The chance has come for us to make some history
Jun 10 2009 By Sarah Green, The Journal
Sarah Green is regional director of the CBI
LAST week 50 key business leaders met in Darlington to discuss how new technologies can transform the North East.
This can be paralleled with over 100 years ago, when the North East was at the heart of the industrial revolution. Parsons invented the steam turbine and Lord Armstrong installed the first hydroelectric lighting system. Our Quaker ancestors developed the first public passenger railway – the Stockton and Darlington.
This was a time when meetings at forums such as the Newcastle Lit and Phil brought together some of the best engineering brains to innovate and ultimately to create products that revolutionised both industry and the way people lived, creating great wealth for the nation and the region.
The North East was a hotbed of world-class engineering.
In 2009, we once again have an opportunity to revolutionise the way people live. Lord Mandelson has launched his blueprint for the new economy, New Industries, New Jobs, and the North East is fantastically positioned to lead these opportunities, not just within this region but globally. This is where you fit in.
The Great North Revolution needs you, as once again we have ambitions to lead on technologies that will transform the way we live and the places we live in. These opportunities include electric vehicle production and infrastructure, the manufacture of and supply chain related to offshore wind renewables, building on expertise such as Digital and Software City, innovating further around new exciting materials including printable electronics, and exploiting our expertise in biosciences and healthcare.
In these areas we are one of only a few places in the world that today have sufficient level of expertise, natural resources and appropriate supply chain opportunities that means we could truly be world-leading. If we can really succeed (and I mean become the global leader) in any one of these technologies, we will transform the North East.
Our leading R&D will attract new investment and consequently new well-paid jobs, our dominance in these critical sectors will raise the aspirations of our young people, the scale of these opportunities will encourage entrepreneurs and our region will prosper, offering improved prospects for all. This will be the Great North Revolution.
To maximise these opportunities we need to ensure every business in our region is considering how it can align its business model to maximise the supply chain potential of these new industries and we collectively are looking to support these industries in their infancy by buying in early and gaining first mover advantage maximising public/ private sector investment.
What do we mean by this? A great example is if we can secure the electric vehicle infrastructure for the region – can we encourage regional businesses to invest in one or two pilot electric vehicles to demonstrate the region’s commitment to low carbon transport and to help create the economies of scale that will naturally come about through mass buy-in?
The CBI will be working in coming months with the Science and Industry Council, One North East and – critically – bringing members together with different expertise to help your business to understand the opportunities of the new economy and to find out how they can be part of this revolution.
Please use this opportunity to get involved.
