Deputy Prime Minister announces Greater Manchester jobs boost

The Deputy Prime Minister has announced that 300 Greater Manchester jobs will be created at Altrincham based trailer builder, The Cartwright Group, thanks to investment from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund.

During their 60th anniversary last year, the family run firm, which builds trailers for well-known brands including TNT, Royal Mail and Airbus, were awarded £1.9m from the Regional Growth Fund. Stanley Cartwright, a trained wheelwright and coachbuilder, started the business in his workshop in a barn in Wythenshawe where he began building coachbuilt, timber framed bodywork and cabs.

Thanks to this cash injection, Altrincham based The Cartwright Group has invested a further £2.9m and will announce today that 300 jobs will be created thanks to the fund, including 30 new apprenticeships being taken on every year for the next three years.

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg said:
"The Cartwright Group has a reputation of excellence and it is great news that they are using Regional Growth Fund cash to continue to expand their manufacturing lines, including building ambulances – a project that can create 300 jobs over the next three years and will see their business grow.

"What makes this company successful is that they believe in their staff – the lifeblood of the company – and commit to a continuous investment programme in training so it can grow and bring new people to help with the development of the business. This is what the Regional Growth Fund is all about.

"There are more people in work today than there were before the financial crisis, we are close to record levels – since 2010, we have helped to create over 1.2 million jobs in the private sector, including 82,000 here in the North West."

Steven Cartwright, joint Managing Director of Cartwright commented:
"We are delighted that the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has found time in his busy schedule to visit Cartwright.

"We have only just celebrated 60 years in manufacturing and the financial assistance we have received through the Regional Growth Fund will help us with our plans to take the company to the next level, developing new products and services as well as creating new jobs in order to help us to maintain our position as the UK’s leading body and trailer manufacturer offering the widest range of product and related services in the industry.

"We are committed to growing the business and that will require more people in all areas of the organisation from apprentices through to senior executive roles. Our apprentices today will become our managers of tomorrow and help to create a platform to keep Cartwright at the leading edge of manufacturing for many years to come.

"However we would call upon Government to help our industry to attract more young people to consider a career in manufacturing.

"We are proactive in finding youngsters for our apprenticeship scheme. It would be great if a more joined up approach through the schools, with the help of the government, was in place to help build the awareness of manufacturing as a serious career option."

In the North West, the first three rounds of the Regional Growth Fund have invested £378m into 75 projects, pulling in £2.7bn private investment, creating and safeguarding 85,000 jobs over 10 years.

The fourth round of the fund, worth £350m recently closed, with the North West leading the applications with 58 proposals bidding for £316m.

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg added:
"It is great to see so many proposals from companies that want money to move ahead and expand. As in previous rounds of the Regional Growth Fund, this is a competitive process and we will be analysing the proposals carefully before selecting the winning bids – ensuring we put money where it counts, to create or safeguard local jobs for the long-term."

An announcement will be made in the summer of selected projects.