Amid fresh data showing a fall in British exports, the Trade and Investment body unveils a new marketing push to promote UK advanced
engineering overseas.

Britain's goods trade gap with the rest of the world widened more than
expected in January, as a 16 percent fall in exports to countries outside the
European Union outstripped a rise in exports to Europe according to the latest
data from the Office for National Statistics.
In 2007, advanced engineering exports generated 109 billion pounds, one
third of total UK exports. The government is hoping that its new marketing
strategy will help that sector lead the UK out of recession.

Reuters -
A short stroll from the seat of political power in the UK, a new
initiative to promote British ingenuity overseas is launched at the world's
oldest engineering institution. The building itself is a testament to
Britain's rich legacy of enterprising creativity, but this esteemed group of
business leaders including many foreign visitors was not invited here to be
reminded of Britain's legacy. UK Trade and Investment minister Mervyn
Davies:

Mervyn Davies, UK Trade and Investment minister saying:
"The UK is truly a leader in turning ideas into cutting edge and
bespoke solutions and therefore I'm delighted today to be launching the UK's
marketing strategy for advanced engineering."

This new initiative to promote Britain's advanced engineering sector is
part of the UK Trade and Investment body's 5 year corporate strategy called
Prosperity in a Changing World. The government is spending 220 thousand
pounds towards an ad campaign and to set up websites and toolkits to help
small and medium sized businesses with global ambitions.

SOUNDBITE: Mervyn Davies, UK Trade and Investment minister saying
(English):
"What we we're trying to do is spread the word about our capability
in advanced engineering and make sure we attract inward investment but at the
same time help exporters."

The CEO of the engineering firm GKN Kevin Smith says though the timing of
this marketing initiative is tricky - it is the right thing to do.

Kevin Smith, GKN CEO saying,
"My own company has been laying people off and closing plants. It's
hugely difficult, that sort of environment but there is recovery and we do
come out the other side so hopefully this is the last time we have to do this
for 30 years."

Smith says he's hopeful that the pendulum is shifting back towards a
greater focus on manufacturing, despite recent media reports suggesting it is
a dying sector. He jokes that the worst thing engineers did was to give the
financial services industry a computer. The kind of creativity he prefers is
the kind that results in actual products being realized.
Matt Cowan, Reuters.