Businesses have been given a first-hand account of the difference the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) is making in helping SMEs to get off the ground.
Around 50 professionals attending the latest CWLEP Inform Event for Mid-Warwickshire at the Mallory Court Hotel, Leamington, heard how CeraCon and LSW Associates were among local enterprises being supported in their growth.
CeraCon, which was established in Leamington last April and provides specialist sealing technology for the automotive industry, has been helped to apply for grants from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Robert Jones, director of CeraCon, based on the Sydenham Industrial Estate, said: “The funding support we have received from the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP and Chamber of Commerce has
enabled us to get the business off the ground, create jobs and get ourselves into the marketplace.”
The Rural Innovation Centre, part of the Rural Growth Network being led by Warwickshire County Council on behalf of the CWLEP to help small businesses in rural areas thrive, is providing the platform for LSW Associates to expand.
Lawrence Webb started the health, safety and environmental management company in his Warwick home three years ago and said the Rural Innovation Centre had enabled him to take the next step.
He said: “The business is developing really quickly and within three months of being here, I am already moving into a bigger office within the Centre.”
Martin Yardley, CWLEP Chief Executive, said CeraCon and LSW Associates were inspiring examples of businesses benefiting from the support available through the CWLEP.
He told the meeting: “The Coventry and Warwickshire LEP has placed £129 million in the local economy in the last 12 months and we have done that through the Regional Growth Fund, European funding, Warwickshire Rural Growth Network, Growing Places Fund and Advanced Manufacturing.
“We are the most successful region in the country in terms of drawing down RGF funding.”
Cllr Izzi Seccombe, CWLEP Board Director and Leader of Warwickshire County Council, added: “The CWLEP is focused on boosting the economy and creating jobs and CeraCon and LSW Associates are perfect examples of putting that into practice.
“One important way that we in the public sector can help the private sector in growing the local economy is addressing the skills shortage and the CWLEP is entirely the right vehicle for us to work together to build a skills base that will invest in businesses in the area.”
The Inform Event was part of a series held across the sub-region to update businesses on activity being undertaken by the CWLEP on their behalf.
