High Performance Engineering Sector Study for Northamptonshire
November 2011
HPE is a sector of interest for the county because of the longstanding and high profile presence of the motorsport industry at Silverstone and Rockingham. As a result, High Performance Engineering is often understood to mean car racing and its supply chain. In fact, it covers a much wider range of high value activities including defence, aerospace, civil engineering, light weight materials and clean technologies.
The study profiled the businesses involved in the sector, the nature of their activity, and their value to the economy in terms of employment, turnover, business numbers, earnings, visitor spend, and inward investment. This helped to create a more accurate definition of the sector based on the defining features of the businesses involved: HPE companies have a high technology and knowledge content and aim to achieve the most efficient use of resources for the best performing output.
Roger Tym & Partners also reviewed the business offer for the sector in Northamptonshire in terms of transport infrastructure, land and premises, research centres, skills, business support, image and promotion. Based on this analysis, we identified a number of priority areas of focus for NEP and its partners over the next 3-5 years, to build on existing strengths and maximise the opportunities for the sector in Northamptonshire.
