including our funding application for the project extension to June 2015, preparation for a European audit, performance evidence, a major public sector event and the commissioning of the last remaining monies for mentoring and technical support in this phase of the project. I would […]
NAA Skills Update: National Apprenticeship Week and Engaging with Schools
11th to 15th March 2013 was National Apprenticeship Week, the annual event which celebrates the positive impact apprenticeships have on individuals and businesses alike. Regular readers of the Skills article in the NAA’s newsletter might be forgiven for thinking that in ‘Susan World’ every week is Apprentice Week, but even the strongest exponents of apprenticeships […]
In the Driving Seat: Steve Williams, Managing Director, Performance Springs Ltd, and NAA Board Member
Steve Williams sounds like he’s desperate to kick his kids out of his house and set off on a European road trip in an E-Type Jag. Name Steve Williams Company Performance Springs Ltd Position MD Apart from that NAA Board Member Director and VP of the Institute of Spring Technology Association with NAA I have […]
BE Case Study: SMMT Meet the Buyer 2011
North West companies attend SMMT Meet the Buyer event and gain introductions to key automotive purchasers. Link to case study:- BE Case Study: SMMT Meet the Buyer 2011 North West automotive businesses meet buyers and benefit from mentoring in how to sell to major manufacturers. PROJECT SMMT Meet the Buyer event, Chester, 2011 BACKGROUND The […]
Event Review: SMMT SME Support Roadshow, 7 March 2013
If you missed the SME Support Roadshow which explained the funding and business support available for companies in the North West, then you’d better read this summary of the event. The SMMT SME roadshow was designed to follow up from the publication of last year’s Supply Chain Finance report, and the SMMT’s Meet the Funder […]
A partnership including the Northwest Automotive Alliance, Bentley Motors and the Virtual Engineering Centre is awarded £1.95 million of AMSCI funding
A partnership comprised of the Northwest Automotive Alliance, Bentley Motors, the Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC) (part of the University of Liverpool), Optis, Icona and SimX has been successful in its bid for £1.95 million of Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI) Round 2 funding, and two more automotive projects with North West partners also gain […]
Member News: Pirelli receives JLR Quality Award
On 24th January, a delegation of managers from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), including Terry Sampson, the STA Director for JLR, Russ Perry, STA Manager and Mark Beasley STA Engineer visited Pirelli’s Carlisle site to officially present the JLRQ Award to Pirelli UK. JLRQ is the Jaguar Land Rover supplier performance monitoring system and since 2011 […]
Government to provide 75% of the cost of installing new charge points for electric vehicles
The government has announced that it will provide 75% of the cost of installing new plug-in vehicle charge points at home, on the street, and at railway stations; and also rapid charge points. The funding can be claimed by: People installing chargepoints where they live Local authorities installing rapid charge points to facilitate longer journeys, […]
Vince Cable Launches £22 Million Automotive ‘Proving Factory’ Initiative
The Rt Hon Vince Cable MP, Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, has launched an advanced manufacturing initiative for the automotive sector, with an investment of £21.8 million from the public and private sector. The Proving Factory is a collaborative project involving major companies and groups in the UK motor industry. Ultimately it […]