That includes addressing the challenges they face around issues such as energy cost and creating long-term investment strategies.
Delegates at the UK Northern Powerhouse International Conference also heard that the government needs to work to create an environment that makes it easier for manufacturers to keep their operations in Britain.
Peter Hogg, commercial director at British Steel, said that it was “quite a challenge” how his business is expected to pay twice as much for electricity as overseas competitors.
“We are happy to compete on a level playing field, but we need the right environment,” he said.
Phil Davies, general manager at Tata Chemicals Europe, added: “Fundamentally if the playing field is level, if the infrastructure is there, companies will have the confidence to make their own investments, their own business case decisions.
“At the moment the issue is without some of those infrastructure policies in place businesses lack that confidence.”
The government was also urged to create a long-term R&D investment strategy for the biotechnology sector as part of its support for manufacturing.
Mark Parsons, chief customer officer of DHL Supply Chain, added that the UK needs to get rid of its “sepia tinged view” of manufacturing with thousands of workers coming out of the factory gates at the end of a shift.
“The most thriving part of manufacturing are SMEs. It’s where it is at its most innovative, where it has got the most drive and also where most of the R&D takes place,” he said.
“If we are having an industrial strategy that is about manufacturing, it’s a bit like a dog, it is for life not just for Christmas. It is a sustained policy we need to maintain.”
