Many firms have over the past decade become used to sourcing products overseas, or from suppliers around the UK, and we often forget about, or are unaware of the vast range of manufacturers and products that they produce right here in Leeds and the other towns and cities in Yorkshire.

It won’t always be possible to find the very specialised widget your firm needs on your doorstep. But if we take the time to look around and review our supplier lists, as companies like furniture designer ABF Europe have found, there is a great deal more we could buy from within the region, keeping trade circulating at home and bringing many other business benefits.

A weak pound had made UK sourced products increasingly competitive over the past few years and freight costs were running at the highest level for years.

This, coupled with the benefits of much shorter lead times, better quality control, improved payment terms and lower transportation costs means there are a number of compelling reasons to be using even similarly priced locally sourced products,” he said, adding that environmental factors were also important.

So we’re suggesting a real nuts and bolts route to speed the recovery and avoid uncertainty – simply look to shop locally and regionally for your materials and product components. There will be specialist products that cannot be sourced here but don’t underestimate the number of companies that could be making your components and raw materials right here.

The rise in output has been driven by a pick-up in capital goods production and intermediate goods and energy, says a report in the Financial Times, suggesting that companies in the UK and abroad are investing more in equipment.

The news comes coincides with calls for the new government to appoint a minister for manufacturing to ensure the sector’s long term future and ensure the sector’s heartlands can play a full role in future economic prosperity. The call came from James Newman, head of the Sheffield-based Company of Cutlers which represents, South Yorkshire-based manufacturers.

He says the sector needs ‘incentives’, such as capital allowances, to enable companies hit by the recession to make investments in machinery and staff.

Of course, manufacturing continues to play a key role in the Yorkshire economy as a whole, both in terms of output and employment. In fact government figures show that there are nearly twice as many people employed in manufacturing in West Yorkshire as there are in South Yorkshire and that as a city Leeds is the UK’s second largest centre for manufacturing outside London.

According to Lord Jones, action is urgently required to ensure continued investment and maintain skills levels if the sector is to be sustainable in the long term. He argues that all efforts should be made to avoid iconic brands such as JCB from becoming British-based companies simply assembling parts made in other parts of the world.

In 1979 96% of JCB components were UK sourced, but this has now shrunk to 36%. While the highly successful company strives to source as many parts as it could locally, this was declining because the supplying firms were no longer in existence. If this was allowed to continue , Lord Jones fears that UK manufacturing industry might decline altogether, leaving companies like JCB British in name only.

He was supported by Pudsey MP Paul Truswell, who highlighted the continued success manufacturing in the city and referred to four companies in his own constituency: A W Hainsworth, ATB Morley, Airedale International and LBBC.

This is not so much due to our skills in recording the continued progress of the city as a centre of manufacturing excellence, but more to the rich and innovative variation of companies and their products.

In a recent tour of a selection of these firms, the Financial Times’ UK business editor was literally ‘gob-smacked’ and kindly accorded us a half page of words and pictures on the subject.

Our website showcases many of these companies and with the digital revolution continuing to gain pace, launching a blog to celebrate the achievements of manufacturing in Leeds is another great way of spreading the word.

I’ll be doing my best to keep you up to date with ‘all things manufacturing’ in the city, helped by other members of the team including my trusty PR consultant, Duncan Greenwood, who is often out and about visiting sites so that he can make journalists aware of the great work that is going on in the region.

The other purpose of the blog is to stimulate the flow of news and views and start a dialogue. So please, let us have your comments on topics we’re blogging about and also tell us about any other manufacturing stories you come across or issues you would like to raise.

We look forward to hearing from you.