A total of 4,000 South West businesses have now signed up to the Hinkley Supply Chain portal where companies are matched to contracts at the Hinkley Point C (HPC) construction project, creating hundreds of new jobs and pumping millions of pounds into the regional economy.
The significant milestone was announced by the Hinkley Point Supply Chain Team which runs the portal, designed to be the single point of contact for both regional businesses seeking contract opportunities and main contractors seeking capable suppliers.
The Hinkley Supply Chain Team is a collaboration between EDF Energy, Somerset Chamber of Commerce, SWMAS and Business West. Sam Evans, from the Hinkley Supply Chain Team, said: “there is a strong commitment from EDF Energy to ensure businesses in Somerset and the wider South West benefit.
“We have just seen our 4,000th company sign up to the portal to be considered for work at the site, a significant milestone at a time when work on the site is accelerating, creating more and more opportunities for South West businesses to bid for and win valuable contracts.
“What’s especially pleasing is that, far from the list of companies registered all being construction and engineering companies, we are seeing a broad range of sectors represented, including design agencies, catering companies, professional services firms and office fit-out businesses.”
More than 90 Tier 1 and 2 HPC contractors use the portal run by the Hinkley Supply Chain Team to source suppliers with relevant capability for a range of work packages.
South West suppliers can get help from the Hinkley Supply Chain Programme, which is specifically funded by the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise partnership and West of England Combined Authority and is supported by core funding provided by EDF Energy.
This programme of support provides diagnostics, advice and tailored support on how to access the project linked to specific opportunities. Chris Langdon, Hinkley Project Lead for the Somerset Chamber of Commerce said: “The programme has already provided support to over 200 firms across the project region. Winning work at HPC can be transformative for regional businesses, but they often need to make some step changes in their management approach, address capability gaps and achieve new standards.”
In 2017 the programme engaged with over 18 contractors, assessed more than 85 work packages and promoted around 1400 suppliers. Sam Evans added: “In the last few months we are aware that this activity together with existing contractor and supplier relations has resulted in over 135 SW suppliers who are likely to be awarded over £110 million of construction related contracts. This is in addition to the site services contracts of £465 million awarded to 7 different supplier consortia reported late last year.”
The Hinkley Supply Chain team encourage any business in the region to register at www.hinkleysupplychain.co.uk which helps make you visible to both the team and the tier 1 contractors. There remains significant potential for businesses to access opportunities linked to Hinkley C construction and it is a fantastic opportunity to get involved.
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