Work starts on Scotland’s advanced manufacturing innovation district

A new manufacturing district in Renfrewshire which will create thousands of new jobs for the sector took a step closer as work started on site.The Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) will be based next to Glasgow Airport and is expected to put Renfrewshire at the heart of Scotland’s manufacturing industry, estimated to create up to 6,000 jobs and boost Scotland’s manufacturing sector by £535million in GVA a year.Renfrewshire Council is leading the district’s development in partnership with Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise.A 52-hectare campus at the heart of the district will house companies harnessing new technologies and accessing cutting edge research. With 1.6million square feet of available floor space, the site is already confirmed as the location for the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland and the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre.Work has now started on constructing the enabling infrastructure, which includes new roads, bridges, cycling routes and pedestrian walkways, funded through the £1.13 billion Glasgow City Region City Deal, jointly funded by the UK and Scottish governments.Derek Mackay, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work joined Renfrewshire’s Provost Lorraine Cameron, Scottish Enterprise Chief Executive Steve Dunlop and local Inchinnan Primary School pupils at the official groundbreaking.Renfrewshire pupils were also on hand to plant a tailor-made time capsule packed full of local manufacturing mementos together with the children’s ‘dream inventions’ – covering everything from glasses that can see emotions to a self-navigating bike.The ground breaking also included a reception and tour of family-owned Inchinnan company Peak Scientific, who design and manufacture the world’s leading gas generators, used for laboratory analytics across a wide range of sectors including cancer research and screening newborns.They have embraced manufacturing innovation to grow the business, now employing more than 450 employees worldwide, with major operations in North America, China and India and exporting to more than 110 countries.Scottish Enterprise has committed £2.47million grant funding towards the project and is also providing its expertise to help shape the district masterplan, creating a high-quality environment that fosters collaboration, supports sustainability and promotes health and wellbeing, with places for work, leisure and socialising.The enabling infrastructure is scheduled for completion in early 2021 and will also strengthen connections to nearby Westway Park, Scotland’s largest fully enclosed industrial distribution and office park, and to Inchinnan Business Park, home to more than 30 businesses including Rolls Royce PLC, Peak Scientific and the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre.