Wolverhampton | Sandwell | Dudley | Walsall
4 - 15 October 2021
Advanced Manufacturing
The Black Country proudly boasts a huge, world-class manufacturing and engineering base and this is the region’s largest sector, accounting for over 15% of the GVA.
There are 67,000 people employed in this sector and a total of nearly 4,000 businesses ranging across metals and machinery manufacturing to chemicals, tooling, food and drink and furniture and equipment manufacturing.
Some 600 companies are ‘high turnover’ (of £1m+) businesses and 29 of these are large businesses employing over 250 people.
"Made in the Black Country, sold around the world"
Black Country LEP
High profile employers include ZF Lemforder UK (which supplies suspension control arms to Jaguar, Aston Martin, Toyota); Assa Abloy (the world’s largest lock manufacturer by sales volume); Hadley Industries (ultra steel manufacturers); Sandvik Limited and B E Wedge, Castings and Chamberlin are also listed on the London Stock Exchange and the well-known 2 Sisters Food Group with brands like Fox’s biscuits and Goodfellas in its portfolio, is based in Wolverhampton.
There is a large proportion of SMEs which include Chicken Joes (the UK’s largest manufacturer of ready marinated chicken) in Aldridge, Westfield Sports Cars based in Dudley, and Woverhampton-based Goldring Industries – a company that supplies ship re-fuelling systems to the Royal Navy.
With the The Black Country's strength in advanced manufacturing, the region has become home to a number of centres of excellence providing skills, training, research and product development. These include Dudley Advance - a £9M specialist AME teaching facility; Engineering and Computer Science Research Centre and Midlands Simulation Group - both based at the University of Wolverhampton; Caparo Innovation Centre and the Science, Technology and Prototyping Centre - both providing new product development services, for example.
You can read more about this sector on the Black Country LEP website.
