North West Companies Benefit from World Leading Facilities

Small and start up high tech companies in the North West can now access facilities for research and development backed up by world leading scientific expertise and business support. The Innovations Technology Access Centre (I-TAC) at the Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus (Daresbury SIC) celebrated its official launch on Thursday 4 February, and is the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) latest addition to the Daresbury Laboratory site.

Paul Vernon, Head of New Business at STFC and founder of I-TAC, said: “I-TAC provides the ideal environment to carry out high tech and development work. Carrying out R&D can be costly, especially for new and growing businesses. Now, not only can they gain access to high end scientific equipment that is not normally available to non-academic units, but they can also tap into STFC’s scientific expertise teamed with the knowledge base of North West academic institutions. The combination of services and facilities provided by I-TAC, Daresbury Laboratory and by the campus in general will enable businesses to make discoveries, prove their own technology and achieve that competitive edge necessary to succeed in tomorrow’s global economy.”

Manchester-based firm Byotrol is I-TAC’s first long-term tenant following the recent relocation of their principle microbiology R&D operations from Germany to the North West. Stephen Falder, Byotrol’s founder and Deputy Chairman commented: “Moving to the laboratory at Daresbury has given access to a wide range of equipment and specialists as well as putting us into a number of innovation networks and fostering the working in partnership with experts at STFC.”

Professor Keith Mason, Chief Executive of STFC, who officially opened the centre, said: “A presence at the centre puts companies at the heart of this rapidly growing Science and Innovation Campus at Daresbury, a truly rich environment for success. With low cost, low commitment state-of-the-art equipment and laboratory space being difficult to obtain at the proof of concept stage, these facilities provide the ideal environment for both start ups and the R&D teams of established companies to flourish and achieve the impact they are looking for. It is this type of strategic investment that will enable businesses, and therefore this country, to shape the

technological advances of tomorrow.”