INDUSTRY Minister Jacqui Smith has highlighted the success of a Bolton firm to emphasise the strength of the UK's manufacturing industry.

Weston Street-based steel fabricator Sharples Engineering Limited added £80,000 to its profit line after cost-cutting advice from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) - part of the Manufacturing Institute in the North-west.

The ten-strong company, established in 1999, took advantage of free MAS advice to help deal with order backlogs and reduce overtime by improving productivity.

The company created three cells to deal with three types of orders and products. This created distinct routes for differing products and offered a clearer vision of where order backlogs were occurring, and gearing labour to meet demand.

Within a few weeks of implementing the new processes, Sharples was able to maintain high output levels while dramatically reducing overtime working, saving £80,000 a year.

Mrs Smith said: "Companies such as Sharples are competing in an increasingly globalised and highly competitive economy. In today's marketplace, UK firms will not compete with countries like China or India on wages alone.

"But they can stay ahead of the game by using cutting-edge technologies, highly skilled staff and scientific innovation."

Mrs Smith also announced that more than £1 million per year was being provided to the MAS as a result of the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review.

She argued that people should stop "talking down" the sector, pointing to a current figure of 58,000 UK manufacturing vacancies and a five per cent increase in productivity in the past two years.

There are 3,500,000 people employed in UK manufacturing, which is worth £150 billion to the economy.