With nine weeks to go until the Stroud Festival of Manufacturing and Engineering begins in November, I have been out and about in the constituency visiting manufacturing companies to learn more about the sector which provides almost a quarter of our district’s jobs.  

One thing which has struck me is the fact that manufacturing can come in all shapes and sizes.

During a visit to BPI Polythene in Stroud, I saw how they take recyclable ‘waste’, turn it into plastic pellets, and from that into bin liners.

They make millions of bags a year, getting through thousands of tonnes of plastic – providing products for Stroud and the rest of the country.  

At Dairy Crest, it was quite staggering to see just how much milk a modern dairy can process, and I saw hundreds of litres of milk go through the system every minute.

That milk may stay as simply milk, or it might be turned into cream, butter, a FRijj milkshake – and the Severnside plant in Stonehouse is responsible for all of these different products.  

I also visited a local medical company, Xograph Technology, who specialise in providing high-specification equipment for medical procedures. Many of their products were measured in fractures of millimetres, but they are still world leaders in their field.  

Quite often when we think of manufacturing and engineering, we think of large factories, with big industrial processes, but most of the time this simply isn’t the case.

Firms have to work to ever higher standards to carry on competing in world markets, and Stroud companies consistently punch above their weight.   During the Festomane, we will be holding a Careers Evening at the Subscription Rooms, for anyone who is interested in a career in engineering and manufacturing, and finding out more about the opportunities which Stroud has to offer.

You can see more information on our website, www.festomane.co.uk, or by following us on Twitter @StroudFestival, and it would be great to see you there in November.  

I can be contacted through my website – www.neilcarmichael.co.uk – or follow me on Twitter @neil_mp.