Gloucestershire has a diverse range of industry strengths which support the county's economy. Aerospace, defence-related industries, advanced and medical technologies are strongly represented within the county by companies such as GE Aviation, Messier Dowty, Ultra Electronics and Corin Medical.
Financial services are also key to Gloucestershire's thriving employment market, and the county is home to a number of national and regional headquarters, including Cheltenham & Gloucester plc, Chelsea Building Society, Ecclesiastical Insurance, Fortis Insurance & Endsleigh.
Gloucestershire has also proved attractive to government organisations, ranging from GCHQ's famous 'doughnut' base in Cheltenham to the Land & Registry department in Gloucester and the new offices of the Commission for Rural Communities at Hartpury.
Regeneration of Gloucester's inland docks is attracting large-scale new investment in retail and leisure to the county, with the development of a new factory design outlet, deluxe waterside apartments and new bars and restaurants currently underway.
Kraft Foods, Dairy Crest Severnside and Unilever Frozen Foods are all major employers within the local food & drink industry and sit comfortably alongside niche and high growth SMEs such as Bottlegreen Drinks, Kitchen Garden Foods, Shipton Mill, Freeminers Brewery and Mantinga.
Creative talent flourishes within Gloucestershire, from the International Screenwriters' Festival and the Cheltenham Film Studios to the vibrant arts and crafts community within the Stroud Valleys.
From the nuclear industry to wind energy, the county has a wide pool of energy and environmental technology expertise to draw upon. British Energy, the NDA and Ecotricity are just a few of the big names in Gloucestershire, but innovation and knowledge transfer has stimulated many small enterprises in areas ranging from recycling to nitrate filtration from water sources.