More than half of exporting-manufacturers are experiencing an increase in overseas sales and orders, according to the survey, and the majority of the sector’s growth is coming from international trade. Service sector exporters reported improvements on the previous quarter’s results, with 36% saying that overseas sales have increased.

With only 23% of service providers selling overseas – compared to 57% of manufacturers – there is concern that the sector’s dependency on a fragile UK market will result in it experiencing slow or stagnant growth. The weak advance orders (+3% net increase) reported by the sector suggest that this weak performance is likely to continue into the next quarter.

Despite the fragile UK market, business confidence remains high. Manufacturers are more optimistic than services with 70% expecting their turnover to increase over the next 12 months compared to 58%, which is associated to the sector’s strong overseas performance.

Manufacturers are also leading the way in terms of job creation with one third increasing their workforce compared to one fifth of service providers.

To read the full report, visit>>> http://www.yourchamber.org.uk/images/stories/pdfs/QESReport_QTR2_2011.pdf

The fast growing international company is aiming for its UK operation, based at Sherburn Enterprise Park near Leeds, to grow to a turnover of £10m within two years.

From its Yorkshire base Power Link is looking to establish itself as a European leader in the manufacture and distribution of diesel power generation sets. The business already employs more than 400 people in its Shanghai factory.

Sophie Han, general manager, Power Link Machine UK, said: “This investment in our European operation is a significant step for the business and will enable us to pursue further European and international opportunities.”

The news follows the announcement last month that Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe (MPSE) had acquired a 35,000 sf ft unit at Navigation Park , Leeds, which it will use for its expanded service and parts facility.

Power generation, service and maintenance firm MPSE was established in 2007 and employs more than 500 staff in eight offices across Europe. The company is involved in the design and procurement of gas and steam turbines as well as developing advanced energy generation in both the solar and wind powered sectors.

Juergen Richter, service director in the Leeds centre, said: “The acquisition of this property will assist us in the expansion of our business and enables us to respond effectively to the needs of both our existing and future clients.

“With the ever growing requirement to source more efficient means of power generation MPSE needs to be able to offer our customers innovative alternatives for power generation as well as increased level of service and shorter response time.”

Siemens has also made a £1.2 million investment in its mechanical drives division, opening a new Leeds plant at Navigation Park at the beginning of the year. The move is designed to enable the £15m operation handle additional and bigger contracts, including work to support the group’s planned major offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant in Hull.

The Leeds company will work with Sanipex Group to distribute its products in the United Arab Emirates and Indian markets.

The agreement, reported in the Yorkshire Evening Post, follows soon after JT’s link-up with Konig to supply the 2.2 billion euro German market with their designer trays.

Meanwhile surgical device manufacturer Surgical Innovations is on the acquisition trail according to reports from TheBusinessDesk.com, following a leap in revenues and pre-tax profits.

The Leeds-based company is continuing to review acquisition opportunities in the area of minimally invasive surgery “where strong synergies exist with the group and where our R&D expertise and in-house manufacturing capabilities can create improvements to the products and cost savings for the end user.”

Chairman Doug Liversidge said: “We have continued to invest heavily in the business while research and development capability has undergone a step-change to speed up new product development and improvements to our existing technology.

A £1m production facility is being created by Marpak Extrusions, the Leeds-based industrial packaging business as it looks to to capitalise on an increase in exports. The new 10,000 sq ft factory, close to the Gelderd Business Park in Leeds, will create an initial 12 new jobs for £10m turnover company Marpak Extrusions.

The news follows a string of major investments by Leeds manufacturers including the new £1.2 million Siemens factory at Navigation Park, Stourton, a £0.5 million training facility developed by Airedale International and a £1million investment in new production lines and processes by building sealants and chemicals firm Everbuild.

According to TheBusinessDesk.com, Marpak’s new production facility has been backed from Yorkshire Bank’s Leeds Financial Solutions Centre as part of its Investing for Growth Initiative.

Family-business Marpak, which was founded in 1980 by managing director, Richard Gibson, specialises in the extrusion of polythene into sheets and bags for pallet protection in the transportation of a wide range of products including glass, furniture and building materials.

Mr Gibson said: “As a specialist manufacturer we have always traded successfully throughout the UK. We started exporting three years ago to capitalise on the low value of the pound and have built up strong demand in Egypt, France, Denmark, Sweden, Holland,  Germany, and Poland.”

The new facility will open in July. The company’s existing production base in Westland Place, Leeds, is at maximum capacity, while demand for Marpak’s products throughout Europe and the Middle East is growing. Export sales have risen by 60% in the last 12 months.

“The new factory will enable us to increase our production capacity by 8,000 tonnes a year but this initiative is not just about exporting. Some UK businesses acquire extruded polythene from European importers and we also aim to attack this market which, if successful, will help keep more business within Britain.”

>>> View video: http://video.ft.com/v/821966229001/Creativity-at-heart-of-UK-manufacturing

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.

With sales now exceeding 20,000 thousand pints a week through the brewery’s growing chain of distinctive Leeds pubs and other watering holes in the city and further afield, tributes to the quality ales continue to flow in from beer festivals around the country. Leeds Brewery has fast become a stylish ambassador for Leeds, using the skyline and the city’s civic owls in the point of sale designs.

The Beers

In addition to quality brewing, the craft brewery has tremendous flexibility. The three home beers are:

• Leeds Best (4.3%) – a classic Yorkshire Bitter, full-flavoured with a superb, hoppy finish
• Leeds Pale (3.8%) – an easy drinking pale ale – light and hoppy with delicate floral notes and a well-balanced finish
• Midnight Bell (4.8%) – a premium dark mild. Crystal and chocolate malts combine to give a full-bodied, complex character to this award-winning ale

And brewing flexibility has certainly been the name of the game in 2009 with a different seasonal beer each month. Resolution (4.8%) – a crisp winter ale – launched the series in January and was followed by New Moon; Leeds Special; Ascension; Yorkshire Gold; Samba; Yorker; Funfair; Monsoon; and Gathering Storm.

November will be toasted with Hell Fire and Ale Mary will round off the year in December.

Having handled brewing PR for many years I’ve been privileged to sample some great Northern brews and I can assure you the beers, Sam, Michael and the team turn out are up there with the very best. Leeds Best and Pale go down perfectly in summer, but as the darker nights approach, Midnight Bell beckons. Cheers!

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.