High praise from the High Sheriff for East Midlands Airport’s crucial regional role
The High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire has expressed how lucky the region is to have East Midlands Airport on a visit to see its unrivalled cargo operation.
Edward Attenborough saw for himself how the airport comes alive in the evening with cargo activity – and remarked how his own business relies heavily on the operation for time-critical deliveries.
His visit comes as the airport’s cargo operation – already the largest of its kind in the country – has welcomed seven new cargo operators since launching its long-term cargo growth plans in the spring.
As High Sheriff until next April, Edward champions Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands with a particular focus on supporting young people. He runs Attenborough Medical, a Nottingham-based company which specialises in producing patient-specific medical implants. Established more than 100 years ago, the firm invested heavily in the early 2000s in 3D printing and advanced digital manufacturing, which has led to it becoming one of the leading companies in the med-tech field in the UK.
Attenborough Medical uses scans of patients to design and 3D print implants tailormade for each person. These include cranial and maxillofacial implants for reconstructive surgery and dental implants, and prostheses.
Along with production sites in Nottingham’s Lace Market and the University of Nottingham’s Science Park, it has opened a third facility in Lokeren, Belgium. Edward explains that they rely on DHL’s huge operation at East Midlands for the flow of parts. Edward says they can leave their premises in Nottingham at 6.30pm and be at their facility in Belgium by 8.30am the next day, adding: “It’s just incredible really how reliable that is.”
Watch the High Sheriff talk about EMA during his cargo visit here: High Sheriff of Notts at EMA
He went on: “Digital manufacturing is very nimble, so things happen when they need to happen.
“It is very, very time critical because our implants are specific to a patient. You have got a surgery booked, a surgeon’s booked, the anaesthetist’s booked, the whole medical team booked and you need our implants to arrive on time. So we really, really rely on the cargo operation at East Midlands Airport.
“We are so lucky to have this airport in the region, it is such an amazing facility. That coupled with the Freeport and all the amazing initiatives of the Freeport making it an attractive environment for businesses to be based here, I think it is a really exciting future not just for Nottingham but for Leicester, Derby and the whole Midlands region.”
Head of Corporate Affairs at East Midlands Airport Ioan Reed-Aspley, pictured with the High Sheriff, said: “I was delighted to welcome Edward to the airport and show him the cargo operation that his company relies so heavily upon.
“It’s great to hear first-hand from a local business owner just how important our presence is for their ongoing success. The time criticality of Edward’s businesses is a fantastic example of the crucial role we play in driving seamless trade as the UK’s number one express air freight hub.”