THE speech by Greg Clark, the Business Secretary who comes from Teesside, at the Conservative Party Conference was clear in demonstrating his commitment to supporting innovation for its capacity to both generate business and encourage and strengthen existing enterprise.

The knowledge-base, skill sets and experience in our region offer an opportunity for us to seize on this agenda and utilise the devolution deal and the Tees Valley Combined Authority to position ourselves at the forefront of the emerging industrial strategy and Northern Powerhouse agenda.

Mr Clark was right to stress the importance of small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) and a diverse business offer in a future national economy and particularly so here, in the North-East, where we have been historically reliant on large, industrial employers.

The metals and materials sectors are principal competencies in the North-East, and could be at the forefront of Mr Clark’s “scientific powerhouse”.

In my role as innovation lead for the metals council we have identified the urgent need for what I refer to as “continuous, relentless” innovation in the UK metals and materials sector, keeping it at the front of the global stage.

The metals and materials sector is SME-heavy, and many find it difficult to engage with existing innovation providers who target large end user companies.

Our UK industrial strategy needs to recognise the need for both strength and depth in supply chains and focus on cross-cutting areas, such as materials and innovation.

To do that we need to give more support to innovative SMEs so that they can grow and be more successful.

Chris McDonald, Chief Executive Officer, Materials Processing Institute, Middlesbrough