Manufacturing

Leeds is the UK’s third largest manufacturing centre and 50% of the UK’s manufacturing base is within a two hour drive of Leeds.

With around 1,800 firms and around 36,000 employees, Leeds manufacturing firms account for 8.6% of total employment in the city. A strong manufacturing culture exists within the city, supported by a large and skilled workforce able to adapt to the rapid technological advances driving the industry.

The largest sub-sectors are engineering, printing and publishing, food and drink, chemicals and healthcare technology. A detailed report is available on the manufacturing sector in Leeds, including case studies on some of the city's manufacturers. Download the report.

Leeds companies manufacture an extremely diverse range of products including heart valves, newspapers and magazines, buses, jet turbine blades and motor components.

Some of the largest manufacturing companies in Leeds are Moores Furniture Group, Yorkshire Post Newspapers, AETC, Cameron, Lever Faberge, Schneider Electric, Wabco Automotive, Communisis, Scientific Games, Arla Foods, Nampak Cartons, and Sulzer (UK) Pumps.

Engineering is the largest manufacturing sector in Leeds with approximately 13,250 employees in around 700 companies.

Productivity within manufacturing is higher than in many other sectors of the economy, with average output per worker for the Leeds economy as a whole standing at £37,300 per annum. This compares with £49,000 (+31%) for the manufacturing sector in Leeds.

Regional development agency Yorkshire Forward has established a network of Centres for Industrial Collaboration to encourage closer working between industry and the region’s universities. Five of the centres – specialising in biomaterials and tissue engineering, food, particle science, digital print and wireless technologies – are based at the University of Leeds.