Firms turn to Scottish Enterprise as orders rise

Published on Saturday 17 April 2010 14:29

MANUFACTURERS are turning to Scottish Enterprise for help to meet growing order books, according to the head of the agency's Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS).

Steve Graham told Scotland on Sunday that SMAS was receiving "unprecedented demand" for its services, which help manufacturers to improve production. The body's 21 staff carried out 365 company reviews last year – 59 per cent up on the previous year – with firms generating an extra 16 million after following SMAS's advice.

Graham said 100 projects were on the go, with demand picking up since September. "At the back end of 2009, I think people were still cautious and weren't prepared to spend their cash. Now I see things starting to improve in manufacturers' favour and the exchange rate is helping exports.

"A lot of the companies that we are working with are seeing an upturn in their order books. Having had to hunker down over the past 18 months to control costs, they're now asking how they can gear up to meet increased demand."

Since SMAS was established in 2006, the service has delivered nearly 50m in added value for manufacturers, which have enjoyed a minimum return on investment of 11 for every 1 spent. The body's budget last year was 2.3m.

Peter Hughes, chief executive of trade body Scottish Engineering, said: "I don't often give politicians a lot of credit... but, in this particular case, setting up SMAS was an absolute winner. We've got more than 400 members and they tell me that SMAS is first class. It brings real benefits because it has practical guys who go into businesses to look at the problems and come up with answers."

SMAS has worked with a host of large companies – including drinks giants Diageo and William Grant & Sons – as well as smaller firms such as Johnstone-based Horne Engineering and Hydro Cable in Aberdeen.