All eyes were on Oxfordshire yesterday (Wednesday 28 January) when Rachel Reeves, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, made a speech outlining her plans for economic growth. Her proposals included the creation of ‘Europe’s Silicon Valley’ in a growth corridor between Oxford and Cambridge.
The location she chose to make the speech was significant. Siemens Healthineers, a medical technology company at Eynsham near Oxford, represents the success that modern, innovative manufacturing companies can achieve by investing in the region.
The German company is a market leader in medical technology. With a presence in more than 70 countries around the globe, it claims that almost three-quarters of all critical clinical decisions are influenced by the type of technology it provides.
Siemens Healthineers has been committed to the Oxfordshire region for several decades. Its Eynsham factory, which employs 600 people, designs and manufactures superconducting magnets for MRI scanners. It is one of six current and planned sites in the UK and Ireland and an overall 3,000-strong workforce.
Its operations in Oxfordshire are soon to be expanded. In May 2024 it announced it is investing £250 million in a new facility for MRI technology near Bicester. The 56,000m2 site will use high-end manufacturing automation technology to manufacture some of the world’s smallest and most lightweight whole-body scanners. When it opens in 2030, it will be the UK’s first major production site for its new, sustainable DryCool technology which drastically reduces the amount of helium required in an MRI scanner.
“We are very proud to open the next chapter of our history here in Oxford,” said Bernd Montag, chief executive of Siemens Healthineers. “The new factory will be the global centre for our innovative low-helium magnet technology, meaning we consume far less of a scarce natural resource and enable access to MRIs for many more patients.”
The new factory will support more than 1,300 skilled jobs, including physicists, engineers, technicians and specialised support staff.
The new development is designed to be carbon-neutral in operation, and will include improvements to the local highway network and support for local services such as bus routes, footpaths and cycleways.
As part of its commitment to Oxfordshire, Siemens Healthineers provides mentoring services to students in nearby schools and will be increasing its intake of apprentices by a quarter over a three-year programme. The company is also a main sponsor of the Oxford Science and Ideas Festival, inspiring young people to find out more about science, technology, engineering and mathematics in the area.