Birmingham Post - Business Blog

Help change Industry's image

Mon, 28 May 2012 09:49:32 +0000

Manufacturing has often suffered from a poor old-fashioned image. Too often the media use out of date pictures of smokestack industries, re-inforcing the often held view that manufacturing and engineering is a dirty, bygone sector which is no place for people to aspire to work. Nothing could be further from the truth as in this day and age, science, engineering and manufacturing facilities are some of the most exciting, dynamic and clean environments in which to be based.

Exports break records..again

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:35:39 +0000

Trade figures released this morning showed that the UK's trade in goods deficit was unchanged between February and March.

Sickness absence: time for a fresh approach

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:21:05 +0000

Given the current sluggish nature of the economy we need to pull on every possible lever to try to promote economic growth. One of the key aspects of this is ensuring that our workforce is fit and healthy, that people are in work and their skills are being fully utilised.

Exports to surge in march of the makers

Wed, 09 May 2012 11:08:40 +0000

Ever since the financial crisis began to subside the debate has raged about how we grow our economy based on manufacturing and trade. As many companies in the West Midlands will tell you, this is nothing new and they have been quietly exporting their way around the globe way before the need to find a new economic model began.

Holding government to account

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:26:52 +0000

Benjamin Disraeli is reported to have coined the phrase 'lies, damned lies and statistics'. Last week's GDP figures certainly attracted plenty of attention and, criticism in some quarters for confirming the UK is supposedly back in recession, when a raft of business surveys, including EEF's have painted a rather more positive picture.

The Budget one month on, any better for Growth?

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:09:33 +0000

Did the Budget set out a vision for the UK Economy ? The short answer is no. We needed a Budget last month that focused on setting out the ambitions for growth. Where does the Chancellor see the British economy heading by 2015 or beyond?

New loan scheme welcome but needs to deliver

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:35:19 +0000

Less than four months since the announcement of his 'credit easing' programme at the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor has launched the National Loan Guarantee Scheme.

Budget must set out vision for growth

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:56:29 +0000

Next week, the government will set out its latest thoughts in its March Budget on the economy and the measures it is taking to encourage stronger growth. Just ahead of this, EEF will be hosting its first Manufacturing Conference, where we will be looking at what should be done to create the environment for manufacturers to invest in the UK rather than a growing range of locations around the world. I strongly recommend that the Chancellor picks up the messages coming from industry at our conference and uses his Budget to send a clear message to manufacturers that the UK is the right for them to make their next major investment.

Finance remains a cog in the engine of growth

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:14:40 +0000

The financial crisis and recession hit the UK hard. The recovery in output for the overall economy has been painfully slow.

UK manufacturing has seen a stronger a rebound but a lasting scar from the financial crisis is the fractious relationship between the manufacturing and financial services sectors.

EEF National Conference to address industrial growth

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:58:07 +0000

On the 6th March EEF will be hosting the first ever National Manufacturing Conference, in partnership with The Manufacturer. Ahead of this we'll be discussing some of the key issues for UK manufacturing on this blog. The first of these is how to engineer growth through exports.

Waste, the looming resource crunch begins

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:55:14 +0000

When the Government launched its review of English waste policy it promised to help unlock the real economic value of wastes and assess what policies were really needed to achieve this. Six months on from the government publishing the result of this exercise we ask whether Defra has succeeded in increasing the opportunity for sustainable waste management and resource efficiency - and if not, what needs to be done.

Growing a green economy

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:56:51 +0000

In a period of difficult economic recovery what the UK needs most is sustainable growth. However if this is to be truly sustainable, we need to both rebalance and decarbonise our economy. The problem is that policies in these two areas are often pulling in different directions:

11th hour breakthrough at Durban

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:24:43 +0000

On Friday, it still looked like there would be little breakthrough at the Durban Climate Talks. However, Connie Hedegaard, the Commission Climate Minister and previously one of the youngest politicians to enter parliament in Denmark, has secured a landmark victory at the 11th hour.

Manufacturing some more positive news

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:25:28 +0000

As we approach the season of goodwill, at first glance there doesn't appear to be much in the way of glad tidings or Christmas cheer as far as the economy is concerned. There is little doubt that since the beginning of the year when manufacturing was experiencing record demand and, companies in the West Midlands could look forward to the benefits of a strong recovery, the news has been unremittingly gloomy. Our own forecasts for next year show that life is likely to get more difficult before it gets better, especially if the Eurozone continues to put a sticking plaster over the most gaping of wounds.

Durban Summit - time for a new EU approach

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 15:54:47 +0000

As the world once again convenes (this time in Durban, South Africa) trying to forge a collective route to tackle climate change, the expectations of a global agreement are markedly less than they have been in the past.