£135m savings to Scottish firms since records began
13 Jun 2014 03:49 PM
Scottish manufacturing
year on year up by £4.2 million.
Scotland’s Finance
Secretary John Swinney has welcomed the latest figures from the Scottish
Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) on business efficiency savings during
2013/14, published today, which show that Scottish manufacturing firms have
achieved £25.2 million of savings – up £4.2 million from the
previous year.
The new figures from Scottish
Enterprise show that manufacturing companies in Scotland completed 185 business
improvement projects which saw them investing in tactical, short-term projects
that focus on immediate ways of adding value and improving productivity, to
looking at transformational projects which focus on a wider people centred
approach to business excellence.
Since it was set up in 2006,
SMAS has delivered over 1,050 business improvement projects contributing over
£135 million of value added benefits to Scotland’s
economy.
SMAS support is a driver for
growth and a platform for higher value support such as exporting, account
management, supply chain development and investment.
Welcoming the results whilst at
the 4th annual SMAS conference held at Dunblane Hydro Mr Swinney
said:
“The manufacturing
industry underpins all of Scotland’s key sectors and therefore underpins
the success of our whole economy, and right from the start of the economic
downturn.
“The record savings that
businesses have made during 2013/14 is down to the hard work from them but also
the team at SMAS. With almost £26 million of savings it shows the
delivery of more high value, transformational projects which has helped improve
production techniques, reduce costs and boost their
competitiveness.
“These figures come of the
back of Bank of Scotland PMI survey which shows that Scottish private sector
activity is being driven by strong growth in both the Services and
Manufacturing sectors. We also heard from Ernst & Young Attractiveness
Survey which showed that foreign investment to Scotland in 2013 reached its
highest level since 1997, increasing at a higher rate than the UK as whole, and
creating over 4,000 jobs.
“The recovery in
Scotland’s economy is continuing, with growth widely forecast to
accelerate this year. the work of SMAS gives us a strong basis for the future
and the First Minister will shortly announce plans to use the powers of
independence to reindustrialise Scotland.
“With full fiscal and
economic powers of independence, the Scottish Government will support
businesses now and in the future to be more competitive will mean Scottish
companies have the best chance of success.”
Adrian Gillespie, managing
director of operations at Scottish Enterprise said “These figures
highlight that manufacturing remains vital to a robust Scottish economy, with
60 per cent of Scotland’s international exports and 50 per cent of all
business research coming from manufacturing businesses. SMAS support is a
driver for growth and a platform for higher value support such as exporting,
supply chain development and investment. By encouraging and supporting
transformational business efficiency projects, we can help companies become as
competitive as possible, giving them the best chance of success, and creating a
culture of continuous improvement to enable increased innovation and
exporting.”
The top three sectors to use
SMAS support during 2013/14 were food & drink and energy-related
engineering and general manufacturing (123 companies in total) whilst general
manufacturing (£6.9 million), food & drink £4.1 million and
aerospace, defence and marine sectors delivered the most value add –
£4.1 million per sector, closely followed by energy-related engineering
(£3.9 million).Geographically, Glasgow, Aberdeen City and Shire and
Dumfries & Galloway achieved the most in value added benefits (£3.2
million, £4.1 million and £2.1 million respectively) while Glasgow
City, Fife and South Lanarkshire completed the largest number of projects
– 48 in total.
Gillespie continued: “The
key theme of today’s conference, which will bring together over 400 top
flight industrialists and industry leaders from a wide spectrum of businesses,
is people and leadership. Research shows that 60 per cent of all improvement
change will fail unless the people, leadership and culture is correct and
customers have told us this is where they need our support.
Charlotte Wright, Director of
Business and Sector Development at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, commented:
"The last year has seen an increase in the number of businesses across the
Highlands and Islands which have made savings as a result of the advice and
support they have received through SMAS. Our region has a strong history of
manufacturing, from our renowned food and drink industry to our growing
reputation at the forefront of renewable energy development. Working together
with SMAS and partners in other public organisations, we will continue to
provide practical support to our businesses, encouraging them to grow and
remain competitive on a national and international
stage."