Labour MEP praises award-winning factory

"International firms like Lohmann play a critical part in the community, providing much-needed jobs and growth. We need to do more to make sure that the UK is an attractive place for manufacturing, so that more home-grown and global companies - like Lohmann- put down strong roots in the South East," commented the South East of England MEP. Miss Dodds was shown around the factory by managing director, Roger Churchill (pictured on the right) and Jim Davison, South East Region Director at EEF, the manufacturers' organisation. She was accompanied by Andrew Pakes, Labour's prospective candidate as MP for Milton Keynes South. She was shown how Lohmann has successfully integrated a company it acquired just one year ago in December 2013 and the expanded capabilities in processing and product range the move has afforded the firm. Churchill explained how the company has continued to grow throughout the recession achieving 13% growth since 2009. The firm doubled the size of its premises in 2010 and predicts that further expansion will be on the cards within the next few years. Its forecasts are in line with new findings from EEF which indicate that Britain's manufacturers are feeling 'cautiously confident' with a stronger than average 2% manufacturing growth forecast for 2015. Churchill commented: "It was great to be able to show Anneliese around at such an exciting stage in our company's development. We bucked the trend by continuing to grow throughout the recession and now have plans for further expansion over the next few years. We're feeling confident and in good shape. Hopefully today we've successfully demonstrated that manufacturing is a vibrant sector in the UK and has a vital role to play in underpinning economic security." Lohmann Technologies (UK) is an adhesive tapes manufacturer based in Knowhill, Milton Keynes and is part of a German-owned global group that has operated successfully in the UK since 1992.