A TRACK record of successful companies and investment, space for growth… and a "positive and enthusiastic attitude" with "tremendous support and unfailing co-operation".

When the president of one of the world’s leading car-component manufacturers praises a location so highly, you know it offers business something special.

Rotherham, in the centre of the UK, is "the best", says Tokio Horigome, of Toyoda Gosei, part of Toyota. The company chose the South Yorkshire borough for a £32m investment to create its first European base and the next stage in its global strategy.

The borough has been in the news recently because of the decision by steelmaker Corus (formerly British Steel) to cut 620 jobs at its steelplant there.

But many business people know that Corus is going against the flow – recent years have seen companies invest millions in Rotherham.

Toyoda Gosei is among 70 investors from 20 countries, as well as UK and "home-grown" successes. The latest is PowerGen, the electricity, gas and telecommunications giant, creating a 500-job callcentre at Manvers Enterprise Zone.

In the past five years, 169 companies have moved in or expanded, £168m-plus has been invested, and 8,678 new jobs have been created or committed to.

Against 1998-99, the past year saw the number of companies double to 63, jobs rise 39 per cent to 4,372 and investment leap 61 per cent, to £87.6m.

These are hard-headed companies that see the opportunities for success in Rotherham. They all say they find the right conditions and the back-up advice and guidance from RiDO, Rotherham Industrial Development Office, the local authority’s inward investment and business support arm.

Manager Richard Poundford said: "We offer a special approach of going the extra mile to smooth their way. That involves everything from planning issues to homes and schools for families."

An excellent package of financial assistance will become even more attractive once South Yorkshire puts the EU’s £700m-plus Objective One funding to work.

Rotherham Partnership’s £43m New York Riverside development scheme, under the Government’s Single Regeneration Budget, will create 2,000-plus new jobs over the next four years as it regenerates a 1,200-acre area less than five minutes from three M1 junctions. Other areas also offer tremendous potential:

• Dinnington has acres of space being prepared just minutes from the M1’s Junction 31, and some sites are available now
• Hellaby sits beside Junction 1 of the M18, with a range of premises available
• Barbot Hall is another excellent location just minutes from the M1’s junction 34

Wherever you choose in Rotherham, sites and premises are competitively priced and there is plenty of land.

There is also a culture of hard work and quality production among Rotherham workers and labour costs are highly attractive.

The borough sits at the heart of an excellent road, rail and air network. The M1 and M18 trisect the borough and the A1(M) and M62 are just minutes away. Mainline rail and Channel Tunnel freight railports are nearby. A City Airport is just minutes from the town centre and four international airports are within a 50-mile radius.

And there is quality of life in abundance. Seventy per cent of the borough is rural, embracing eight golf courses, three country parks, attractive villages and good housing at attractive prices, yet cities such as London, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield are easily reached.

Rotherham will work for your company.

Contact: Andrew Nettleton
Industrial Promotion Manager
RiDO
Reresby House
 Bow Bridge Close
Rotherham S60 1BY

Tel: +44 (0)1709-372099
email andrew@rido.org.uk
or check out our
website www.rido.org.uk