Sharing in Growth nets more than £4 billion for UK aerospace

Sharing in Growth has announced that its competitiveness programme has helped UK aerospace manufacturers and engineering businesses to secure more than £4 billion in contracts and 7,000 jobs.

The announcement was made ahead of the International Paris Airshow where more than 50% of the programme’s 60 beneficiaries will be pursuing even more business and export opportunities.

 

Minister for Business and Industry Andrew Stephenson MP, said: “Sharing in Growth is helping the UK advanced manufacturing supply chain compete on the world stage, creating high value jobs and helping companies grow by five times the industry average.

“The UK is a world leader in aerospace manufacturing and this programme is a fantastic example of our modern Industrial Strategy in action – bringing the Government and industry together to build on our excellent reputation and ensure we reap the rewards of future opportunities.”

A not-for-profit organisation, Sharing in Growth is supported by the Regional Growth Fund and by more than £150 million in private investment. Over 60 companies have benefitted from the Sharing in Growth programme across the UK. Each company participates in a bespoke and intense training and business transformation programme which focuses on leadership, culture and operational capability delivered by SiG’s own 100 strong team of business coaches as well as a bank of world-leading experts including The University of Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing, Deloitte, Industry Forum and the National Physical Laboratory.

Sharing in Growth CEO Andy Page, added: “An integral part of the UK’s Industrial Strategy, Sharing in Growth is helping to boost the UK’s aerospace export drive. We are the UK’s largest productivity programme, having delivered more than 3 million hours of transformation support. And we have the unique scope and scale that’s commensurate with the size of the challenge of helping programme participants to win a larger share of the global aerospace market. Our programme is effective: we’ve secured more than £4 billion in contracts two years ahead of schedule. We are, therefore, well on target to safeguard 10,000 UK jobs by 2022.”

 

How Sharing in Growth is supporting UK aerospace

Among those taking their competitive offer to the Paris Airshow are CW Fletcher of Sheffield, Cumbria-based Oxley Group, and JJ Churchill of Market Bosworth, Leicestershire.

CW Fletcher

CW Fletcher is exhibiting at the Paris Airshow for the first time, having just secured a major long-term agreement worth £160 million with Rolls-Royce.  Working with Sharing in Growth, CW Fletcher has secured more than £200 million in contracts with its diverse range of customers. The company is now building a 2000 square metre factory extension and has increased its turnover from £19 million to £24 million. It has a confirmed order book of £27m for 2019 and is on target to hit £30m in 2020. Since joining the programme in 2013 as one of the first participants, CW Fletcher has undergone total business transformation which included aligning all systems to their growth strategy.

Managing director Steve Kirk, said: “The degree of change and growth we have experienced over the last four years with Sharing in Growth is unprecedented in our 126-year history and has played a big part in transforming our company into a globally competitive organisation securing 200 jobs.”

Oxley Group

Ulverston-based Oxley Group was selected for Sharing in Growth in April 2018 and has already seen a £5 million increase in turnover. The privately-owned firm designs and manufactures LED lighting, night vision products and high specification electronic components including EMI suppression filters and interconnectors to defence and aerospace. Exporting over 70% of its turnover, its major customers include Boeing, Airbus, Saab, Sikorsky, BAE Systems, KAI, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin.

Oxley Group CEO Darren Cavan, said: “Our ambition is to leverage our technology lead in defence to break into the civil aerospace market so we can double our turnover in five years and then treble it in ten years. Thanks to Sharing in Growth, we are well on target with our growth strategy, having increased turnover from £13 million in 2017 to almost £18 million in 2018.”

Since joining Sharing in Growth, the company, which employs 160 in Cumbria and 30 at its US subsidiary in Connecticut, has won the Cumbria Best Exporter award, is a 2019 finalist in both the Electronics Industry Awards and in the Sharing in Growth All STAR awards.

JJ Churchill

After five years on the Sharing in Growth productivity and competitiveness programme, family-owned precision engineering firm JJ Churchill of Leicestershire has secured more than £200 million in contracts, increased its headcount by 35% to 165 employees and its export order book from under £1 million to more than £37 million.

Executive chairman Andrew Churchill, concluded: “Airshows like Paris offer a great opportunity to show the world the capability of UK advanced manufacturing. Sharing in Growth is an excellent example of how the UK government and engineering is working together to make our industry more effective, more efficient and future-proofed. This is increasing opportunity, sales and jobs.”