One of the world’s most iconic car manufacturers wants to increase local procurement.
Aston Martin, which is based in Gaydon, near Warwick, produces around 4,000 premium vehicles each year – three-quarters of which are sold overseas.
The company hosted the latest Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Group meeting with around 18 companies present.
The Chamber-led group has brought together a range of partners including EEF, MAS and UKTI.
Gary Archer, Aston Martin’s Purchasing Director, told the gathered firms that procurement with the company was based on high-quality and trust.
He said: “We want to increase our EU and UK supply chain by ten per cent and local firms can benefit from that.
“Our procurement comes down to trust that the products will meet the very highest quality that you would expect with Aston Martin but our door is always open to local suppliers.”
Aston Martin employs 1,700 staff directly and is also supported by around 100 UK suppliers, which it hopes to increase.
Past Chamber president Paul Sullivan, of Penso, chaired the event at Aston Martin’s HQ.
He said: “We were extremely grateful to Gary and the team for hosting our latest Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Group and it was a very welcome message from such a major international company.
“This Chamber-led group has really strengthened over the past year and is offering members very real, tangible advice and information to help them in their business.”
The event was organised alongside the Rural Growth Hub as part of a series of events to inform businesses about the support available from the Rural Growth Network,
Elaine Weston, of the Rural Growth Network (RGN), outlined how to access grants via the network, with the next round closing on January 6.
Businesses can find out whether they qualify for support through RGN by visiting www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ruralgrowthnetwork