Midlands Engine Makes: The Home of British Manufacturing

Date posted: July 28, 2021

Generating £36 billion every year and responsible for 21% of all manufacturing in the UK, the Midlands manufacturing sector continues to lead the world in ingenuity and invention and is championed in a new Midlands Engine showcase publication.

Midlands Engine Makes: The Home of British Manufacturing highlights the breadth of production taking place within our region: from the world’s most popular cider to all the cookware sold by major UK supermarkets; from 11 million bags of Walkers crisps per day and 1.5 million Cadbury’s creme eggs to the brake callipers on the Bugatti Veyron and the Queen’s handbags.

With world-famous brands such as JCB, Boots and Marmite, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution has significant strengths in health and life sciences, aerospace, agri-tech, automotive and transport, ceramics, heating and energy generation and much more, helping our region account for 22% of all UK exports and 20% of the UK manufacturing workforce.

In addition to being home to HP Sauce, ibuprofen and Action Man, the Midlands has a proud history of innovation that has grown to include electric vehicles and trains, the lens that took the first real images of Mars, the X-ray and the MRI scanner, among many other inventions that our region has given to the world.

That spirit of innovation is nurtured through our world-leading universities and the highest number of catapult centres in the UK, all working to provide tomorrow’s solutions to today’s problems.

The publication also highlights how our region’s manufacturers are leading the way as our economy retools to become greener and more sustainable, highlighting once again that the Midlands is the pioneering powerhouse of the UK, at the very heart of net zero making.

Sir John Peace, Midlands Engine Chairman said:

Our region was the original global manufacturing pioneer and we continue to lead the world through our innovative responses in the fields of advanced manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, MedTech, food and drink and much more.
Through consistent, scaled-up public and private sector investment in our region’s immense manufacturing power and potential, from our SMEs to Midlands-based major global players, we will continue to bring, and grow true wealth into our region and our country.

Download a copy of Midlands Engine Makes: The Home of British Manufacturing.