It is make or break time for many companies, Business Voice West Midlands has warned.

And, in its annual report, it promises it won’t let the region’s vital interests be ignored.

The organisation, launched following a merger last year of West Midlands Business Council and the One Voice Group, claims a series of successes in 2009 despite what chairman Barrie Williams describes as “one of the most severe recessions to impact on the region”.

BVWM now covers all major business representative organisations – the CBI, West Midlands Chambers of Commerce, Institute of Directors, Engineering Employers Federation, Federation of Small Businesses and many others. It is represented on the Joint Strategy and Investment Board, the body that makes the key decisions on regional economic development and planning.

Mr Williams cautioned: “2010 is likely to be a year where economic difficulties continue to beset the West Midlands – we will help ensure business is not left in the lurch by decision makers at this critical time.”

James Watkins, executive director, added: “The focus on helping businesses weather the economic downturn has been unrelenting.

“2010 will be a make or break year for a number of businesses. This is the time we move on and out of recession into prosperity across the Midlands.”

BVWM has concentrated its efforts on four main sectors – crime, construction, clothing and textiles and next generation broadband.

It also launched campaigns to tackle youth unemployment and get action on skills.

Lobbying successes included:
• Police action on business crime hotspots and truck thefts.
• Progress on rolling out next generation broadband.
• More than 100 road improvements.
• A national workplace training programme for engineering firms incorporating a passport-style credit system building to nationally recognised qualifications.
• More businesses taking advantage of Islamic finance opportunities.
• Ensuring new housing developments only happen hand in hand with land for jobs.
• Small locally-owned shops having space in town centres alongside large multiples.

The construction initiative spawned gap funding so that major projects could continue, specialist help for firms to win tenders, efforts to improve links with public agencies and local authorities, simplification of the procurement process, and an increase in specialist support and training to help the sector weather the downturn.

Even with the recession, there have been indications that the clothing and textiles sector has seen a small upturn in its fortunes – and it could be one of the sectors that take the West Midlands out of the recession. As a consequence of BVWM initiatives, a clothing textiles summit was held towards the end of 2009, with Advantage West Midlands producing an action plan to help the sector become stronger and more robust.

Meanwhile, on next generation broadband detailed plans were put in place for a roll-out of the technology aimed at producing speeds of up to 100 megabytes of data per second.

The report notes: “Next generation broadband is critical for the competitiveness of the West Midlands. Faster speeds to access and distribute data are vital for inward investors – such as banks and R&D operations.

“It is important for small and medium sized firms. One small media business based in Birmingham, for instance, has to accept extra costs by waiting ten hours before it can send a film via broadband access to New York. If this same firm was based in Tokyo it would take just six seconds.”

BVWM’s Rural Economy Group, chaired by David Collier, was also successful in persuading the European Commission and the European Parliament to change a Directive to enable the telecoms regulator OFCOM to take action so that the poor broadband links in outlying rural areas – such as the Shropshire/Welsh border – can be addressed.