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PRIVACY
Manufacturing

New help desk launched for Midlands manufacturers

Made in the Midlands is hoping to fill the gap left by the Manufacturing Advisory Service after it closed down in 2015

At the launch of Made in the Midlands' new Manufacturing Advisory Service (from left): Charles Addison, Jason Pitt and Mike Whitby, all Made in the Midlands, and James Smith, from The Manufacturer

A new help desk has been launched in a bid to fill the void left by the Manufacturing Advisory Service.

Membership body Made in the Midlands is behind the launch of the new online help desk which it is also calling Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS).

The Government pulled the which included MAS and had funding support worth up to £125 million.

Made in the Midlands said it emerged at a meeting of its members earlier this year that the main area of concern among manufacturers was a lack of awareness of where to turn for help.

Charles Addison, business development director with Made in the Midlands, said: "When the original Manufacturing Advisory Service closed due to lack of funding, it left a gap in the manufacturing industry.

"Prompted by the uncertainty surrounding the Government's industrial strategy, we gathered a coalition of our members to see what could be done about the industry's uncertainty concerning who to turn to for advice and for help navigating the innovation minefield.

"It became clear there was the technical capability and industry knowledge among our members and the capacity in the Made in the Midlands team to combine efforts and launch MAS."

The body's chairman Mike Whitby added: "Manufacturing contributes over ten per cent to Britain's GDP and the Midlands' contribution is even more significant.