Britain unveiled on Monday a new strategy for the country's manufacturing sector to help firms take advantage of changing global trends in manufacturing.

The government refreshes its manufacturing strategy through partnership with the Department for Business and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the industry and reaffirms its commitment to the sector as a key part of a mixed and balanced British economy in the future.

The strategy brings together almost 150-million pounds (some 260 million US dollars) of medium term support for manufacturing to seize the opportunities of the low carbon economy, supporting skills, realizing overseas opportunities, and improving the perceptions and understanding of manufacturing.

As British economy now going into recession in the wake of a global credit crunch, the government wishes to help manufacturing businesses emerge from the challenging conditions and remain competitive in an increasingly globalized sector.

The government believes that Britain has the open and flexible markets that will allow its business to react to changing and challenging circumstances and manufacturing is still very much a British success story and the unsung hero of the British economy.

"Manufacturing is central to the success of the UK economy and it is vital the sector has the right foundations to endure the current economic slowdown and emerge stronger and fitter than ever, " said Business Secretary John Hutton.

"We are the world's sixth largest manufacturer -- the industry accounts for over half our exports, contributes 150 billion pounds (260 billion dollars) to the economy and around three million jobs. I want the UK to be at the forefront of opportunities opened up by the move towards a low carbon economy. With the right support in place, we can grow our nuclear and renewables industries to become world-leaders in green technologies, supporting hundreds of thousands of green collar jobs," he added.

He admitted that for many years the industry's success has suffered from a lack of public recognition, and that it is time to redress this balance.

Skills Secretary John Denham also pledged to support innovation in British manufacturing by maintaining a world-class research and development infrastructure, through intelligent use of government procurement and regulation to stimulate markets and the growth of innovative business, and to build world-class skills.

"Building on the successes of our innovation strategy, we'll continue to drive innovation in high-value manufacturing, with the Technology Strategy Board investing an additional 24 million pounds (43.2 million dollars) in research and development to help British manufacturers not only maintain but increase their technological and innovative edge over global competitors," Denham noted.