Invest in East Ayrshire and be part of something bigger….This is the message from businesses and local support agencies to anyone thinking of investing in Scotland.
In the heart of South West Scotland’s landscape, East Ayrshire is a great place to live, work and invest.
We have an excellent quality of life with a growing economy, a strong sense of community good educational opportunities and a choice of modern and traditional homes to meet all needs and budgets. We also enjoy good public health care and efficient, fast transport and communications links.
Our 120,000 residents live in a mix of urban and rural communities and our principal towns are Kilmarnock in the north of the area and Cumnock to the south. These are complemented by a network of smaller towns and villages with a strong sense of community at their core.
Our proximity to ports, airports and the UK’s motorway network; our easy accessibility to both the central belt in Scotland and to the Northern Powerhouse in England; our highly skilled labour pool and the quality of our property portfolio all combine to make East Ayrshire an attractive proposition for investors.
Perhaps less well known is our industrial heritage and the diversity of the business base that calls East Ayrshire home – we have strengths in key sectors and a number of internationally renowned companies keen to welcome new investors and to support the economy grow.
Engineering
Traditional industries, such as textiles and engineering are thriving. Locally over 1500 people are employed in engineering and manufacturing, covering everything from traditional mechanical engineering to aerospace and marine engineering.
Emergency One in Cumnock is the leading manufacturer of fire engines in the UK, while the ScotSeat Group in Stewarton designs and manufacturers bespoke seating for marine, military, commercial and passenger vehicles.
Mahle Engineering is responsible for the design and manufacture of bearings and brushes for formula one vehicles, while TPS Weldtech Ltd provides welding solutions to the oil and gas and construction industries across the USA and around the world.
In the heart of Kilmarnock, Wabtec Faiveley Ltd and Brodie Engineering collectively refurbish and repair 25% of all railway rolling stock in the UK. In Newmilns, Dustacco Ltd is a leading UK manufacturer of dust extraction systems.
Textiles
World renowned textile companies manufacture fabric linings for aircraft, bullet proof material for combat vests and medical solutions for heart valves.
MYB Ltd is the only remaining manufacturer of madras lace in the UK and combines the use of modern technology with the original looms installed in the factory in the early 20th century to supply bespoke pieces to fashion houses including Ralph Lauren and to produce specialist work for film companies and restoration projects.
Mackies in Stewarton produce high quality jumpers, scarves and bonnets for a number of high street and international retailers while Lochaven International produces the knitwear for the Harry Potter franchise and supplies garments to fashion houses Burberry and Prada.
Food and Drink
Employing over 4000 people in food production and hospitality, the local food and drink sector supplies fine, home grown produce.
Woody’s Ice-cream, Dunlop Dairy who produce artisan cheese, Ethical Ales , a craft brewer , Everything Chilli, and Grants of Scotland, a long established haggis producer are just a few of our many and varied food and drink producers thriving and supplying national and international markets. The Food & Drink sector in East Ayrshire also continues to expand with a number of growing businesses across the region.
Crucial Drinks, an award winning boutique drinks manufacturer based at the Dumfries House Estate, Cumnock has recently appointed a Brand Ambassador to operate in Asia Pacific region to develop the market for their products which includes a range of whiskies and rums demonstrating that this East Ayrshire business has great growth ambitions and is taking positive steps to expand into international markets and be part of something bigger.
Niche industries
East Ayrshire is also home to a range of unique businesses such as Olympic curling stone manufacturers, Kays of Scotland leading fabrication and specialist metalworkers Annandale Designs, Microtech Systems Ltd which manages patient record systems of health boards across the UK and McCallum Bagpipes whose exquisite highland and lowland pipes are exported across the globe.
So whatever your business, there is a network of sectors and companies in East Ayrshire who will welcome you and help you understand that this is a thriving, exciting place to do business. This is a special part of the country, proud of its past and ambitious for the future.
East Ayrshire Council has a number of support mechanisms to help you to relocate and invest – our website Invest East Ayrshire (www.investeastayrshire.com) is a one stop shop for companies to tap into a wide network of assistance, giving them access to a wealth of advice and support to help them succeed.
Business support ranges from helping to find commercial property and recruiting, developing and training staff, to accessing funding to embark on new projects.
Our beReady business growth programme targets the development needs of businesses. Through beReady a business can access a team of specialists in sales and marketing, digital, procurement, people, innovation, and management development. These experts share their wealth of knowledge and experience with businesses through workshops and one-to-one support. The integrated approach helps companies make the best decisions for the biggest business benefit and is the route to financial assistance from East Ayrshire Council’s Business Grants Programme.
Partners include The Prince’s Trust Enterprise Programme, which offers training, mentoring, funding and resources to help 18 to 30 year olds start their own businesses; Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International, who can assist with national and international growth.
We can also offer a range of commercial property solutions, including industrial units, offices, retail premises and land available for new developments.
In Kilmarnock, the principal site, Moorfield Business Park, is zoned for industrial use and the imminent completion of two new speculative industrial units is offering both local businesses and inward investors the opportunity to secure new large modern industrial units which have excellent access to the M77 trunk road with Glasgow only 30 minutes away in addition to the excellent proximity of both Prestwick and Glasgow International Airports.
The former Johnnie Walker bottling plant site in Kilmarnock is the focus for the Halo Project, an imaginative new retail, leisure and business park, while extensive refurbishment work has recently been completed on the Ingram Business Centre in the heart of the town, which offers tenants flexible serviced office units for small and start-up businesses with all-inclusive rental packages available.
In Cumnock, a new retail development on Townhead Street is providing a modern, stylish option for local retailers and further new units will be available for rent in winter 2018 with the redevelopment of the former Glaisnock Centre which includes a 10,000 sq.ft. Farmfoods store.
