'Innovate or die' says ex-minister at unveiling
A SENIOR advisor to David Cameron has used a visit to Runcorn to warn firms they must innovate or die.
Former Government minister Steven Norris was speaking at the unveiling of Progressive Solutions' new offices at The Heath Business and Technical Park.
During the visit he applauded the efforts of Progressive Solutions together with SOG Ltd, which owns and manages the business park, and RJ Lewis Projects, the Liverpool-based company responsible for the design and building management of the construction project.
But while all three organisations are bucking the current economic trend, other companies are destined to be less successful, the former transport minister warned.
He said: "Businesses need to pull together as a team and work hard.
"People of quality and teams of quality that work will together be the ones that survive.
"Being efficient, being innovative and being dedicated to actually deliver a quality outcome. "What we do have to recognise is that times are genuinely very hard indeed and they are likely to remain so for some time.
"It's important to distinguish genuine green shoots from some of the weeds that are likely to emerge but which distract at a time like this from what the real issues are."
Progressive Solutions aims to add 180,000 square feet of new accommodation – potentially increasing the total workforce on site from 2,000 to more than 3,000 – within five years.
© 2009. Kindly reproduced courtesy of Runcorn Weekly News.
