North West aerospace industry ‘leads the UK’
l-r)Martin Wright (NWAA chief exec), Steven Broomhead (NWDA chief exec), Quentin Davies, Neil McKay (NWAA chairman)
Defence Minister Quentin Davies has praised the work of the North West Aerospace Alliance and its ASCE supply chain excellence programme.
Speaking at the opening of the NWAA’s new Preston office the Minister cited the North West aerospace industry is an ‘exemplary’ model for the country to follow, adding that Alliance’s Aerospace Supply Chain Excellence programme (ASCE), should be used as a model by other sectors and regions.
Mr Davies was joined by a number of high profile figures from aerospace companies including BAE Systems and Airbus, along with Preston business figures from groups including the North West Regional Development Agency, Preston College and Business Link NW.
He added that aerospace was of vital importance to the country: “Aerospace is very hi-tech, adds a lot of value and there are a lot of exciting career prospects. It’s very important to take these skills and maintain these markets.”
Mr Davies also spoke of the Government’s commitment to defence spending.
Martin Wright, chief executive of the NWAA, added: “This is a milestone in the development of the NWAA. We aim to continually evolve to face the needs of the future supply chain in aerospace and advanced engineering.
"We welcome the minister’s support of our development and his views on the quality of the ASCE programme.
“Our programme will continue to be based on the development of an advanced cluster requiring very high levels of skill to compete in the global market. We recognise that skills development is a fundamental issue for the North West region which has such a strength in manufacturing from apprentices and beyond.”
Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, added that the opening of the new office was a “statement of confidence”.
The NWAA was recently granted more than £7 million in funding from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to develop the next stage of its world-leading Aerospace Supply Chain Excellence (ASCE) Programme, into ASCE 2.
The new office, at Bamber Bridge, will be home to the ASCE 2 team.
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