Manufacturers in the automotive sector received more than £2million of funding to help them deal with the interruption to production of the Rover 75 model and the rescheduling of the Rover 25/45 range last Autumn. As Rover MG recently announced better than expected financial results, a report into the second phase of the Rover Task Force's supply chain support package has been published by the University of Birmingham. The second phase of the package was specifically designed to help component manufacturers cope with the loss of business while production of the Rover 75 model was moved from Oxford to Longbridge.
The report reveals that a total of 55 companies received grants during this period to help build their long-term competitiveness, particularly focusing on quality, cost and delivery measures. 1,700 people received training, with more than 200 manufacturing jobs being saved. Companies taking part in the programme reported an average increase in business of 22 per cent, and believed it had both an immediate and long-term impact on the competitiveness of their manufacturing operations.