English manufacturers set for growth boost

More than two thirds (67%) of companies questioned in the latest MAS Barometer felt that increasing sales at home offered them the best chance to expand. This was followed by new product development, improving production processes and over a third of firms (36%) who are focused on boosting export performance. MAS said there appeared to be significant confidence in longer-term growth "as respondents predict a 64% rise in collective turnover and staffing levels to increase by 32% over the next four years. The latter could equate to tens of thousands of new jobs across the SME manufacturing base." Steven Barr, head of MAS, added: "There is significant confidence in the domestic marketplace at the moment, a further signal that the recovery has taken hold. "We've seen unrivalled investment in the UK automotive industry and that is cascading down the supply chain and creating new opportunities. Our reputation for low carbon advancement should also be another growth sector and I'm sure our manufacturing SMEs will be in line to take advantage of major infrastructure projects, such as Hinkley Point in Somerset and High Speed Rail." MAS also asked respondents about their biggest strengths. The quality of senior leadership teams (68%) came out on top, followed by innovative products (66%) and robust strategy (61%). Barr again: "It was not surprising to discover that the biggest challenge is access to skills (71%), whilst marketing and creating effective sales channels were the next major concerns. We will work with partners like GrowthAccelerator and SEMTA to help SME manufacturers overcome these challenges." The MAS Barometer shares the views of over 900 small manufacturers across England, employing more than 22,500 people and realising turnover in excess of £2.6bn. The results maintain the positivity seen in previous findings, with 61% of companies increasing sales in the last six months and 76% expecting to grow between now and the end of the year – 8% and 9% improvements respectively on this time last year. Similar to last quarter, more than half of firms (55%) are looking to recruit and create new jobs, which is a record figure and a 12% rise on 2013.