Manufacturing trade body seeks government backing amid calls for 'bigger voice' for industry

Steve Morley and Geraldine Bolton of the Confederation of British Metalforming (CBM) are unified in their desire to give their members an even greater voice on key issues impacting their ability to compete over the next twelve months, vowing to enhance their own organisation’s offer even further.

Despite the challenges of recent tax increases in the budget and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty of US tariffs and global conflict, the duo believes there are still plenty of opportunities for Black Country and Shropshire manufacturers if there is more stability in the automotive sector and if the ongoing resurgence in aerospace continues.

They also believe that serious government backing and funding towards ‘Made in Britain’ could dispel some of the economic gloom and generate numerous possibilities.

“It’s a positive that we’ve got an Industrial Strategy after so long and that we and other trade bodies have been given the chance to have our say,” added Steve, who is president of the CBM.

“We do have concerns, however. The make-up of the ‘IS’ council has no SME representation and that doesn’t bode well for getting our voice across. I also have a big worry that many of the big decisions will be made early thus taking up any investment opportunities for small to medium-sized firms.”

"There will be a major piece of lobbying to do around CBAM and there’s an ongoing discussion to be had about skills, energy costs and how we can reshore more work.

“Another major issue for our members is HMRC back duty claims on steel safeguarding and, through our relationship with West Bromwich MP Sarah Coombes, we now have this back on the table with the hope of a successful outcome for manufacturers unfairly punished.”

The Confederation of British Metalforming is the leading trade association for UK manufacturers of fasteners, forgings and pressings, cold-rolled and sheet metal products.

It currently provides lobbying services to more than 200 members across the country, as well as providing access to specialist technical experts in metals, forgings and fasteners.

Each year, CBM companies also save £4m by having their Climate Change (CC) Levy administration completed on their behalf, with firms urged to register before May 1st to be eligible for support for next year’s claim.

Geraldine Bolton, CEO of the CBM, added: “We are currently in the process of working up a new six-year climate change agreement taking us to 2033, with a new base line year and new targets.

“There is a chance to include new eligible processes in these agreements and our experts are working on this at the moment, The Government is tightening up on the energy reporting that firms have to do with annual reports now being required for both CC agreements and ESOS.”

2025 is going to be an extremely busy year with the Confederation of British Metalforming attending EIFI in Seville, Euroforge in France and the UK and ICOSPA in Tokyo - all important trade events that help it keep on top of the latest international developments.

There will also be a vital opportunity to build on the new CBM Corporate Membership, with JLR and the Advanced Forming Research Centre already signed-up. A third big name from the financial services sector should be announced shortly.

Geraldine concluded: “Like our manufacturers, we must keep improving in all areas - there’s no room to stand still or be complacent. The use of AI is something we will embrace so we can improve our analytics and improve our documentation and content.”