FEATURE
The Wilton Centre near Redcar is home to world-leading companies such as Absolute Antibody and Micropore Technologies .
GLOBAL REACH
How Wilton Centre firms are putting Teesside on the map
The contribution to a healthier world made by companies based at the Wilton Centre is being recognised on a global stage .
Tees Business has previously reported how Micropore Technologies received international recognition for its breakthrough work which means new vaccines can be produced on a commercial scale but still retain their quality and consistency .
Absolute Antibody recently featured on an American television show called World ’ s Greatest – which was shown on the Bloomberg business channel .
The programme ’ s makers visited the Wilton Centre and interviewed the company ’ s chief operations officer Dr Catherine Bladen , who gave an insight into Absolute Antibody ’ s key role during the pandemic , where its ability to react quickly and flexibly proved vital .
“ We were able to put lots of our R & D efforts and production platform into making Covid-19 antibodies which went on to be used as actual therapies for Covid-19 and for diagnostic kits ,” she told viewers .
Absolute Antibody and Micropore Technologies moved to the Wilton Centre when their businesses were relatively new .
Both have grown out of recognition in just a handful of years and continue to benefit from the support provided by staff at the centre as well as its owner We are Pioneer Group ( WAPG ).
WAPG has a network of 10 science and tech parks in the UK and Ireland which are home to more than 600 companies employing around 6,400 people .
On a visit to the Wilton Centre , executive director Toby Reid described
how WAPG nurtures businesses like Absolute Antibody and Micropore Technologies .
“ We ’ ve been successful in all of our sites in building up clusters of smaller companies which have the support around them and are growing ,” he said .
“ Together they create eco-systems which are far more sustainable , robust and resilient in the long-term than a single large employer .
“ There is a really exciting blend of companies and opportunities at the Wilton Centre .
“ There is a great growth trajectory for many of them , and we hope we can play our role in continuing to support their development and make this a really important hub of activity in the region .” He added : “ Our role is to help hightech businesses thrive at every stage of the innovation journey from early-stage R & D all the way through to scale-up manufacture .”
WAPG ’ s help includes a Business Accelerator Programme , which is available to life science entrepreneurs , and it has also created an Expert Network of 250 people with “ unsurpassed credentials ” in the business of science to advise them . As well as life science companies , the Wilton Centre is also home to three businesses – Mitsubishi Chemical UK , Poseidon Plastics and ReNew ELP – who are spearheading the circular economy by developing separate technologies to recycle plastic .
“ We have 60 businesses who employ 750 people here and we ’ re really proud that so many of them are engaged in work which will prevent deaths ,
New arrival – Glacier Energy has taken up residence at the Wilton Centre .
improve people ’ s health and transform the environment ,” said Wilton Centre accommodation manager Claire Morton .
The centre straddles the border of the Teesside Freeport where new clean energy sources are being developed at Wilton International and Teesworks , which will also be the site of the world ’ s biggest monopile factory making the steel tubes which carry wind turbines .
Suppliers , such as Glacier Energy , are moving to the Wilton Centre to benefit from this green industrial revolution .
The company , which has 200 employees in the UK , supports existing businesses engaged in carbon capture , hydrogen and energy storage and has also been involved in large-scale wind projects across Europe for more than 20 years .
Glacier Energy ’ s business development director Tracie Watson said : “ The Wilton Centre is in a prime location to support the many existing businesses within the Teesside area .
“ It is great to be able to bring our expertise and track record on renewable projects to the area .”
Find out more about the Wilton Centre at www . wiltoncentre . com .
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