£12m centre attracts tenants
Tue, 30 Oct 2012 12:16:00 GMT
Severn Unival newest residents in 3M Buckley Innovation Centre
EVEN before its official opening, a £12 million innovation centre at the University of Huddersfield is well ahead of schedule in attracting business tenants who are at the cutting edge of technology.
The company Severn Unival is the latest major firm to take space in the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre. This means that almost one third of the recently-completed centre’s capacity is already spoken for.
“That is way above target,” said the Centre’s Managing Director, Patrick Allen (pictured above with Tony Brooke, Severn Unival's Technical Director), adding that the available laboratory space on the lower floor of the centre was virtually sold out.
“Word is getting out that this is the place to be if you want to grow your business,” said Mr Allen.
Severn Unival – part of the Severn Glocon Group – is a world-leading designer, manufacturer and solution provider in Control and Choke valves. It recently announced plans to relocate its long-standing Huddersfield factory to a new site in Brighouse, creating jobs in the process.
By setting up a research unit based at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre, Severn Unival will be retaining a Huddersfield presence in close proximity to the University, with its expertise in fields such as advanced metrology and diagnostic engineering, as Severn Unival’s Technical Director Tony Brooke explains:
“As the demands of the Oil and Gas industry continue to grow in terms of increased safety, reliability and performance, coupled with challenges from both the most extreme well conditions and the need for more efficient production from mature fields, the need for a continued and effective R&D programme is vital to staying at the forefront of our industry.
“We see that our presence within the 3MBIC is a key component in this programme and look forward to the advanced technologies this will bring within our reach. Who knows what applications can be found within our industry for technologies that are already bringing value to other areas or are newly-developed and offering significant advancement. We are already exploring the use of one such advanced product in association with the University.
“Having a team of technical staff based in the centre we see that excellent opportunities exist for the tenant companies to grow their businesses through innovation.”
Major companies
Severn Unival is one of a roster of major companies that have already agreed to take space at the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre. The others include marine engineers Whale Technologies, Trac Measurement Systems – part of the global Trac Group – and the National Physical Laboratory. The latter two will be equipping temperature-controlled labs in the Centre.
“The companies that we are attracting will be aligned to the core competences of the University,” said Mr Allen. “In the case of Severn Unival, as well as providing them with space we can also give them access to the technologies and know-how within the University, to help them develop their products and their services to the oil and gas industries.”
“This is really quite foresighted on their part. Their factory might no longer be cheek-by-jowl with the University, but they can clearly see the value of being associated with the Innovation Centre,” he added.
Global reputation
The University of Huddersfield has a global reputation for its expertise in the science of metrology and this is playing a key role in drawing tenants to the Centre.
“The companies that we are attracting will be aligned to the core competences of the University,” said Mr Allen. “If we can marry up the jewels in the crown of the University’s research with demand from companies in the high-tech sector, then we will do so. So we are clearly focussing on areas such as diagnostic engineering, precision measurement, rapid prototyping and design. These are all key areas that we want companies to take advantage of.”
But in addition to large, established firms, the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre provides space for small-to-medium sized enterprises plus ambitious start-ups. Also, enterprising students with bright business ideas will be able to take advantage of the facilities, which will include the latest in audio-visual technology, ranging from large LCD screens to the new Microsoft Tablet technology.
“If you are a small business and you want to impress a client or a supply chain there is no better place to do it than here, because of the highest-quality furnishings and AV technology,” said Mr Allen. He added that despite the quality of facilities, space in the Innovation Centre was costed to be highly affordable, even to people starting on their business journey.
- Further information about the University’s 3M Buckley Innovation Centre can be found at http://www.3mbic.com/.
