The West Midlands ( loft Conversion ) is an official region of England,
covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the
Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city,
Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes
the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley, Solihull, Walsall
and West Bromwich. The city of Coventry is also located within the West
Midlands county, but is separated from the conurbation to the west by
several miles of green belt.
The region is geographically diverse, from the urban central areas of
the conurbation to the rural western counties of Shropshire and
Herefordshire which border Wales. The longest river in the UK, the
River Severn, traverses the region southeastwards, flowing through the
county towns of Shrewsbury and Worcester, and the Ironbridge Gorge, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site, as birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
Staffordshire is home to the industrialised Potteries conurbation,
including the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the Staffordshire Moorlands
area, which borders the southeastern Peak District National Park near
Leek. The region also encompasses five Areas of Outstanding Natural
Beauty. Warwickshire is home to the town of Stratford upon Avon, the
birthplace of poet William Shakespeare.
Herefordshire
Bulmers Cider is in Hereford. Cadbury UK make Cadbury Dairy Milk near
Marlbrook (near Leominster).
Shropshire
Müller Dairy Ltd is based in Market Drayton. The PDSA is based
in
Telford along with the MoD have a significant depot at Donnington there
is high-technology industries Unimation, Nikon, Hitachi Maxell, Ricoh,
Capgemini, Fujitsu and Electronic Data Systems..
[Loft cost ]Staffordshire
The brewing companies such as Coors Brewers are in Burton on Trent, as
well as Marmite, Marston's, and Punch Taverns. JCB is based in
Staffordshire. Michelin Tyres are made in Sideway in Stoke-on-Trent,
with Royal Doulton and Wedgwood based in Barlaston. RoadChef are at
Norton Canes, near Cannock. Armitage Shanks is in Rugeley. Areva
T&D (UK) (formerly owned by Alstom) is based in Stafford as
well as
a factory and UK headquarters of Bostik. Numark Pharmacy is in Tamworth.
[edit]Warwickshire
ConocoPhillips UK, JET UK (petrol), Bridgestone UK, National Grid plc,
Calor, Volvo Group UK and a large data centre of IBM are in Warwick.
BMW have their main European four-cylinder engine plant at Hams Hall
near the M42. Codemasters is in Leamington Spa. Subaru UK is in
Coleshill. ALDI UK is in Atherstone. Holland & Barrett, the
health
food chain, and Adams Childrenswear are based in Nuneaton. Aston Martin
and Land Rover have their headquarters in Gaydon. Morgan Est is in
Rugby. NFU Mutual is in Tiddington near Stratford and the NFU is in
Stoneleigh as is AGCO Limited UK, who own Massey Ferguson; the large
factory at Coventry closed in 2002. The British Horse Society is in
Kenilworth.
[edit]West Midlands conurbation
Nationally famous companies in the West Midlands include Cadbury's in
Bournville, Birmingham. Mitchells and Butlers, the pub chain company,
CrossCountry, and National Express are in Birmingham. Small-scale
production of MG cars was started again by Nanjing Automobile Group on
part of the former MG Rover Group site at Longbridge in 2008. H.
Samuel, the jewellers, is in Hockley of the Jewellery Quarter. RoSPA is
based in Edgbaston; Dollond & Aitchison and ATS Euromaster are
in
Aston; Goodyear Tyres and Dunlop Tyres are in Erdington; and Severn
Trent (water) in Sheldon. AGA Consumer Products Ltd is in Shirley.
Daihatsu UK is in West Bromwich. E.ON UK (former Powergen), Jaguar Cars
and Volvo Cars UK, Peugeot UK (head office), Jewson, the Learning and
Skills Council, and Thomson Holidays are in Coventry. The main Land
Rover factory, Nationwide Autocentre, and Enterprise Inns are in
Solihull. Carillion and Tarmac are in Wolverhampton, with Poundland in
Willenhall. Hampson Industries is in Brierley Hill.
[edit]Worcestershire
Halfords and GKN are in Redditch. Lea & Perrins is in Worcester.