Following the success of the sell-out defence event at Glass Futures in St Helens earlier this year, RTC North returned last week with another packed session designed to help businesses across the Liverpool City Region uncover their potential in this fast-growing sector.

The latest event once again filled the room, welcoming over 100 delegates from a wide variety of industries. With UK defence spending set to rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, the appetite to understand how to access opportunities within the sector has never been stronger.

Opening the session, Cammell Laird provided a keynote on supplier opportunities and outlined requirements for supplying into defence, from standards and accreditations to the wide range of goods and services they procure.

Didde Bjerglund Martin from JOSCAR gave delegates an essential overview of supplier compliance, while Morgan Oakes from the North West Cyber Resilience Centre delivered a session on cyber essentials for businesses.

The programme also welcomed powerful insights from other industry leaders including Helen O’Rourke from the North West Regional Defence and Security Cluster, Lynsey Parke from DASA (Defence and Security Accelerator), and Dan Parvaz from Make UK Defence.

In addition to the primes and support organisations, there were presentations by Senior Weston, Summit, and MPE Interiors, offering practical insights into the realities of supplying into the defence sector.

In addition, Cammell Laird’s procurement team hosted exclusive Meet the Buyer appointments. These one-to-one sessions gave businesses the rare chance to sit down directly with decision makers and talk through where their products and services might fit in the defence supply chain. Feedback from delegates showed just how valuable this practical engagement was, offering the kind of targeted advice and relationship building that can be difficult to access elsewhere.

The event was delivered as part of RTC North’s ongoing contract in partnership with Growth Platform, which continues to provide valuable support to companies across the Liverpool City Region. Together, both organisations are helping local SMEs access high-value markets like defence and realise their growth potential.

Reflecting on the day, Steve Wilkinson, Programme Manager at RTC North, said:
“Events like this are about so much more than just information sharing, they’re about bolstering the local supply chain and giving businesses the confidence to step into new opportunities. Defence is a growing sector with demand for suppliers across all kinds of goods and services, and it’s vital that companies here in the Liverpool City Region know what’s out there and how to access it. By creating these connections and shining a light on the opportunities available, we’re helping to strengthen both local businesses, local supply chains and the wider economy.”

Held once again at Glass Futures in St Helens, the showcase reinforced just how much potential there is for SMEs in the region to take their place in the defence supply chain. With demand for innovation, services, and resilience only increasing, the message was clear: the time for businesses to explore this market is now.

As RTC North continues to do incredible work across the Liverpool City Region, lots of it in partnership and thanks to the support of partners like Growth Platform, events like this highlight the real impact of collaboration in opening doors for local businesses.