The Sussex And The City Podcast

– Episode #57

The Global Medtech Story Hiding In Sussex

Host: Richard Freeman Guest: Tim Rose – UK General Manager, Elekta

🔍 Episode summary

Does Sussex really understand the scale of the businesses, technologies and expertise already operating here?

Sussex is often described as a small business economy; a place of SMEs, freelancers, independents and microbusinesses. That is certainly part of the story. But it can obscure another Sussex economy; one built around advanced manufacturing, engineering, medical technology and businesses operating on a genuinely global scale.

In this episode, Richard Freeman speaks with Tim Rose, UK General Manager of Elekta, one of Sussex’s largest employers and one of the county’s international success stories.

From its campus at Manor Royal in Crawley, Elekta designs and manufactures sophisticated radiotherapy technology used to treat cancer around the world. Machines have been manufactured on the site since the 1960s; it is approaching its 6,500th machine, while the technology produced there has contributed to the treatment of more than 350 million patients globally.

Yet outside medical technology and advanced manufacturing, relatively few people in Sussex know the scale of what is happening there.

Richard and Tim use Elekta as a starting point for a much bigger conversation about whether Sussex is sufficiently good at identifying, connecting and promoting its economic strengths.

They discuss the cluster of globally significant engineering and technology businesses around Crawley and the Gatwick Diamond, and whether devolution could help connect these strengths more intelligently with Brighton, Worthing, Shoreham, Newhaven and the east of the county.

That raises a fundamental question about the emerging Sussex economy. Should places continue to compete and plan primarily within their existing boundaries, or could transport, skills, housing and infrastructure increasingly be considered as interconnected economic corridors?

Skills are central to the conversation too. Elekta works with universities, colleges and schools across Sussex, providing apprenticeships, graduate routes, STEM experiences and opportunities for neurodiverse young people. Tim argues that making these careers visible matters; world-leading engineering opportunities can exist only a few miles from a young person’s home while remaining almost completely outside their field of vision.

And with strategic mayoral authorities taking a greater role in skills, transport and economic development, Richard and Tim explore whether devolution could turn individual examples of good practice into something more systematic.

Tim’s ultimate argument is for a clearer “One Sussex” economic message – not pretending that Hastings, Crawley, Brighton and Chichester have identical economies, but making a stronger collective case for investment, infrastructure, talent and growth.

This episode is brought to you in partnership with the NatWest Accelerator Hub at the University of Brighton. Designed for ambitious founders and early-stage businesses, including those too young or small for many conventional business support programmes, the hub offers free workshops, expert coaching and practical support around finance, sales, funding and leadership, alongside a dedicated app and business community. Search NatWest Accelerator Brighton to find out more.

🎯 In this episode

• The global medical technology being designed and manufactured in Crawley

• Why some of Sussex’s biggest economic success stories remain surprisingly invisible

• Elekta’s role in the global treatment of cancer

• Artificial intelligence and MRI technology in modern radiotherapy

• The advanced manufacturing cluster around Crawley and Manor Royal

• Why large employers need strong local SME supply chains

• Whether Sussex should think in terms of economic corridors rather than council boundaries

• Transport and housing as barriers to recruitment and growth

• The economic potential of Gatwick, Shoreham and Newhaven

• Partnerships between employers, universities, colleges and schools

• Apprenticeships and alternative routes into advanced engineering

• Making STEM careers visible to young people

• Creating better opportunities for neurodiverse talent

• What greater mayoral responsibility for skills could mean for employers

• Tim’s argument for a stronger “One Sussex” economic proposition

🧠 Key themes Sussex may be underselling its strongest businesses

Elekta illustrates a curious Sussex problem. Globally significant technology is being developed and manufactured here, yet much of the population has little idea it exists. If Sussex wants to attract investment and talent, identifying and communicating these strengths becomes economically important rather than simply an exercise in civic pride.

Economic geography does not neatly follow council boundaries

Crawley, Gatwick, Brighton, Worthing, Shoreham and Newhaven have very different identities, but businesses, workers, supply chains and infrastructure connect them. Devolution creates an opportunity to consider whether these relationships should shape economic strategy more than historic administrative borders.

Infrastructure is economic policy

For a business employing around 750 people on its Crawley campus, transport is not an abstract policy discussion. It determines who can realistically work there. Tim argues that better connections and affordable housing are therefore essential ingredients in attracting and retaining skilled people.

Skills need to become a Sussex-wide system

Individual employers already have strong relationships with schools, colleges and universities. The opportunity presented by devolution is to connect these activities, so that access to an employer or career does not depend upon whether one particularly proactive school happens to know about it.

Young people cannot aspire to jobs they cannot see

One of the clearest challenges in the episode is visibility. Sussex can possess excellent STEM jobs, apprenticeships and graduate careers while simultaneously having young people living nearby who have no idea those opportunities exist.

“One Sussex” should not mean one identical Sussex

Tim’s case is not that every part of the county has the same economic needs. He explicitly identifies the differences between the Gatwick economy and the south coast. The argument is instead that Sussex could present a more coherent external proposition while retaining those important local distinctions.

🏥 About Elekta

Elekta is a Swedish-headquartered global medical technology company specialising in precision radiation oncology.

Radiotherapy machines have been manufactured on the Manor Royal in Crawley site since the 1960s, with the business subsequently becoming part of Elekta in the 1990s.

The Sussex campus now combines manufacturing, engineering, research and development. Among the technologies discussed in the episode is Elekta Unity, which combines radiotherapy with live MRI imaging to allow clinicians to see and respond to tumours during treatment.

🎧 Production credits

Host: Richard Freeman Guest: Tim Rose Sound design / editing / original music: Chris Thorpe-Tracey Production management: Letitia McConalogue

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